Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Rabbi Yisrael Lipschutz (1782–1860) wrote a seminal work on the Mishna, known as the Tiferet Yisrael. This chapter covers his commentary to two specific sayings of the Mishna, one in tractate Avot and one in tractate Sanhedrin. From these comments one can piece together Rabbi Lipschutz’s model of the election, which we dub the Two-Track Model of the election. According to this theory, God wanted humanity to serve him along two distinct, but equally worthy tracks: a gentile and a Jewish track. Each track comes with its own benefits and its own drawbacks, and each track compliments the other. This chapter subjects this model to scrutiny and raises a central concern: how does Jewish law, and its minute details, help the Jews to play the special role that Rabbi Lipschutz thinks they’re called upon to play?</jats:p>