Are Jews Superior?

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

Reader: I was having an email conversation with a Rabbi who believes that the Jewish soul is superior. After many back and forths, he gave me the following parable to show the difference between Jews and non Jews: "The human race is like an army. The Jewish people are the Marines." Is this accurate?

Please take your time. Thank you.

Rabbi: I have written on this many times, see Mesora.org. His claim is baseless. In fact, God created the Jewish nation due to the perfection of a Gentile, Abraham. Abraham was not a Jew, but a Noahide, as were all members of the world. God selected Abraham due to his perfection, not due to his ancestors, who were idolaters. God made a nation from Abraham because he defended monotheism, not due to lineage. According to this rabbi, is a Jewish murderer better than a Gentile who saves lives in a hospital? God never “recreated” man since Adam (making a superior model called the Jew); all humans are identical. It is arrogant for Jews to claim that a Jew is superior. And what of a Gentile who converts, of whom God says they follow the same Torah as a Jew? This means the Gentile has the same potential to follow Torah as the Jew. God's anointed kings and messiah descend from Ruth the convert. God commands Jews who are idolatrous or who murder to be killed. Apparently, God favors no one, except the one who follows Him. No one is born perfected. King Solomon says, "Better is the day of death than the day of birth." Ibn Ezra comments: "For only at death can man claim merit to a good life, but at birth, we know not yet how he will turn out." That means that a Jew at birth has no merit.