The Covenant at Sinai (Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B): Revision Note

Nature & history of the covenant at Sinai

• A covenant is a binding agreement between two parties 

• For Jews, it refers to the everlasting agreement between God and humans

  • This is known as brit olam

• The Mosaic covenant was the agreement between God and the Jewish people given to Moses at Mount Sinai

  • Before this, covenants had also been made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

• Moses is regarded as the greatest prophet in Judaism

• Moses was called by God to lead the Jewish people out of their slavery in Egypt to the promised land

• Following the events which led to the Jews being freed, God appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai to make the covenant 

• This shekhinah is when God gave Moses the initial laws, the Decalogue, on two tablets of stone

• These were to be kept in the Ark of the Covenant, which should be kept in the tabernacle

• The Ten Commandments were the first of the 613 mitzvot or commandments which formed the Torah, the law that all the Jewish people must keep as their part of this covenant

• Moses also received the oral Torah at this time (later written down as the Talmud)

• The promise made was that if the people kept God’s laws, he would look after them as a holy nation

• As part of keeping the Mosaic covenant, the Jewish people would also fulfil their role of bringing the whole world to worship God

The role of Moses

• Moses is essential to the Jewish people receiving the covenant because he was the recipient of it

• He was the person who experienced the shekhinah on Mount Sinai

• Jews believe that Moses is the only person to have ever witnessed God face-to-face

• God made the covenant with Moses, and Moses was responsible for:

  • delivering it to the Jewish people

  • explaining it to them

  • leading them to adopt it and follow the laws

The importance of the covenant for Jews today

• The Torah given to Moses remains the basis for Jewish living today

• All of the laws Jews keep today are based on the Mosaic covenant

  • Even though there are many Jewish traditions, including Reform, Orthodox, Hasidic, and Ultra-Orthodox, all of these are based on differing interpretations of how to observe the same Mosaic covenant

• Jews believe that if they keep the mitzvot in the Torah, they will be blessed by God and remain as God’s people, but that if they break them they can be punished

• It is keeping to the covenant that marks Jews out from Gentiles

• Jews will study the Torah and learn of its importance from childhood 

• The gift of the Torah is celebrated each year at the festival of Shavuot

The Ten Commandments or Decalogue

• The Ten Commandments are also known by Jews as the Decalogue

• They are ten of the 613 commandments or mitzvot given to Moses by God

• They are regarded as special because they are to be universally kept by all Jews: they apply to men, women, and children

• Some of the other mitzvot are only to be kept by certain members of the religion

The importance of the Decalogue in Jewish life today

• The first commandment, ‘You shall have no other gods before me’ is important because it means that there is only one God

  • Jewish people will:

    • pray to the one God three times each day, and when they say grace before and after meals

    • touch the mezuzah when they enter and leave rooms, reminding them of the shema, which reminds them that God is one: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one’

    • Wear the tefillin (men) which contains the shema

• The second commandment, ‘You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath’, means that Jewish people should not make any idols to worship

  • Jewish people:

    • will not have any form of statue or carving in their homes or in the synagogue that might resemble an idol

• The third commandment, ‘You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God’, is important because it protects the name of God

  • Jewish people:

    • will not use God’s name disrespectfully or in any form of swearing

    • may say ‘the Almighty’ rather than speak the name of God

    • may write G—d or L—d in place of God or Lord

    • Will always write the name God told Moses, Jahweh, as JHWH

• The fourth commandment, ‘Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy’ means that the Sabbath, the seventh day of each week is a day of rest

  • Jewish people:

    • will keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work from sunset on Friday until the stars appear on Saturday

    • interpret 'work 'in varying ways. Orthodox Jews have very strict rules about what ‘work’ is

• The fifth commandment, ‘Honour your father and your mother,’ is important because it shows the importance of family life and relationships to God

  • Jewish people:

    • will try to be good in their family life

    • will try to raise their children to be good Jews

    • will support the elderly members of the family or community, for example, by supporting Jewish Care in the UK, a charity providing care and community for elderly and disabled people

• The other five commandments relate to moral decisions that Jews have to make throughout their lives

• They provide guidance on how to interact with other people in a moral way, encouraging followers to reject violence and materialism and embrace marriage and family life