Being Jewish means that we have obligations from the moment we open our eyes to the moment we go to sleep, from the day we are born to the day we are buried.
They never leave us, not for one moment.
There is no time in which we can say, “Okay, dear God, now we’ll part ways. We’ll meet again sometime.”
Being a Jew means that God intervenes in our pocketbooks, in our kitchens, in our bedrooms.
It doesn’t mean that we’re not allowed to do anything.
We’re allowed to do lots of things – but always with the notion that Somebody is there, and He’s keeping count.
Take the kitchen. Why should God care what we do with milk and meat?
Why should He care if we eat a small piece of bacon, a bit of catfish?
But He interferes and He says “That – yes,” and “That – no.”
Why did God choose us?
In my opinion, God chose us for our stamina and stubbornness.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz