[Avodah] Judaism is unique

[Yitzchok Levine]

In his commentary on Shemos 6

7 I will take you to Myself as a people and I will be a God to you; 
you will come to know that I am Hashem, your  God, Who brings you out 
from under
the burdens of Egypt.

RSRH writes

Li l'am. These two short words are the first statement of Israel's
destiny. They express the quality that makes Judaism so unique. It is
entirely inappropriate to refer to Judaism as "the Jewish religion"; it is
thoughtless to define Judaism as a religion, to classify it with the other
religions, and then to be amazed that this "religion" includes so many
elements that transcend the conventional bounds of "religion." Li L'am:
Israel is to be a people unto God.

This statement alone already makes it clear that Judaism, as established
by God, is not a religion at all. True, Judaism also embraces
elements generally characterized as "religion," but the term "Judaism"
is completely different and infinitely broader. In "religion," God has
only temples, churches, priestly orders, congregations, etc. Nations, peoples,
are subject only to kings and governments; they are founded on
the concept of statehood, not on religion and God. In Judaism, however,
God founded not a church, but a nation; a whole national life is to be
fashioned by Him. Israel will be His people, not just a congregation of
believers. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20100114/0de0e7e7/attachment-0001.htm>