44. The Exceptionalism Myth

Parshah Va'etchanan

*Important attribution note: All quotes listed in this article are credited to the Artscroll Stone Edition Chumash. Here is an Extremely Clear Citation so I don’t get in trouble: Nosson Scherman, Hersh Goldwurm, Avie Gold, & Meir Zlotowitz. (2015). The Chumash: the Torah, Haftaros and Five Megillos. Mesorah Publications, Ltd.

Deuteronomy 4:2*

“You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor shall you subtract from it…”

This very clear instruction isn’t followed at all in modern Judaism. The vast majority of modern Judaism’s rules and customs are derived from the Talmud, aka the Oral Law, which was created by rabbis. The Talmud was made up by ordinary, everyday men. Men who, more often than not, disagreed with each other. 

In each of Earth’s religions, roughly 5% is based on the foundational text and dogma. In comparison, the other 95% is based on customs created by men who have a vested interest in maintaining the privileged status their religion afforded them. 

I cannot overemphasize just how much of modern Judaism is made up of the ramblings of random rabbis with zero textual basis. If you’re interested in more proof, Kabbalah provides a surreal example. 

Deuteronomy 4:7-8*

“For which is a great nation that has a God Who is close to it, as is Hashem, our God, whenever we call to Him? And which is a great nation that has righteous decrees and ordinances, such as this entire Torah that I place before you this day?” 

Is there any nation on Earth without pride? Doesn’t every nation believe they’re special? Is there any religion that doesn’t believe their religion is The Right One, the one that brings their people not just close to God, but closEST to God? 

No. This is the toxicity of exceptionalism. In this hyperconnected world, it is quite frankly incredible that we still believe in identity-based exceptionalism, given the ample evidence that every other identity also believes in it. 

What if we are all important, but none of us are special? Every religion is respected, but none are exceptional. God listens to Christians just as He listens to Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus. 

Deuteronomy 4:9*

“Only beware for yourself and greatly beware for your soul, lest you forget the things that your eyes have beheld and lest you remove them from your heart all the days of your life, and make them known to your children’s children.” 

You must fear! If you and your children and your children’s children are not in a constant state of fear, you might slip up!

As the main drivers for self-improvement, fear and shame are valuable human emotions. However, Israeli and religious psychology are perfect examples of fear taken to the extreme. 

Thousands upon thousands of Gazans were slaughtered by Israel. The IDF and its Hannibal Doctrine were responsible for most of the casualties on October 7th. And yet, and yet, Israelis are terrified of Hamas? Israelis live in a constant state of fear? 

Religion’s entire enforcement mechanism hinges upon fear. Your mind turns against you to become a constant judge of your actions. Yes, this can be beneficial; if instilled in the right person, it can drive them to higher moral standards. 

However, there is a ceiling for its usefulness, above which the presence of this much internal fear limits growth. True growth only occurs through rebelliousness. We have to find a balance between fear and rebelliousness. 

Deuteronomy 4:12*

“Hashem spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you were hearing the sound of words, but you were not seeing a likeness, only a sound.” 

It’d be pretty easy to fake God’s speech if no one could see Him. 

Deuteronomy 4:15-19*

“But you shall greatly beware for your souls, for you did not see any likeness on the day Hashem spoke to you at Horeb…lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image… lest you raise your eyes to the heaven and you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars - the entire legion of heaven - and you be drawn astray and bow to them and worship them, which Hashem, your God, has apportioned to all the peoples under the entire heaven!” 

Moses admits the Israelites’ God is not everyone’s God; He’s localized to the Israelites themselves. Sometimes, the Torah frames God in the sense that “our God controls everyone, but only Israel is His chosen nation,” but other times, the Torah frames Him as it did in the passage: “The Israelites chose this specific God to be theirs.” 

Interestingly, Moses draws a comparison between the localized God of the Israelites and the celestial components apportioned to everyone: the sun, moon, and stars. 

Although we have local differences, there are certain things we share. Earth is undergoing a period of seismic disruption precisely because we’re widening our circle of inclusion. We used to belong to tribes. Now, we belong to nations. We’ve reached an inflection point where we must evolve into a global sense of belonging or die trying. If we succeed, eventually, we will need to evolve to belong to the galaxy/universe. 

