Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg
The Torah portion of Yitro is the portion where Bnei Yisrael is chosen. "You will be a treasure for me from among the other nations" [Shemot 19:5]. "And you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" [19:6]. However, no explanation is ever given why the Holy One, Blessed be He, specifically chose us.
In addition, it seems that there is an especially lenient attitude towards Bnei Yisrael. "You are sons of your G-d" [Devarim 14:1]. "You are called sons in any case, even if you engage in idol worship" (Kidushin 36a). When the elders of Yisrael told Yechezkel that they would be severed from the Holy One, Blessed be He, because of their idol worship, he replied: "What you are thinking will not happen, that you say, we will be like the other nations, like the families of the lands, which worship wood and stone. I swear by My Name that I will come at you with a mighty hand... and I will rule over you." [30:23]. When else have we ever heard about a covenant where one side is forced to accept the agreement?
The Ramban asks why the Torah writes at length about the righteousness of Noach but does not discuss the same traits of Avraham. The Maharal replies that the Torah hides Avraham's piety on purpose, so that the choice of Avraham and Bnei Yisrael should not be considered love that depends on an external factor (such that if the factor is removed the love will cease). But this leaves us with a stronger question than ever: Just why did G-d choose the nation, if not for their good deeds?
The Maharal explains his answer to this question at length in Chapter 11 of his book "Netzach Yisrael" – the eternity of Yisrael. He lists three main factors:
The world cannot exist without the Divine Torah, since human mentality cannot transform a stone heart into a heart of flesh, as is noted by Rav Kook.
In order for a Torah of G-d to exist in the world, it needs a nation which will receive it and implement it as part of its humanity, and especially in its national life, so that the Torah will not remain as a book lying idle on a shelf.
For this purpose, there must be a nation with Divine traits that correspond to the morality of the Torah. Otherwise, the Torah would be a foreign element which would not be incorporated into the life of the nation, such that it would not continue to implement it and would not remain dedicated to its observance.
Such a nation did not exist among all the nations of the world, and it was therefore necessary to create one that meets these criteria. As is written, "I created this nation for Me, it will tell My praises" [Yeshayahu 43:21]. It was planned in advance to create such a nation, which would sing the praises of G-d. It is not right to think that we were chosen because we were the only ones who agreed to accept the Torah. It is the other way around – The Torah was given to us because we were the chosen ones. But in the above verse, the prophet uses the term "created" instead of " chosen." In a similar way, in the blessings for the Torah we thank G-d, who "chose us from among all the nations," and therefore, because of that, "He gave us the Torah." The fact that we received the Torah is not what makes us different from the other nations, rather since we are different we were given the Torah.
The situation doesn't depend on our will. The covenant has been forced on us, it is the reason that we were created. We cannot escape from our mission. Even such sins as idol worship will not free us from our appointed task. "What you are thinking will not happen!"
