covenant
A Nation As Bad As Sodom??
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Every year, just before Rosh Hashana (Hebrew New Year), I ask myself why I should work so hard at repenting. How bad were my sins really? I look around and figure that I am no worse than any of my neighbors. And...
A Renewed Covenant with an Unexpected Partner
I bought my house a few years ago. I understand that buying a home is serious business but I was totally unprepared for the thick pile of pages I had to sign. When I finished signing one pile of documents, the bank officer produced...
Why Were the Jewish People Given the Land of Israel?
Who wouldn’t want free real estate? So when God first approached Abraham and said he was giving his descendants the land of Israel, of course, he said ‘yes!’ But why did God make the offer? Was it because the Jewish people were so...
God’s New Covenant With Israel
With the Exodus, God began to manifest his covenantal promise to the patriarchs. From the outset, God told Abraham that his descendants would be “strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred...
Shabbat as a Sign and a Covenant
Shabbat, the Sabbath, is the seventh day of the week and the culmination of creation. Exodus (31:12-17) gives it an additional special meaning, describing it as “a sign” and “eternal covenant” between God and the Children of Israel. Not...
The Covenant at Sinai
The Exodus from Egypt would not have been complete without entering into a covenant with God. In this covenant, the nation of Israel swears to keep the Torah. Just like the covenant made with Abraham, the covenant at Sinai was sealed with...
Encountering the Covenant Between God and Noah
Sondra Oster Baras of Christian Friends of Israeli Communities explains the significance of a Biblical covenant, which is a two-way street that God makes with humanity. Noah is told, “be fruitful and multiply” - to have children, many...
The Portion of Nitzavim
This week’s portion is one of the shortest in the Torah, with a mere 40 verses (next week’s Vayelech has only 30). Even when the two are combined, which happens most years, they number fewer verses than most other single portions. The...
