RABBI SIMEON KOLKO Messages for balance are offered in the Bible

Discussions of the wisdom of American policy in Iraq often revolve around disparate notions of our proper role in the world. Although there exists a superficial consensus that there are aspects of the American experience and culture which make us unique, significant and profound disagreement erupts when discussing the sources of that uniqueness and its implications for our role in the world.
Those who view our involvement in Iraq as moral and a policy imperative take as a given that our status in the world flows from being a military superpower that is at the same time the leading exporter of freedom and opportunity to those in desperate need of both. The genius of the American system has paved the way for a culture of freedom and creativity, which has unleashed intellectual energy leading to progress in all areas of human endeavor. Many societies in the past have perhaps amassed the capability of wreaking greater havoc on others; other societies have perhaps displayed a more impressive array of intellectual capital at a given point in time. None have combined the ability to project force around the world with an idealistic commitment to well-defined notions of freedom that are characteristic of the American story. It is the willingness to act on the responsibilities conferred by that reality that form the cornerstone of our presence in Iraq.
Opponents of American policy in Iraq recoil in horror when this logic is cited as having a legitimate place in influencing American foreign policy and shaping the conception of our proper role in the world. To some, the idealism of this vision may have been the inspiration for our heroic involvement in World War II. To others, tempered by more recent history, it was the cause of our misadventure in Vietnam. Those who have a more narrow conception of our role in the world do not advocate a retreat form engagement or a return to isolationism. In a dangerous world revolving around the necessity of choosing the lesser evil, the greatest risks we confront flow from the hubris that gives rise to an exaggerated sense of our own power to shape events.
Manifest destiny
In Jewish tradition, one of the most misunderstood and controversial teachings is that God has made a unilateral choice of Israel to be his people. A special destiny awaits fulfillment that redounds to Israel as a people by virtue of divine election. The classic biblical expression of this concept can be found in Leviticus 20:26: "You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and I have set you apart from other peoples to be Mine."
The theology of chosenness expressed in this verse seems to suggest that Israel enjoys God's eternal mercy and care by virtue of a special relationship that is triumphal in nature, conferred at birth and requires nothing in the way of future conduct to sustain it. What is absolutely fascinating is to consider the prophetic message (Haftarah) that the Rabbis chose to accompany these biblical words from Leviticus in the weekly cycle of the Torah reading. Juxtaposed to those words cited above in the public reading of the Bible is the admonition of Amos 9:7 to the Israelites: "To Me, O Israelites, you are just like the Ethiopians."
The prophetic rebuke of Amos is not a slur at the Ethiopians but rather a reminder to Israel that it is a nation among nations. To the extent that in its conduct and deviation from the covenant Israel imitates the tawdry conduct of its neighbors, it enjoys no particular immunity from the consequences of its actions by relying on the false claim that "God and us are tight; he has our back."
Attitude is everything
God is tight with those who cling to him in truth. That sort of relationship with the Almighty cannot be claimed as a personal or collective legacy into which one is born. It is, rather, an awesome responsibility that can be earned through the hard currency of adherence to a particular code of conduct. Kept separate, the words from Leviticus and Amos cancel each other's truth concerning election; brought together, they revise one another reciprocally and suggest a more inward and humble theology of chosenness.
If we in the United States cling to a belief that we have been elected to a special destiny among the nations, which is unilaterally imposed and fixed for all times, the result will continue to be tragedies like the horrible abuse of Iraqi prisoners, committed in our name by soldiers whose vision and conduct had become tainted by the sin of hubris. If we understand that our ability to be a force for good in the world is a function of continued fidelity to the values of our democratic culture, we will be in a position to export not only the products we create but a sense of hope and optimism that are the true ingredients for fundamental social change.
XRabbi Simeon Kolko is rabbi at Beth Israel Temple Center in Warr