So, from a non-Jewish perspective, the "why take on so many extra laws" argument makes a lot of sense. But I assumed that seeing the laws as a burden would be part of the Western view of legalism rather than the Jewish one. I mean, if there's nothing better about following those laws than NOT following them, then why do Jewish people follow them? OK, see #3, you follow them because that's the path G-d chose for you... but why would G-d choose an extra-hard path for some people if there's an easier path that's just as good? If, like Shmuel says, living the laws in the Torah makes G-d manifest in the world, then isn't following those laws better than just following the Noahide ones? Or is part of being the Chosen People that only a certain percentage of the population needs to follow those laws to make G-d manifest? (The analogy that comes to mind is the Christian imagery of the church as the leaven that affects the whole dough, but given the Hebrew Bible leaven imagery I don't imagine it translates well.)
Re: Paths
So, from a non-Jewish perspective, the "why take on so many extra laws" argument makes a lot of sense. But I assumed that seeing the laws as a burden would be part of the Western view of legalism rather than the Jewish one. I mean, if there's nothing better about following those laws than NOT following them, then why do Jewish people follow them? OK, see #3, you follow them because that's the path G-d chose for you... but why would G-d choose an extra-hard path for some people if there's an easier path that's just as good? If, like Shmuel says, living the laws in the Torah makes G-d manifest in the world, then isn't following those laws better than just following the Noahide ones? Or is part of being the Chosen People that only a certain percentage of the population needs to follow those laws to make G-d manifest? (The analogy that comes to mind is the Christian imagery of the church as the leaven that affects the whole dough, but given the Hebrew Bible leaven imagery I don't imagine it translates well.)