The Purpose of the Jew

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

All the matters of diviners, horoscopists, fortune tellers, witches, etc. are falsehood and lies with which the original idolaters deceived the gentile nations in order to lead them after them. It is not fitting for the Jews who are the wisest of the wise to be drawn into such emptiness, nor to consider that they have any value as stated, [Num. 23:23] “No black magic can be found among Jacob, or occult arts within Israel.” And it is also stated, [Deut. 18:14] “These nations which you are driving out, listen to astrologers and diviners. This is not [what God... has granted] you.” 

Whoever believes in [occult arts] of this nature and, in his heart, thinks that they are true and words of wisdom, but are forbidden by Torah, is foolish and feebleminded. He is considered an underdeveloped intellect. The masters of wisdom and those of perfect knowledge know with clear proof that all these crafts which the Torah forbade are not reflections of wisdom, but rather, emptiness and vanity which attracted the feebleminded and caused them to abandon all the paths of truth. For these reasons, when the Torah warned against all these empty matters, it advised [Deut. 18:13] “Be perfect with God, your Lord.”

(Maimonides, Laws of Star Worship, 11:16)

“It is not fitting for the Jews who are the wisest of the wise to be drawn into such emptiness”

“Not fitting” is not the language of a command. Typically, Maimonides states that something is either “commanded, obligated, prohibited or punished.” This phrase of “not fitting” means that outside the 613 commands, the Jewish nation has other primary Torah directives, like representing God’s wisdom to the world: “Observe them faithfully, for that will be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who on hearing of all these laws will say, ‘Surely, that great nation is a wise and discerning people’” (Deut. 4:6). Following reason and proof, and rejecting superstition and idolatry is a matter of our national distinction. As our role is to represent truth—not imagination—“It is not fitting for the Jews to be drawn into such emptiness.” Maimonides formulates this as a national matter, indicating it’s not a mitzvah on an individual.

Embracing this role as intellectual leaders is a pre-Torah perfection displayed by Abraham. God created Earth for man, where all other creations serve the one purpose that all mankind achieves perfection. But over time, mankind corrupted themselves with idolatry, except Abraham who discovered and taught monotheism. God then made Abraham’s seed into the nation of Israel to correct all other peoples. Besides 613 commands, Torah shares God’s will by depicting the lives of the patriarchs and matriarchs and God’s favor of them with His guidance: God gave the Jews His Torah. Thereby, He designated the Jews as the “wisest of the wise” as no others received God’s wisdom. Our divine gift and reputation demands we are knowledgeable of God’s will, and teach others who wish to follow God. 

It is then no surprise that anti-Semitism has always existed among the ignorant who act with sibling rivalry and who jealously demonize the Jew, knowing that God favored the Jew; not because we are of any better human design than others, but because our patriarchs chose monotheism. Regardless of such anti-Semitism, we teach all who wish to learn. But we do not proselytize or threaten like radical Islam.

Our leaders and teachers must ensure that the Jewish nation lives by Torah. 

“No black magic can be found among Jacob, or occult arts within Israel”

This was a prophetic statement God told Bilam to tell Balak when trying to oppress the Jews. Why refer to Jacob’s 2 stages in life: his earlier stage as Jacob, and later once given the additional name Israel? And what does superstition have to do with one’s transitional stages in life? 

This teaches that it is during one’s advances in his perfection, that can create insecurities, where one can succumb to seeking superstitions for security. But Jacob did not do so. From his transition from Jacob to Israel, no superstitions were found in him. But Maimonides doesn’t end there. He cites another verse: [Deut. 18:14] “These nations which you are driving out, listen to astrologers and diviners. This is not what God has granted you.”  Here, Maimonides shares the source of idolatry: the need to be guided by man, the infantile state. “Listening to astrologers” describes man’s need for another that he can “listen” to. Perfected man follows truth, idolatrous man follows man. He seeks human approval like and child. So Maimonides adds, “Perfect with God” refers to engaging the mind, seeking reason and proof. But believers in the fallacy of alien powers and the ability to forecast of one’s future, abandons rational thinking; they are not perfect with God. They seek to satisfy the emotion of dependency on man. Such a person “abandons all the paths of truth,” since truth refers to testing whether a notion exists, and rejecting what does not. But idolatrous people accept as real anything that satisfies their fears. They don’t cross check reality or reason for verification of their beliefs. Thus, their lives are spent believing what does not exist, and what does not exist cannot answer prayers or provide help. They must fail.

Twice does Torah refer to man being perfect, “tamim.” God first tells Abraham “Walk before Me and be perfect” (Gen. 17:1). This command to Abraham was regarding circumcision. On this verse Ibn Ezra says that Abraham's perfection would be not inquiring “why to perform this command.” Now of course we are supposed to use our minds in every area. But what Ibn Ezra means is that Abraham shouldn't let his understanding be what determines whether to perform the command. Evidently Abraham had the understanding that the human body is a perfect creation and damaging it with circumcision is questionable. So he should not abstain from performing circumcision until he understands it fully; he must act even without full understanding. The second case Torah tells man to be perfect, is regarding idolatry and superstitions: “Be perfect with God, your Lord” (Deut. 18:13). One should follow God perfectly without belief and any other powers, which are false. Therefore, imperfection would be not following God alone but accepting other powers, or accepting one's own meager understanding. “Perfect with God” refers to one who follows God exclusively. 

“This is not what God has granted you” 

Maimonides uses a Torah verse to reiterate his main point that the Jew has a role to fulfill, and that role is to engage wisdom, reason and reality in selecting beliefs and principles, and teaching mankind. God created “all” mankind, not just the Jew. God desires all peoples benefit from the life of wisdom and reality which is the most enjoyable life. The Jew who fails to study and practice Torah hurts others by not offering them a chance to say “Surely, that great nation is a wise and discerning people.”  The purpose of the Jew is to live by Torah, enabling others to identify us and inquire of God’s will for mankind. This is embodied in the morning blessing of Sanctifying God’s name publicly.