In this debate, sociologist John Murray Cuddihy criticizes any group that claims a sense of uniqueness and lists problematic—if unintended—consequences of Jewish chosenness. Rabbi Greenberg concedes some of Professor Cuddihy’s points but rejects the modern dichotomy of universalism (giving up distinctiveness) versus chosenness (when viewed as a form of superiority). Rabbi Greenberg contends that universalism can be pathological and points out that a contributing factor in the Holocaust, a uniquely modern catastrophe, was an extreme form of universalism that could not tolerate any form of group identity. He concludes that Jewish chosenness does not deny the chosenness of other people and says that the great error of Christianity was the belief that only one people (Christian) could claim itself as the true chosen people.

Two sides
side one – :41
side two – 1:02