e mental horizon of the period were narrow or broad.

8. It is true that the thought of Israel's calling and mission in
world-history first became clear when its prophets and sages attained a
view of great world-movements from the lofty watch-tower of the centuries,
so that they could take cognizance of the varying relations of Judaism to
the civilized peoples around. The summons of the Jewish people to be
heralds of truth and workers for peace is first mentioned in Isaiah and
Micah,(1039) while only in the great movement of nations under Cyrus did
the seer of the Exile recognize the peculiar mission of Israel in the
history of the world. If in gloomy periods the outlook became dark, still
the hope for the fulfillment of this mission was never entirely lost. In
fact, the contact of the Jewish people with Greek culture after Alexander
the Great gave new power and fresh impetus to the conception of Israel's
mission,(1040) as the rich Hellenistic literature and the vision of Daniel
in chapter VII testify. In fact, Abraham, the ancestor of the Jewish
people, became for the earliest Haggadists a wandering missionary and a
great preacher of the unity of God, and his picture was the pattern for
both Paul and Mohammed.(1041) The election of Israel is clearly and
unequivocally expressed by Rabbi Eleazar ben Pedath in the words, "God
sent Israel among the heathen nations that they may win a rich harvest of
proselytes, for, as God said through Hosea, 'I will sow her unto Me in the
land,' so He wishes from this seed to reap a bountiful and world-wide
harvest."(1042)

9. In the Middle Ages, when the historical viewpoint and the idea of human
progress were both lacking, the belief in the mission of Israel was
confined to the Messianic hope. Both Jehuda ha Levi and Maimonides,
however, regard Christianity and Islam as preparatory steps for the
Messiah, who is to unify the world through the knowledge of God.(1043)
"The work of the Messiah is the fruit, of which Israel will be universally
acknowledged as the root," says the Jewish sage in the Cuzari. Therefore
he rightly accepts the election of Israel as a fundamental doctrine of
belief. Modern times, however, with their awakened historical sense and
their idea of progress, have again placed in the foreground the belief in
the election and mission of Israel. The founders of reform Judaism have
cast this ancient doctrine in a new form. On the one hand, they have
reinterpreted the Messian