Does "Chosen" = "Superior"?

In the Jewish Week, there is an article entitled, "The Heretical Notion of 'Jewish Superiority'". I felt that the article successfully presents the proper attitude that Jews should possess regarding the non-Jewish people they live amongst. Unfortunately, if this were not a widely believed myth, I guess there would be no need to write about it. The question arises then, why does this "myth" continue to be perpetuated in the frum community?

My first "real life" exposure to Torah observant Judaism was through the kiruv community (Aish HaTorah and rabbonim from Ohr Somayach namely). A big draw to kiruv is telling non-frum Jews that they are "special" and "unique" and poised and ready to be designated for a higher level of living. This nurtures the necessary "warm & fuzzy" feelings that are needed to rope in these people and bring them back to Torah observance; so in that aspect it's good. However, what is the response when a non-Jew starts to express interest in Judaism? "Oh, well, Judaism doesn't seek converts. You were born a certain way for a reason; you are just fine the way you are". The first part of the aforementioned statement is true; but what about the rest of it? Imagine being a non-Jew hearing this, and while you can get all sorts of logical (and illogical) explanations about why you are what you are -- I think it is rare that the non-Jew interprets this information without thinking, "Wow, I am just not on the same level as a born Jew". This is pretty comparable to a blind person feeling that they are less than a human because they cannot see. But it is not completely equivalent since blindness is an indisputable physical handicap while being a non-Jew is a debatable spiritual handicap.

I personally get a bit bothered when people say I have a "Jewish neshama". Actually, I feel that my soul is just mine. Like Rabbi Ben-Chaim said, becoming a Jew is not some sort of "improvement" over the old me. It's more of an honored designation; like becoming a doctor. Maybe I have the wrong mindset, but I see the process of becoming a Jew as something that is done; actions by myself and by the Jewish community. Therefore, I don't question Hashem as to why he saw that it was necessary for me to be born as a gentile (although I do struggle with all the difficulties I encounter while "walking my path"). Being a Jew is not really a state of "being" at all in my opinion. If that were the case, I would never be able to become a "true Jew" outside of some sort of miraculous divine designation along the lines of what happened at Har Sinai. Maybe this is why Jews have such a hard time digesting converts? You can act "like" us, but you can never change the fact that you were not born like us.

So returning back to the kiruv thing; yes, there is a dire need to help non-religious Jews recognize the truth present in Torah and the peace present in living a life directed by it. However these non-religious Jews should also understand that they are no better than a gentile who underwent a halachaic conversion or a Jew who eats in the Red Lobster once per week. The difference is in how we connect and relate to Hashem and how we believe our time on this planet will be maximized. For born Jews, there is the added fact that they are responsible for carrying out the mesorah of their ancestors (someone in their family probably remained a Jew at the peril of their lives, yet they have no desire to embrace an observant Jewish life!). But it all boils down to the performance of the mitzvot; and non-religious Jews "enjoy" the status of being a Jew because some of their ancestors took on the mitzvot. If they themselves choose to eschew the mitzvot, then they relinquish their claim to Jewishness (which may not be technically true for them, but will very likely be for their descendants who will be very unlikely to be Jews in any sense anyway).

I am not a social psychologist, but my guess is that minority religious communities hold on to superiority notions as a "security blanket" to help keep people in the fold. If the Jews are "chosen" by Hashem, what does this "choseness" impart? Although the Torah points out quite clearly that being "chosen" means to be involved in a covenant...so a spiritual relationship with Hashem. However, this has morphed into modern times as a "look at the Incredible & the Indelible Jews!". We love to enumerate the percentages of Jews who won Nobel Prizes, create lists of famous Jews, and talk about the amazing accomplishments of Israel. Similar to kiruv, this is fine; if the scenario were one-sided. But it is not. Take Anti-Semitism for example: you have some situations were anti-semitism is used to liberally describe mishaps and discrimination that occurs to the Jews. Yet what did we hear from many Jews during this election year? Various accounts of potentially racially motivated rhetoric against Obama. While it was addressed by some Jewish news outlets like Haaretz, the most bone chilling comments were heard informally in the Jewish community.

If my writing sounds too critical, it is not my intention in the least. I am simply trying to dig a bit to find the causes behind the Jewish people coming to embrace these superiority notions that teeter upon the very dangerous territory of projecting bigotry to non-Jews. This type of thinking has very little tolerance for "the others" who are trying to become like them (since it gnaws away at the inherent superiority notion). Therefore this seemingly benign issue is recognized as a red flag by Jewish converts right away.

