Parashat Nitzavim includes Moses’ exhortation that the Israelite people adhere to their covenant with God; God has chosen the Israelites, and defying this covenant would be a rejection of this expression of divine love. The idea of being a chosen people is also part of the American story, which first found expression as a religious idea during the colonial era, as in the Puritan leader John Winthrop’s famous “City on a Hill” speech. Formally titled “A Model of Christian Charity,” it cites this week’s parasha. Over the centuries, this religious idea has made its way into our civic culture, where it raises challenging questions about what it means to be, or aspire to be, exceptional.
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