Exactly 3332 years ago, a great event occurred, unparalleled in history – the Mount Sinai Stand. The Creator of the world in His own person revealed Himself to an entire people and gave them His Torah. Millions of Israelites, who left Egypt, witnessed the sublime stand, and passed down its story from father to son, to this day.
Thousands of years have passed since then. The Jewish people have spread throughout the world, and many nations have come to know them. The Bible has been translated into all languages, and is considered the best-selling book in the world.
And yet Judaism remained the religion of the few. Why didn't it sweep the entire world after it?
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Faith has seeped in.
There are two answers to this question. Indeed, Judaism was not intended for all of humanity. The 313 commandments were given to the people of Israel only. We also have no interest in encouraging conversion. When a Gentile expresses his desire to join the Jewish people, we are commanded to try to reject him, and only if we discover that his intention is sincere and strong – should he be accepted.
And with this, the basic core of Judaism has reached all of humanity. In addition to the 313 commandments, which were intended for the people of Israel only, Judaism has a universal, all-human part. Belief in one God and the other general commandments, known as the 'Seven Commandments of the Children of Noah,' were intended for every human being, and indeed they have reached all of humanity.
The event at Mount Sinai took place at a time when the entire world was worshipping idols. The Jewish people were the only ones who believed in one God, in a Creator who has no body and no image of the body. This was a belief that humanity, in those days, was unable to accept.
Years passed and this recognition slowly crept into most of humanity. This was done largely by the other monotheistic religions, which took the idea of belief in one God from Judaism and spread it among hundreds of millions of people. It is clear that these religions added distortions and distortions to this basic belief, but in practice, through them, belief in the Creator of the world became the property of all humanity.
The divine revelation that took place on the Feast of Pentecost has virtually conquered the entire world. The universal message of the Jewish religion has already reached the consciousness of most people. We are no longer few in our belief in one God. The world, for the most part, has renounced idolatry and embraced the recognition of the idea of divine unity.
Role 'with virtue''
We do not need the world's support for our faith, but at Mount Sinai we were commanded to bring the idea of the 'Seven Commandments of the Children of Noah' to the consciousness of all mankind. This is also part of the future destiny. One of the things the Messiah is supposed to do is to "repair the entire world to worship God together," as Maimonides said. As humanity becomes more mature for this idea, we understand that the coming of the Messiah is drawing nearer and nearer.
We, the Jews, who on the Feast of Pentecost were crowned "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation," are destined to play a central role in preparing the world for its destiny. It is our duty to bring the "Seven Commandments of the Children of Noah" to all of humanity. Just as the priests in the people of Israel are responsible for projecting values of holiness and spirituality upon the entire people, so is the role of the Jewish people to be a light to the nations in a spiritual sense.
This is the true meaning of being a 'special people.' This is the great role entrusted to us. We must project the values of faith to the entire world and prepare it for complete redemption and its perfect correction.
