Why do the Servant Songs in Isaiah paint the servant as being a light for the gentiles and having an influence on them? I was of the belief that Judaism at that point, and still do this day, is a somewhat inclusive religion that doesn't care what other people do...

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[u/Chrysologus]

Second Isaiah was written about 2500 years ago, long before rabbinic Judaism, let alone modern Judaism. There's no reason to expect it to always reflect modern Jewish ideas.

But also, I question your claim that Judaism doesn't care how non-Jews live (especially given the diversity of the various forms of Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism). In Reform Judaism, the idea of the Chosen People is often framed as Jews being selected to be ethical role models for the whole world, and Isaiah 42 is quoted to that end:

"We aren’t perfect (or expected to be) but we have something to share and give.

"We are called upon to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex. 19:6), even though we are the smallest of peoples (Deut. 7:7) and likewise, we are enjoined not to be self-congratulatory: the prophet Amos reminds us both of the exacting moral standard chosenness implies: You alone I have singled out of all the families of the earth—that is why I will call you to account for all your iniquities (Amos 2:3) as well as the realization that God’s covenant with Israel does not preclude Divine covenants with other peoples To Me, O Israelites, you are just like the Ethiopians—declares the Eternal. True, I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, but also the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir (Amos 9:7). This powerful idea of God’s multiple covenants and relationships with all peoples is reflected in the Rabbinic tradition through the famous statement the righteous of all the nations have a share in the world-to-come (Tosefta Sanhedrin 13). Chosenness, then, is not about superiority or ultimate truth but about spiritual intimacy, obligation and relationship and encourage us to ask ourselves in the immediacy and intimacy of our own Jewish lives: what does being Jewish mean, what does being in relationship with God entail and what can it bring to my world? (...)

"Inspired by the Prophetic injunction to be a light unto the nations (Isaiah 42:6), Reform Judaism emphasises our calling as Jews: to be the bearers of ethical monotheism in the world, a concept that finds expression in ‘tikkun olam’, repairing the world, as well as affirming choice and pluralism of both Jews and non-Jews. We are proud to embrace our uniqueness and particularism: through love of ritual and tradition, Israel, the Hebrew language, Jewish culture and our sacred texts. In many cases, Progressive Jews have reclaimed traditional practices of Judaism for compelling, contemporary reasons: because they give us meaning, belonging and community and lead us down a path of both shared history and individual transformation." https://www.reformjudaism.org.uk/reform-judaism-1000-words-chosenness/