The ancient rabbinic metaphor comparing Israel to a dove offers surprising insights into contemporary debates about Jewish identity and chosenness. Through exegetical analysis of rabbinic texts, particularly a midrash on Song of Songs, two competing paradigms emerge: one where Jews actively choose God through deeds and obedience, and another where divine selection transcends human agency. The dove metaphor illuminates three critical dimensions of chosenness: resignation amid historical suffering, humility that prevents hierarchical comparisons between Jews and non-Jews, and the recognition that Jewish particularity serves universal ends. This theological tension appears even in biblical distinctions between Jacob and Israel as representations of active versus passive religious identity. The analysis reveals that the passive model of chosenness, embodied in the dove metaphor, provides valuable resources for modern Jewish self-understanding by promoting theological humility, encouraging intra-Jewish pluralism, and fostering non-chauvinistic interfaith relationships. Embracing chosenness as divine gift rather than human achievement ultimately offers a constructive framework for Jewish identity in today's pluralistic world, counteracting tendencies toward religious arrogance while preserving distinctive Jewish commitments.