The Heretical Notion Of 'Jewish Superiority' : God did not create gentile and Jew; He simply created “man and woman.”
The Heretical Notion Of 'Jewish Superiority' | By: Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim | Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Maimonides (Rambam), one of the world’s greatest minds, was more accomplished in Torah thought and codification than any rabbi alive today. It is no wonder that Rabbi Yosef Caro based much of the Shulchan Aruch on Rambam’s positions.

Maimonides praised Aristotle as reaching the height of intellectual perfection. He did not offer this praise about a Jew. So we wonder: Do some Jews have it wrong if they consider gentiles “second-rate humans”? Was Maimonides correct in his praise of a gentile?

Too often we hear the term “Jewish soul” used as an expression of baseless Jewish arrogance. Others accept the belief that God literally blew a “piece” of Himself into man, derived from such verses as “He breathed into his nostrils a living soul” (Gen. 2:7) and “…God created man in His image; in the form of God He create him [man]…” (ibid, 1:27).
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We all share the exact same design and potential. It was only due to mankind’s idolatrous sins and Abraham’s monotheistic lifestyle that God selected Abraham and his children to receive and guard the Torah…for all mankind. God’s plan was, and remains, that “All sons of flesh call His name.” (Alenu prayer) Further, since God planned to give His Torah to descendants of gentiles, this means that gentiles are fully capable of practicing Judaism and obtaining Torah perfection. The born Jew has no advantage.

It is not the receipt of Torah that perfects humans, but our adherence to its commands – and this applies to Jew and gentile alike. Human perfection is not a Jewish birthright, but a human accomplishment, available to all God’s creatures.

If a gentile is wise, he will love the Torah as does a knowledgeable Jew, and he will take on more than his mere seven Noachide laws. He will see that God’s commands perfect a human, and he will wish to share in that lot. Gentile converts throughout history showed themselves as the wisest members of their cultures – and ours – with many becoming great Jewish leaders.

Those seven commands are not a limit for the gentile or, as some say, “their” system. ... It was Ruth’s humility that attracted Boaz. In truth, Jewish arrogance is the exact opposite trait of that which Ruth the convert expressed and which earned her the selected role as ancestor of our great kings David and Solomon, and of the Messiah.

Think about that – our daily prayers (Psalms), our greatest kings, and our soon-to-be Messiah are all due to the gentile Ruth. God does not favor a person simply because his or her parents are Jews, for this is no merit to a sinful person. And God has no disdain for the gentile, as we see in God’s selection of Ruth, and in Maimonides’s praise of Aristotle.

God did not create gentile and Jew; He simply created “man and woman.” The “Jew” was not a new creation, but simply a new designation, affixed to the same original design. Each human being possesses equal potential to achieve perfection and God’s love.

May we abandon false ideas of Jewish superiority and ego gratification, and replace them with the humble truth that God created every human with a soul for a reason – and that He loves all His creations equally.

“One Torah…for yourselves, and the convert.”

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim is founder of Mesorah.org. ...
- posted by Editor @ 10:47 AM