"We ARE the chosen people." So claim Postville Jews.

In Postville, Iowa, a group of Jews have descended on rural Iowa, German Lutheran country, and reopened a closed slaughterhouse , reviving a declining community.  But in the process of economic progress, a clash of cultures took place.

These Jews were ultraorthodox Jews, Hasidic Jews, many from urban New York.  The cultural clash was a religio-cultural clash, unresolvable, because both groups were self-righteous and ethnocentric.  My wife's father came from the German Lutheran clan.

In the OT, Hebrews were actually chosen by God to be a servant people, to bring the Messiah who would bless all peoples, Jew and Gentile.  But somewhere along the way, the divine purpose was hijacked.  The servant people became the superior people, an ethnocentric people, a separate people, a self-righteous people, a dangerous people.

In Luke 11, Jesus describes this perversion of purpose.  He presents the Pharisees as "full of greed. . . . neglected justice and the love of God."

The book Postville was written by a University of Iowa English professor who himself was a Jew, a cultural Jew more than a religious Jew.  Here is how he describes Postville:

"These Hasidim were different from the locals, yes, but they were also different from newcomers anywhere.  Generally, newcomers are eager to assimilate to a new culture.  That's why they came in the first place.  But instead of arriving at the lowest rung of the economic ladder, these Jews had arrived already at the top.  The Jews who settled in Postville came from cities, and many brought with them large sums of money.  They renovated and transformed fine old Postville homes, adding bedrooms, remodeling kitchens, as per kosher requirements, with two sinks, two cupboards, two of everything so that meat and and dairy products never mixed.. . . . they seemed to go out of their way to avoid the locals.  At first, the locals welcomed the Jews, but even the simplest offer was spurned.  The locals quickly discovered that the Jews wouldn't even look at them.  They refused to acknowledge even the presence of anyone not Jewish. . . . To remain pure, the Jews would not allow their children to go to the Postville public schools."

Separateness carried to an extreme, prevented even acts of love.

In some ways, the Hasidic Jews remind me of many white evangelicals---self-righteous and ethnocentric.  Is this part of the reason why 80 percent voted for Trump?