In Judaism, "chosenness" is the belief that the
Jews, via descent from the ancient
Israelites, are the
chosen people, i.e. chosen to be in a
covenant with
God. The idea of the Israelites being chosen by God is found most directly in the
Book of Deuteronomy as the verb
bahar (), and is alluded to elsewhere in the
Hebrew Bible using other terms such as "holy people". Much is written about these topics in
rabbinic literature. The three largest Jewish denominations—
Orthodox Judaism,
Conservative Judaism and
Reform Judaism—maintain the belief that the Jews have been chosen by God for a purpose. Sometimes this choice is seen as charging the Jewish people with a specific mission — to be a light unto the nations, and to exemplify the
covenant with God as described in the Torah.