3rd Great-Grandaughter of Charles Jones

And who is "Charles Jones"? Charles Jones was a slave - born around 1825 and in 1870 (the earliest census he could be found on) was living in Flat Creek Township in Lancaster County, SC with his wife, Phillis.

I found this out this past weekend. It was the 3rd annual Jones Family Reunion and they were holding it up here, in Pennsylvania this time. I could not attend the bulk of the events (like the church service in the church my great-grandmother founded or the dinner/banquet thing). But I did go to the picnic this past Sunday at Renziehausen Park. That's where I got a t-shirt, a family history book, and a name tag that read "3rd Great-Grandaughter" while my Grandfather (who got $25 for being the oldest family member there) got a name tag that read "Great-Grandson".

I did not know the reference point at all. Until I started reading the book. Charles Jones had 10 children; most of them, we have no idea about. Charles Jones, Jr. was his 5th child and was my Great-Grandmother's father. Here's my Great-Grandmother, Lillie:
At some point, she moved from Monroe, NC (Anna Blakeney, her mother moved there after her husband died) to Clairton, PA. Her twins, Mary & Martha were born in Union County, NC in 1924, and my Grandfather, Robert was born in Clairton in 1927.

So the reason why I bring this up is because I was asked this past Shabbos about what my family thinks about my choice to become a Jew. Never do I get the impression that this question is asked out of anything but genuine concern and curiosity. However, I often times wonder just how I should answer that question; without sounding trite. The average Black American family has a slew of other, much more pressing concerns regarding their children -- outside of their choice of religion. Black parents have to deal with a sea of negative influences in their community that can pull their children into teenage pregnancy, crime, substance abuse, and overall hopelessness and lack of faith in leading a productive life. I am surely not saying that White American families do not have these problems to deal with. It is just that for many more Black families...these issues hit closer to home.

During the OU's Tisha B'Av presentation, Rabbi Weinreb talked a bit about a class he gave to non-Jews; and mentioned that there were several Black women in this class. And he said, "...like many Black women, they knew their bible very well.". I mean it was just a quick blurb...but I wonder what his experience were that prompted that comment?

I have also heard it said that Black people are very "spiritual"...whatever that means. I guess I would agree that I do not know of that many (maybe no) Black atheists. I do not proscribe to blanket statements...but I have seriously never heard of a Black family disowning a child because they became a Muslim or a Buddhist or anything of the sort. Now they will talk about you until no end...but they will still consider you family. Unless you owe them money; then they will not need to disown you, because you will mysteriously disappear from off the face of the earth...

In spite of all these religious underpinnings of the Black community...I must admit that I avoid a lot of opposition on the basis of ignorance. Most Black people know very, (very) little about bona-fide, Torah observant Judaism. I also see no real need to educate them on it. You hear talk in the media about all of this Black antisemitism...but I do not buy it for a second. #1 - the Black community at large is not practicing the same type of Xtianity that incorporated anti-Jewish sentiments. #2 - Many Black Americans are just anti-everything; in that they have some axe to bury with anyone who is not Black.

Anyway, back to my own family, I feel like we are a sea of question marks...with little tokens of our past...but mainly focused on the future. The Scotts (the family that did the bulk of the genealogical research) did a lot of work to just find the information regarding these past 5 generations. Growing up, my family always just "stopped" with those members who migrated up North. Now I don't know how many people are in this book...maybe 400-500 -- but that is really just the decedents of two of Charles Jone's children and about 5 of his Grandchildren. And by far, it's just a list of names, birth dates and places (my great-aunt Estelle, Lillie's sister, was properly noted as having had died in Israel in 1971). What are the stories behind those names? I know there is a cousin, Tiffany Glenn, that married Plaxico Burress (wide receiver who played in the last Super Bowl) and there apparently are some cousins in Philadelphia who became Muslims (names are Shaheed, Nadirah, Taalib and Sameerah Shabazz). Only G-d knows where the rest of us ended up...or will end up in life.

I wish I knew a bit more about the Kabbalistic explanation of yichus. I mean what on earth type of yichus do you have when you are descended from a piece of property (or 1/4 of a human being or whatever the US government regarded slaves as back then)? Not that I even entertain notions of inferiority; I would hope to take on the yichus of Avraham v'Sarah. However it sort of puts in perspective the influence a birth family ultimately yields on the life of gerim -- curiously, very little.

*Note - re-reading this, I can see how this can be interpreted as me not being proud of my family. Nothing could be further from the truth. However I do not feel, nor does my family feel, pressure to adhere to any sort of family legacies...