One of the major dichotomies right now is the tension between globalization and nationalism. Unfortunately, the vast majority of globalist viewpoints come from global capitalists, also known as imperialists. The other side includes proponents of deglobalization and national sovereignty: Russia, China, and many others. 

Neither side has it right. The cat is out of the bag: the global community is already here. Trying to put it back in is never going to happen. 

At the same time, people do have differences! The point is not to hammer the world into one specific image (looking at you, Western nations); the point is to agree on the minimal basic tenets required for being good global citizens while also allowing for cultural autonomy. 

Democracy is a good example. Despite what Western media wants us to believe, Earth has very, very few undemocratic governments. Democracy, in its myriad forms, is something we’ve mostly agreed on. Overall, the trend is clear. 

We have some localized things and some shared things. This is a good thing! We just need to clarify the boundaries between localized and shared. 

Deuteronomy 4:25-29*

“When you beget children and grandchildren and will have been long in the Land, you will grow corrupt and make a carved image… and you will do evil in the eyes of Hashem…

You will surely perish quickly from the Land to which you are crossing the Jordan to possess; you shall not have lengthy days upon it, for you will be destroyed. Hashem will scatter you among the peoples… From there you will seek Hashem, your God, and you will find Him, if you search for Him with all your heart and soul.” 

First of all, my gosh. These poor Israelites with their shitty leaders. This is one of the last times Moses will ever speak to his people, and this is what he says? He curses them?! It reminds me of how Jacob used his deathbed to gripe about and humiliate most of his sons. 

This speech also brings up the question of prophecy. Some prophecies are extremely specific, and it’s frankly wild that they’ve come true. For example, the Hopi prophecy that “the world would be covered in a spider’s web” is amazing when you realize this prophecy happened far before telecommunications, let alone the advent of the internet and its spiderweb icon. 

Then there are prophecies that have technically been fulfilled, but they’ve been fulfilled because humans have forced them. The founding of modern Israel is one such prophecy, although there are many others. 

Considering Israel’s history, Moses sounds prophetic. However, it’s easy to assume that a nation that started with the sword would not be able to last very long in its conquered lands, especially if it continued on the same path. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Deuteronomy 6:5*

“You shall love Hashem, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources.” 

How interesting. All your resources. Why would an all-powerful God need your money? Why would He need a fancy house or gilded instruments? If God is so great, wouldn’t He say, “Keep it for yourself, or better yet, give it to others who need it more”? 

Deuteronomy 6:10-12*

“It shall be that when Hashem, your God, brings you to the Land that Hashem swore to your forefathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you - great and good cities that you did not build, houses filled with every good thing that you did not fill, chiseled cisterns that you did not chisel, orchards and olive trees that you did not plant - and you shall eat and be satisfied, beware for yourself lest you forget Hashem.” 

Sound familiar? In pro-Palestine corners of social media, you hear this a lot: “It didn’t start on October 7th.” It didn’t start in 1948, either. It started thousands of years ago. If you’ve ever seen pictures of elderly Palestinians visiting their previous homes, homes they still have the keys to, only to see them occupied by Jewish settlers, you know exactly what happened during Moses’ time, too. 

Deuteronomy 6:20-21*

“If your child asks you tomorrow, saying, ‘What are the testimonies and the decrees and the ordinances that Hashem, our God, commanded you?’

You shall say to your child, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Hashem took us out of Egypt with a strong hand.’” 

The indoctrination worked. The nearly universally accepted story of Passover is that it’s a celebration of liberation from slavery, not the mass slaughter of millions of Egyptian civilians. 

Deuteronomy 7:1-2*

“When Hashem, your God, will bring you to the Land to which you come to possess it, and He will thrust away many nations from before you… you shall utterly destroy them.” 

Well, there you have it. 

*Again with the Extremely Clear Citation so I don’t get in trouble: Nosson Scherman, Hersh Goldwurm, Avie Gold, & Meir Zlotowitz. (2015). The Chumash : the Torah, Haftaros and Five Megillos. Mesorah Publications, Ltd.