Guide to Hosting a Sapir Salon

• Before reading this essay, how did you understand the notion of “Jewish chosenness”? To what extent, were you comfortable or not with the concept?
• What do the many competing Biblical portrayals of chosenness (e.g. conditional vs.eternal; an established fact vs. spiritual ambition) reveal about the nature of the Jewish relationship with God?
• If chosenness is ultimately mysterious and unknowable – and therefore, a lesson in humility – what does our tradition expect us to
  do with that designation?
• Taubes distinguishes between “being chosen” and “achieving greatness.” How do you understand the distinction? And how does it impact your understanding of the notion of “Jewish chosenness” moving forward? Is this a binary that you’ve considered in the past?

Read Taubes’s article here.

• Have you ever thought of Jewish chosenness in this way before? Before reading this article, how would you have defined the meaning of ‘the chosen people’? Would you define the term differently now, and if so, how?
• In your view, does this article question the claim that the Jews are in fact chosen by God? Does it offer evidence for that claim? Both? Or neither?
• Brodsky’s argument relies on archaeological evidence from ancient times. Do you think it has any relevance to what Jews, both inside of Israel and out, are experiencing today?
• Have you encountered the accusation that Jewish chosenness is a form of Jewish Supremacy? Do you think the historical context this essay offers helps to reassess that charge? How or how not?

Read Brodsky’s article here.

• Wolfowicz proposes that antisemitism is not an aberration, but an expression of chosenness — a marker of Jewish difference that cannot be escaped or effectively confronted. How does this idea sit with you?
• The author asserts, based on a recent survey of 10,000 Jews, that combatting antisemitism has “now become the dominant frame of Jewish discourse.” Do you agree or disagree with that framing, and what do you think are the implications of that dynamic for Jewish communities in the United States?
• Has antisemitism shaped how you understand your Jewish identity — either by forcing confrontation, or by motivating deeper connection? How do we foster a connection to Judaism that is not tied reflexively to the reemergence of antisemitism?
• If antisemitism is, as the essay suggests, a kind of ‘alarm,’ then Judaism offers the tools to respond — not with protest, but with purpose. In a time of rapid technological change and cultural uncertainty, what Jewish practices, values, or ideas help you stay grounded?

Read Wolfowicz’s article here.

• Do you agree with the premise of the essay that Jews have a special calling, which is to make the world think and “repeatedly reshape the world’s understanding of what it is and what it can become”?
• What do you make of the assertion that Jewish achievement is rooted more in culture and historical experience than in innate ability?
• Stephens states that this success is often a “subject of pride, controversy, misgiving, anxiety, denial, misunderstanding, and calumny.” Do you identify with any one of these reactions?
• In what ways does the experience of Jews in the Diaspora, including persecution and marginalization, contribute to the development of a distinctive Jewish intellectual tradition and history of excellence?

Read Stephens’s article here.