A Receptacle for the World
The choosing of the Jewish People starts with Hashem's first words to Avraham Avinu. After the promises of great nationhood and other blessings, Avraham is told somewhat cryptically:
"... ונברכו בך כל משפחת האדמה." (בראשית יב, ג)
"All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you." (Bereishis 12:3)
The mechanism of this transmission of blessing is unclear. It could be a metaphysical transmission, unrelated to any connection between Jews and non-Jews on Earth, or perhaps non-Jews will earn their blessings following Jewish influence on their ways.[2]
Avraham himself took a proactive approach to this. When commanded in the same passage to leave his homeland for Eretz Yisrael, he takes with him "the souls that they had 'made' in Charan,"[3] which Chazal explain as referring to people whom Avraham and Sarah had brought close to Hashem (the first 'kiruv' workers).[4] Although these people seem to have been recruited prior to Hashem's words to Avraham, presumably Avraham was chosen in part because of the work he had already done.
However, it is unclear whether Avraham's project had long-term success. In Avraham's lifetime, we see further references to members of the clan, perhaps most notably the 318 people who assisted in the rescue of Lot (and the kingdom of Sedom) from the conquest of K'darlaomer.[5] Yitzchak also appears to have had a following,[6] although when Yaakov is forced to flee from Esav, all of this is left behind. When Yaakov eventually travels to Egypt, only his family (numbering seventy) comes with him.[7]
What became of these people is therefore somewhat of a mystery.[8] The praise given to Avraham for his actions indicates that the project was a worthy one, which leads me to believe that it also had at least a degree of success. The fact that the people did not ultimately become part of the Jewish nation is wholly consistent with the view unanimously accepted within Judaism – non-Jews can serve Hashem without converting.[9]
Shlomo HaMelech
Avraham Avinu was a significant figure in the world that he lived in, as is indicated by his conversations with various kings in the area. However, he did not have a kingdom and his influence was limited by the relatively small area of land that he occupied. The next figure who explicitly and actively engaged in spreading the influence of the Jewish People to other nations was Shlomo HaMelech, who was not held back by such limitations.
Shlomo was the first person to mention the idea of the Beis HaMikdash being a place that non-Jews could also come to serve Hashem.[10] He also enlisted non-Jewish assistance in its building,[11] promoted other international trade[12] and received warmly those who came to seek his counsel from far and wide.[13]
All of this appears to be viewed in a positive light in Tanach. The criticism comes over Shlomo marrying 1,000 wives, from nations whom we are explicitly commanded not to marry, who subsequently turned Shlomo to idolatry (either actively, as the simple reading of Tanach suggests, or at least by allowing idolatry to take place in Israel).[14]
Marrying these wives was certainly part of Shlomo's wider plan to further international relations, presumably with the aim of spreading the word of Hashem. It is possible that ulterior, lustful motives also were part of it, ultimately leading to Shlomo's downfall. It also seems likely that there was an inherent problem with this part of Shlomo's plan, even if his intentions were pure.
While the details are not clear, the simple message seems to be that spreading the word of Hashem among the non-Jews is an important task, but one that must be done with care. The more ambitious the project, the greater the risks that may be involved.
Another point to take from the episode is that a leader cannot hope for a plan of this nature to be successful without widespread support from the people. The physical and financial toil of Shlomo's project proved to be too much, eventually leading to the split of the kingdom.[15] Whether or not this rebellion could have been avoided had the spiritual decline been mitigated,[16] it is important for all leaders to heed the fact that they are representatives of the people and must act accordingly.
For the Individual
For various reasons that I will not go into, I do not think that today's government has the ability to undertake projects such as that of Shlomo HaMelech. Regular individuals certainly do not have this power, but it may be possible to have an influence on non-Jews on a smaller scale, in a similar manner to Avraham Avinu.
However, the Torah and Chazal warn us clearly to avoid getting too close to non-Jews, out of concern that the influence will be in the opposite direction.[17] The Torah mandates the removal of the idolatrous nations from Eretz Yisrael, the explicit reason being the prevention of intermarriage and learning from their sinful practices.[18] Chazal added the rabbinic prohibitions of eating food cooked by a non-Jew, bread baked by a non-Jew, and more, as a further strengthening of this barrier.[19]
None of this is necessarily at odds with the work of Avraham Avinu, who invited guests into his own home but did not eat out in the homes of others, at least as far as we know.[20] We are only discouraged from socialising with those who do not share our values as equal friends. Nevertheless, this barrier is itself a limitation on the influence we can have, and we can hardly expect that the Avraham Avinu model of 'kiruv' will change the world.[21]
In the Internet Age
I believe that at least one reason why Tanach and Chazal do not give us any clear formula for how we should be a 'light unto nations', is because by nature this will vary considerably based on the time and place. A Jew fleeing from pogroms, or even living during the more peaceful periods of our exile, had his work cut out to live his own life according to the Torah and to care for his family and community.
