Jewish Covenants

In Judaism, covenant refers to the agreement between God and the people Israel, beginning with God’s promises to Abraham, enacted at Sinai through the giving of Torah, affirmed by Esther and Mordechai during the Purim story, and depicted in many legends throughout Jewish history. The covenant, or brit, represents both personal and collective relationships and the obligations of those relationships.In this month’s Sh’ma, writers explore their covenantal relationships with God and also with a Judaism without God. They trace the concentric circles of responsibility in building community, the guarded welcome of society’s outcasts within community, and the establishment of a brit between a community and its professional leadership. We share three explorations of covenantal theology, several pieces on covenant as ritual and on covenant as the obligation to pursue justice, and one article on the historical covenant of American civil religion.