Anti-Semites sometimes claim that Jews are racists and supremacists because they refer to themselves as the "chosen people." But this defining of Jews by race is an error and in no way reflects the true Jewish belief. Membership in the Jewish people is not dependent on race. For the Jews, peoplehood has always been defined only by acceptance of the Torah. In the words of the famous philosopher Rabbi Saadiah Gaon (882-942), "This people is only a people through its Torah." Any Jew who rejects the Torah is not part of the Jewish people. Any individual of any race can become a Jew and be part of the Jewish people. Thus it is clear that the term "chosen people" is a misnomer and a more proper rendering would be "chosen religion".

But this still leaves much to be explained. What is the "chosen religion"? What was G-d's purpose in choosing a particular group of people who had particular beliefs?

Judaism teaches that man's purpose in this world is to recognize G-d as his Creator and to thank G-d for creating him. Before He created man, G-d already had angels who sang His praises, but He chose to create humans, who despite being hampered by their own physical needs and surrounded by a world of distractions, and despite not perceiving His existence directly, would believe in Him and praise Him.

After creation, G-d waited for the right people to come along, people through whom He could teach the world about its purpose. At first there were enlightened individuals - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob  who understood on their own that the world must have one all-powerful and benevolent Creator. G-d appeared to them and spoke to them.

But this was not enough. G-d wanted to give His law to a large group of people, who would then live by this law and thereby teach the world about G-d's greatness. He chose to give His law to the Israelites, the descendants of Abraham, who had been the first to proclaim G-d's existence to the world. Abraham's descendants continued to believe in what their ancestor had taught, and they stuck with it despite the adversity of Egyptian slavery. G-d called them the "people I have created for Myself, so that they might speak My praise" (Isaiah 43:21). This was their function on earth.

However, no one should make the mistake of thinking that G-d was choosing one race and their descendants for all time, for better or for worse. The Jews in ancient times were a very numerous nation. What happened to all descendants of those Jews? The answer is that many Jews have gone lost  left the Torah behind and assimilated into other societies and cultures. They may have Jewish blood, but when we speak of the Jewish people we do not mean them.

Just as many have left the Jewish people, many have joined. Some of the greatest names in Jewish history have been converts: Zipporah, wife of Moses; Rahav, wife of Joshua; Ruth, great-grandmother of King David; and Onkelos, compiler of the most authoritative Aramaic translation of the Torah. Great Talmudic sages such as Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Meir were descended from converts. The Talmud even says that the entire purpose of the Jews' exile and dispersal over the face of the earth was so that converts should join them.

So we see that the Jews can really be defined as those individuals who chose G-d, not a race or ethnic group chosen by G-d. To those individuals who chose Him, G-d gave laws and teachings to show them how to spread His word and His praise in the world.

Let the anti-Semites clarify their position. If they are against a particular race, let it be known to them that Jewry is a religion, not a race. Those of Jewish extraction who do not practice Judaism are not to be considered Jews at all. They may use their Jewish identity or even parts of the Jewish religion to further their own agenda, but they are not Jews, neither are Jews responsible for their actions.

On the other hand, if their complaints are directed at the Jewish religion, they have a legitimate right to make their arguments heard and receive substantive answers from Jews. But that is no longer "anti-Semitism" - hatred of particular people. It is a religious doctrinal debate.

We hope this elucidation of the concept of "chosen people" will help our readers understand better who Jews are and what they stand for.