This is the way in which the Jewish religion has captured all of mankind…
As we know, the truth is not always in the hands of the majority. Many times, it is the
minority that is right and the majority that is wrong. And yet, the well-known principle is that truth will always prevail. But the Torah also says: “Achrei Rabim L’Hatot”; the majority rules. From here we see that the majority is still a factor is determining the truth.
It seems that although the majority may hold on to a certain falsehood for some time,
the truth will ultimately prevail. In light of this, we frequently hear the question; how could it be that Judaism remained the religion of the few while other religions have managed to take over most of humanity? If Judaism is the religion of truth, then mankind should have recognized its authenticity over the years. But in reality, Judaism remained the religion of a small nation while billions of people believe in other faiths.
A Universal Message
The answer to this question can be divided into two parts: First, Judaism, unlike other religions, never saw itself as a faith for all of mankind. The 613 commandments were given exclusively to Jews – it is even forbidden for non-Jews to observe these laws.
In addition, Judaism does not have any interest in encouraging conversion, and when a non-Jew expresses his desire to join the Jewish people, we are commanded to try and reject him, and only if firm and sincere intention is expressed, then we may accept him.
The second part of the answer is, that the truth of Judaism has reached all of mankind. There are parts of Judaism that solely belong to the people of Israel, and parts that are universal. Belief in one God and the rest of the general precepts known as the “Seven Laws of Noah”, are intended for every human being on the face of the earth. So the fact is, that these ideas have certainly originated from Judaism and have been dispersed among humanity as a whole.
The revelation at Mount Sinai took place 3300 years ago. That is where we received the Torah. This was at a time when the whole world was worshipping idols. The Jews were the only people who believed in one God; a God without a body or the image of a body.
This was an ideology that humanity was unwilling to accept at that time. It wasn’t until much later that the other monotheistic religions came about.
They took the idea of belief in one God, and spread it among hundreds of millions of people. These religions have clearly altered the basic faith and formed their own interpretations, including many distortions. But practically speaking, this is the way in which the belief in one Creator became a universal concept.
This is how the truth ultimately prevailed. The universal aspect of Jewish faith has
in fact reached the consciousness of all humanity. We are no longer the minority in our belief in one God. The world has purged itself from pagan ideologies and has come to accept the idea of the oneness of God.
Straightening the Path
We certainly do not need the world’s support in practicing our faith, yet we do have some interest in it. Firstly, we were commanded at Mount Sinai to spread the Seven Noahide Laws to all of humanity. Secondly, this is a part of the mission that is expected to take place during the days of the Messiah. One of the things that the Messiah is supposed to accomplish according to Maimonides is: “To correct the entire world so we can all serve God in unison.”
The more accustomed humanity becomes to this idea, the more we know that the days of the Messiah are nearing (Please refer to the uncensored version of the Rambam’s Laws of kings, chapter 11, where he discusses the role of the other religions in ‘correcting the path’ for the time of the Messiah). In recent years, we have witnessed before our very eyes a collapse of another obstacle that stood in the way of the belief in one G-d: Communism, that espouses atheism and absolute heresy, collapsed like a house of cards. This ‘idol’ too, was shattered to pieces. Now the world is ready to recognize the Creator and His leader, and is only waiting for the Messiah to do the job. This mission that began about 3300 years ago, is approaching its completion. May it come speedily in our days!
