The Chosen People: Purpose, History, and the Work of Repair
Chosen does not mean favored. It means tasked. "The Chosen People: Purpose, History, and the Work of Repair" reframes chosenness as covenantal responsibility-service that blesses others. With a calm and confident voice, Menachem Clausen follows a single arc from Eden's charge to serve and guard, through human failures, Avraham's revolution, Sinai's mandate, exile's endurance, and a living program of repair.
Written for Jews and non-Jews alike, the book explains Hebrew terms on first use and grounds every claim in classic sources. Torah, Talmud, Midrash, and the mefarshim are read closely; mystical strands from the Zohar and Arizal are used carefully and only when they clarify. The claim remains steady throughout: Israel's purpose is not privilege but avodah (service) that neighbors can feel-honest measures, clean speech, hospitality, disciplined time, and generosity.
Readers will find a continuous narrative with Chicago-style endnotes, an expanded glossary with transliteration and pronunciation, a visual chronology from Eden to renewal, a biographical index of sages and commentators, a Scripture index, and a study guide for classrooms or reading groups. Theology becomes practice. Hope becomes a habit.
About the author: Menachem Clausen writes as an Orthodox Jewish educator whose work is source-grounded and accessible. He invites honest questions, reads Hebrew and classical texts closely, and insists that holiness be felt as human dignity.
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