Revelation also to the Gentiles?
A secular question…
Does Judaism have any reference to divine revelation among Gentiles?
If not, are the Gentiles, who were never exposed to divine revelation or to Jews or to any monotheistic faith, human beings for whom God has no purpose, similar to animals?
Or, is there a belief that God works in a compartmentalized manner, revealing Himself separately to different tribes?
I don’t know what “in Judaism” means. There are very few Torah sources that are considered consensus and everyone agrees on them. There are many opinions and approaches from different people.
For example, Rabbi Kook, in his book The Confusions of the Generation, raises the possibility that religious revelations to Christians and Muslims did exist and that they were assigned their own missions. But as mentioned, there are many approaches and opinions.
There are, of course, divine revelations to the Gentiles in the Torah itself. Adam the First, Balaam, Pharaoh, and more. I assume you mean the revelation of the giving of a new religion, but this is probably something almost no one will recognize, since the revelation at Mount Sinai is also addressed to the Gentiles. Although there is a difference in the role (in the number of commandments) imposed on them, this is also true within Judaism between priests and non-priests.
Beyond that, animals also have a role for which they were created. You could perhaps say that their role is to serve creation or humanity (and opinions differ on that too), but this is also true for each of us, Gentiles and Jews. The difference is only in the nature of the service required of each.
I think a more logical way to look at it is to talk about the purpose of creation for all of humanity, or even the universe, rather than for an individual person. This greater purpose is served by everyone in their own way and mission.
As mentioned, there are many possibilities.
Thank you very much for the answer!
I also wanted to ask, more logically -
If we accept that there is a God who created the world, and it is plausible that he had a specific purpose in doing so, and it is logical that if he has a specific purpose, then he would reveal himself and convey his binding instructions to humans -
Why would he only reveal himself to such a small group of all humans?
If the revelation at Mount Sinai also addresses the Gentiles, how were Gentiles on the other side of the world supposed to hear about it, and know what the nature of the service required of them/what their mission is?
Or is it assumed that this is a revelation that occurred before the ancient humans left Africa and spread to the rest of the world?
I don't see the difficulty. First, he chose that group to lead the mission in the world, so he reveals himself to it. In this group too, it was revealed mainly to our Lord Moses, who would pass it on to them. Second, he has policy considerations that I don't have to understand. To whom and how to reveal himself is his consideration. I once gave an example of a broken clock. There is the evidence for the existence of God by Reverend Paley: If we saw a clock lying on the floor, it would be clear to us that something so complex was created by someone and not alone. Therefore, the world, which is more complex, must have been created by someone. Think about what would happen if the clock were broken, or a few minutes behind. I would wonder why the omnipotent watchmaker made it that way. Does that mean there is no watchmaker (that the clock was created alone)? Of course not. There is a watchmaker because such a clock is very complex, but this watchmaker's head is probably different from mine (especially since he is omnipotent and omniscient, so the pretense of understanding all his considerations seems excessive). The same is true regarding the form of revelation. Even if you think it would have made more sense to make a different revelation, the obvious conclusion is that his mind is different from yours.
The Gentiles were supposed to hear about it from us and/or seek for themselves the task that is expected to be assigned to them by their Creator. If there are some who have not heard about it, it only means that they or we are above us in the task. But why go to distant places? After all, even among the people of Israel today there are many who have not heard about the revelation and do not believe in it. It only means that we have not fulfilled our role properly. And it also means that people have a choice, and even if they have heard about the revelation, they can not accept this information or the commitment to it. The sons of those who chose not to hear about the revelation are already captive infants (not guilty that their fathers sinned, or considered wrongly).
How did Gentiles who had never experienced the revelation and had never heard of it, neither they nor their ancestors, know that there was one and only external Creator for them, who had certain expectations of them? Is it possible to grasp in human consciousness both the existence of the one Creator and the mission He assigned you, without revelation?
And if they were later told about the revelation, how did they know that it was a true source and not false prophets, without a status of revelation of their own?
I agree that I have no way of knowing God's considerations, but I would understand the considerations of Gentiles who would fear a lie.
I wrote that originally some of them did hear and chose to ignore it, and so their children no longer know about it. Just like the Jews. For example, all Christians and Muslims accept the status of Mount Sinai. And even those who have not heard of it are the result of abdication of duty.
Of course, no one should come to the conclusions on their own that the Creator is one and that He wants us to put on tefillin. This was conveyed to us in revelation.
If they are afraid of lying, this is of course a possibility, and then they will be coerced. Just like the Jews who are afraid of lying in the transmission of tradition and information about revelation.
I will ask about extreme cases -
Are there Indian tribes in the jungles isolated villages in China Hindus in India, etc., whose ancestors were not present in the vicinity of Mount Sinai. They are too far away and too isolated, and have never heard of the idea of the one God. Is their current situation the result of the misappropriation of the role of all monotheists? And as a result, the ignorant have lost the chance to understand God's purpose for their very existence?
Is there a Jewish missionary whose role is to correct this situation?
I have no idea. One thing is clear, in their situation no one will come to them with claims. It must be remembered that before the establishment of Mount Sinai, many generations of people lived when there was no revelation at all. There are maturation processes. And perhaps with these distant ones, maturation is later.
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