 L-R: Alana Newhouse, Jeffrey Goldberg, Todd Gitlin, Liel Liebovitz
Todd Gitlin and Liel Leibovitz have an essay in Tablet today, explaining their process as they set out to write their book The Chosen Peoples: America, Israel, and the Ordeals of Divine Election. While working on the book, they learned to “love the idea of divine election.” Reading volume upon volume of Jewish and American history and theology, several things became clear to us. The first, and most stunning, had to do with the notion of chosenness itself. Rather than an inherently arrogant invitation to exceptionalism, we realized, the idea of chosenness is a profound and perplexing mystery; and it has long been understood as such in the Jewish tradition.
At the pinnacle of the biblical drama—as the Israelites gather at Mount Sinai, awaiting their transformation from a gaggle of tribes into a nation—God delivers a cryptic command: “You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
The crowds congregated below are left to wonder just what he means. Why, the chosen people may be forgiven for asking, were we chosen? And what are we to do now that we’ve been singled out? How is a holy nation different from any other nation? Is the covenant with God eternal, or must it be renewed with each generation?
Todd and Liel will be at the 92nd Street Y on Monday, September 27, with Tablet’s editor-in-chief Alana Newhouse and contributing editor Jeffrey Goldberg to discuss how the idea of divine election shaped American and Israeli history and what challenges it presents for both contemporary nations.
Related: On December 20, they’ll be back at 92Y with Michael Walzer and Jackson Lears for The Chosen Peoples and Their Enemies to explore the bloody conflicts that unfold when the “chosen people” clash with the indigenous natives of their promised lands, and how these conflicts still impact American and Israeli foreign policy.
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