I do not mean to imply that holiness is in any way restricted to one people or that the approach to the Divine is not equally available to all of mankind.
It is only that the Jews undertake a greater burden,
With the acceptance of the Torah as an inner way of life, as an inner map, they encumber themselves with the responsibility and obligation of a priesthood not confined to a particular time or place but for all of life.
From this perspective, the whole world is a holy temple, and one that has to be constantly purified and sanctified anew.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz