Scarsdale Congregational Church

Continuing the dialogue between the congregations of the Scarsdale Synagogue and the Scarsdale Congregational Church, Rabbi Stephen Klein talked with us on Wednesday evening, March 19, 2003, about the meaning of covenant in the Jewish faith.

He said his presentation on March 19 really began when he was serving a synagogue in Cleveland, OH. He was teaching a woman who, in converting to the Jewish faith, was reading and understanding everything he gave to her. Yet one day she said, "Rabbi, I don't understand what binds Jews together." The answer is "covenant" - but what does this word, this concept mean?

The Hebrew word for covenant is b'rit, a word that may come from the word for "ring" or "circle". Rabbi Klein said a covenant is a morally dedicated partnership of mutual obligation. In the Jewish faith, it is a metaphor for the divine/human encounter. It is a relationship that can't be dissolved without both parties dissolving it.

"When God is bound by covenant, God can't act on a whim," Rabbi Klein explained.

God's first covenant was with Noah when God said, "I shall not destroy the world again."

Another early covenant was between Abraham and God. Here God promises to Abraham numerous descendents and the land of Canaan.

The covenant that is the Ten Commandments is a new kind of covenant. Instead of a covenant between God and one other person, this is a covenant between God and a whole people. It is this covenant at Sinai that begins the connectedness of persons of the Jewish faith.

This Sinai covenant has another unique aspect - it is binding on all future generations.

Rabbi Klein explained a ritual that is part of tenth grade confirmation at Scarsdale Synagogue. He has a rock from Mt. Sinai which he passes between the confirmands. He said this ritual touches even the most cynical of the students, for they can "feel" the covenant the rock represents.

In Deuteronomy 7 God makes clear that the Jewish people are "chosen", but they are not "better". Rabbi Klein explained that in the midrash, one of the explanations is that Jews were chosen because they were willing to be chosen. God asked others first, but the Jews were the first to accept. The choice is a mystery, not a reward for excellence. Rabbi Klein also pointed out that anyone can convert to the Jewish faith - and thus become part of "the chosen people".

It was the covenant at Sinai that created the "Jewish people". Before Abraham there were no "Jews". Thus, although Noah had a covenant with God, Noah was not a "Jew".

The Jewish "people as people" began at Sinai. It was there the Jewish people felt a connection with each other and with other generations. This connection lasts until today - and is promised for all the days to come.