SECTION 1 JUDAISM- TOPIC 2.1.5 THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM Flashcards
The nature and history of the Abrahamic
Covenant
A thousand years before Moses, the Torah says that God called Abraham to leave his family in Iraq and travel to Canaan to worship the one true God.
What did God say to Abraham?
I will make you a great nation and I will bless you
In a second appearance, God promised
-the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants
-maid, Hagar, to have a surrogate child who was named
Ishmael, but Sarah found it difficult to accept Ishmael
-God told Abraham that Sarah would have a child in her old age – Isaac
Who did God make the covenant Brit Milah with?
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with Abraham and Isaac
God said to Abraham
“Every male among you shall be circumcised.”
References of the importance if brit milah
-It is appropriate that a bodily sign of Israel’s commitment to God throughout the generations should be on that part of the male anatomy which will create the future generations.
-Man should not be satisfied with his imperfect condition. Circumcision makes a perfect male without the useless foreskin and Jewish men should try to perfect themselves and serve God with every part of their body.
How do modern Jews feel about the brit milah
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the Mosaic Covenant that is important for Jewish people, not the Abrahamic one. They do not circumcise
their children because the Torah prohibits marking or altering the human body:
“You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh”
Why is the Abrahamic Covenant important for Jews today?
Most Jewish baby boys are circumcised, usually at eight days old. This often entails a special brit milah ceremony when a mohel circumcises the boy, and the father promises to bring the boy up in the Jewish faith
and thanks God for circumcision
The importance of the Abrahamic covenant can be seen in the increasing popularity of the brit chayim (covenant of life) ceremony for Jewish baby girls among Reform and Liberal Jews.