We are fortunate enough to live in an age where our actions can have an effect on a large number of people, without even leaving home. While the internet and social media hold their own dangers, it is certainly practical to utilise them effectively without getting too close to harmful influences. Success is far from guaranteed, but in my view, for those who are well thought out it is also far from impossible.
This field has only caught my interest in in the last year or so.[22] In this time, I have observed that the Internet stores an unsurprisingly large amount of material promoting atheism, Christianity and Islam to others, but the same is not true for Judaism. There are plenty of websites, blogs (this one included), podcasts, YouTube channels and similar that are 'by Jews and for Jews', but there is very little aimed at spreading the Jewish view to those who are not Jewish.[23] The result is that the Jewish voice is either missing or poorly represented, to the detriment of the truth-seekers who consume this content.
One reason for this is likely the fact that historically Jews have been insular, for good reason. Our reluctance to 'impose' on the rest of the world when it can be avoided is well understood. However, for the reasons discussed above, it is high time for a change of direction.
May we merit to see (and to help bring about) the prophecy of Zecharia:
"וְהָיָה כָּל הַנּוֹתָר מִכָּל הַגּוֹיִם הַבָּאִים עַל
יְרוּשָׁלִָם וְעָלוּ מִדֵּי שָׁנָה בְשָׁנָה לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹת לְמֶלֶךְ ה'
צְבָאוֹת וְלָחֹג אֶת חַג הַסֻּכּוֹת."
זכריה יד, טז
"The remnant of the nations that will come against Yerushalayim, will ascend each year to prostrate themselves to the King, Hashem Tzeva'os, and to celebrate the festival of Sukkos."
Zecharia 14:16
[1] I discussed one of the main sources in Yerushalayim
and the World, but in that post I focussed on the passive influence of the
internal actions of the Jewish People.
[2] See also Rashi and others who avoid this question by translating
the term ונברכו בך differently.
[3] Bereishis 12:5
[4] See Rashi ibid, quoting Bereishis Rabbah. However, as Rashi also
points out, it is possible to interpret this term in different ways.
[5] Bereishis 14:14
[6] See Bereishis 26:14.
[7] Bereishis 46:8-27
[8] While theories have been put forward, those that I have seen do not
come close to being proven.
[9] I deliberately do not discuss the Erev Rav and the Torah's overall
approach to converts here, as my purpose is defining our role in relation to
those who do not choose to convert. The fact that the Torah does not encourage proselytisation
is not relevant to this.
[10] Melachim 1, 8:41-3
[11] Ibid. 5:16-20
[12] Ibid. 10:28-9
[13] Ibid. 10:1-10
[14] Ibid. 11:1-11
[15] Ibid. 12:1-24
[16] It is quite possible that the people would have been happy to support
the project had it not involved the financing of a home for the daughter of Pharaoh
and her idolatry.
[17] There was also a safety concern – Chazal forbade being secluded
with a non-Jew, as the non-Jews were suspected of wanting to murder us (Mishna,
Avoda Zara 22a). It is generally assumed that this prohibition no longer
applies in countries where law and order is upheld, although in truth this may
be dependent on the general question as to whether rabbinical institutions
dissipate when the reason is no longer relevant (see Eternal
or Obsolete?).
[18] Shemos 24:32-3, Devarim 7:1-6.
[19] Avoda Zara 35b and other places.
[20] He, like us, was not in a position to be able to drive out
idolaters from Eretz Yisrael.
[21] Avraham Avinu also seems to have predominantly influenced those who
needed him, with the vast majority of the world around him remaining pagan.
[22] Corona has had its effects on all of us.
[23] This is of course partly explained by the demographics (roughly 31%
of the world identify as Christian, 25% as Muslim, 16% as secular and just
0.18% as Jewish). However, one would expect someone like myself to be exposed
to a disproportionate amount of Jewish material available (algorithms, echo
chambers etc.). Furthermore, one would also expect the truth to be represented 'disproportionally,'
and it should come as no surprise that I believe Judaism to be the truth.
