Law and Covenant Flashcards
Describe the covenant with Abraham.
-The covenant was made between God and Abraham. It established the giving of the Promised Land to Abraham’s descendants.
-God also promised Abraham that he would have many descendants, “I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky.” He promised to make a great nation out of Abraham and that many kings would descend from him.
-The final part of the covenant was the promise of Blessing in which God promised to bless Abraham and the families of Earth through him.
-As a sign of the covenant, God gave Abraham the rite of circumcision to show the relationship between God and humanity.
Describe the covenant with Moses.
-The covenant was made between God and Moses on Mt Sinai. It reflects the special relationship between God and Moses as he is the only person believed to have spoken to God face-to-face.
-Within the covenant, God promised to set the Jews free from slavery, make a nation of priests and make the Jews His chosen people.
-As part of the covenant, God also gave the Jews the ten commandments to uphold such as, “Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.” The importance of observing and keeping the Sabbath was stated as a sign of the covenant.
Describe Reform Jewish beliefs about the 613 mitzvot.
-Believe the Mitzvot should be adapted to modern life. Clauses 3 and 4 of the Pittsburgh Platform state “We accept as binding only the moral laws and maintain only such ceremonies as elevate and sanctify our lives.”
-Focus on maintaining the moral principles of the Torah and adapting Jewish law to contemporary realities. Although these laws contain many divine truths and it remains the foundation of their religion.
-It is still more important to choose which mitzvot to follow as some are no longer relevant in modern life. Humans have been given free will, so they believe we have the ability to choose.
Give an influence and vonvincing argument for Reform beliefs about the mitzvot.
-Influence: won’t follow the ultra strict laws of Judaism.
-These could include not following all kosher dietary laws as some of them were designed to keep the Israelites safe in the desert.
-However, they may still circumcise their children as it is a sign of the covenant and a part of Jewish identity.
-Convincing: rules such as ‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard,’ are not a priority in religious practice nor does it capture the essence of Judaism.
-This is unlike beliefs such as Tikkun Olam, the duty to heal the world which better represents Judaism.
Describe Orthodox Jewish beliefs about the 613 mitzvot.
-Hold the view that the Torah is a direct revelation of God, because of this, Orthodox Jews consider it their duty to obey 613 Mitzvot contained within it.
-Moreover, the Mitzvot were given directly by God to Moses so are divine. The Rabbi Boteach claims, ‘When God gives commandments, they are universally applicable in every age and at every time.’
-This shows that The Torah should not be adapted because the mitzvot can and should be followed at any time.
-Therefore, Orthodox Jews believe they should literally follow all commandments even if in some places like Britain some rules are difficult to complete.
Give an influence an unconvincing argument for Orthodox beliefs about the mitzvot.
-Influence: follow all mitzvot no matter what.
-God gave the mitzvot directly to Moses for humanity so they should always be upheld, and nothing should be changed as Maimonides taught
-Unconvincing: some mitzvot are no longer able to be followed such as offering animal sacrifices in the Temple of Jerusalem.
-However, this was destroyed, so is no longer applicable.
Describe other Jewish beliefs about the 613 mitzvot.
-Uphold the belief in Pikuach Nefesh. By doing so, they are allowed to not follow certain mitzvah if it means saving a life.
-The Talmud states, “live by the Torah does not die by it.” This shows if a death is to occur, the rules of the Torah are permitted to be broken if the death can be prevented.
-Therefore, the sanctity of life is placed above following any of the mitzvot. This includes the ten commandments which are often viewed as core laws of Judaism.
-As a result, these Jews do not believe it is necessary to follow all mitzvot but place importance upon life and preserving God’s people.
Give an influence and convincing argument for other beliefs about the mitzvot.
-Influence: create organisations dedicated to helping others even if they break mitzvot such as Hatzolah.org.
-Preserving life is placed above other laws so Jews should always try to work to protect others.
-Convincing: humans are made in God’s image.
-Therefore, it is more important to protect His creation than follow laws which were written for people in another time.
Describe Orthodox Jewish beliefs about the ten commandments.
-God gave the Torah, which contains the ten commandments, directly to Moses. Maimonides taught, “The Torah was given to Moses,” and “The Torah cannot be changed.” This shows that the Torah has been divinely preserved so should be followed and not changed as they are from God.
-God gave the ten commandments to Moses on stone tablets which emphasises their importance and significance. In turn, they should be kept as the core laws in Judaism.
-This suggests that they are absolute morals not relative as they are so important. Therefore, they should be kept in the same way by all people and not twisted dependant on people’s views.
Give an influence and convincing argument for Orthodox beliefs about the ten commandments.
-Influences: keep a form of the decalogue in their Synagogues.
-The ten commandments are viewed as some of the most important laws in Judaism so Orthodox Jews will have a copy as a sign of respect and reminder to follow the mitzvot.
-Convincing: the ten commandments are kept by almost all societies in the modern day in some shape or form.
-This shows that they are not just rules designed for the Israelites hundreds of years ago but should still be upheld today as an important guide for human morals.
Describe reform Jewish beliefs about the ten commandments.
-Believe the mitzvot should be updated for modern life. Therefore, the ten commandments may also need updating because they include concepts such as slavery and view it as normal. This is unlike the ideas of our modern society.
-Moreover, the equality of all humans is accepted as fact today. However, women, maids and slaves are listed as property in the 10 commandments: “ You shall not covet your neighbour’s house…wife or his… slave”
-This should be updated to fit modern ideas as the ten commandments are meant to be a list of how to live a good life.
-Therefore, Reform Jews believe that not all Jews have to follow the ten commandments as they include outdated ideas, some which should not be present in the modern world.
Give an influence and unconvincing argument for Reform beliefs about the ten commandments.
-Influence: choose which laws to follow as everyday life in the 21st century makes it impossible and impractical to keep laws such as “Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.”
-However, some rules like “Do not murder,” are basic moral principles.
-Unconvincing: many of the ten commandments are absolute morals.
-This means that they are a path to live by that should be kept the same by all humans. If not, it could cause chaos and anarchy.
Describe Other Jewish beliefs about the ten commandments.
-Uphold the belief in Pikuach Nefesh. This allows Jews to break any mitzvot if it is in order to save a life. The Talmud states, “live by the Torah does not die by it.” This shows if a death is to occur, the rules of the Torah are permitted to be broken if the death can be prevented.
-Therefore, the sanctity of life is placed above following any of the mitzvot. This includes the ten commandments which are often viewed as core laws of Judaism.
-These Jews do not believe it is necessary to follow the ten commandments but place importance upon life.
-Influence: focus on saving lives rather than to follow the ten commandments. This may be through working as doctors or ambulance drivers any day of the week which directly goes against one of the ten commandments.
-Unconvincing: “Do not murder” is one of ten commandments. Therefore, the sanctity of life is already upheld in the ten commandments. As a result, another law about preserving life may not be needed and so Jews should still follow the ten commandments.
Give an influence and unconvincing argument for other beliefs about the ten commandments.
-Influence: focus on saving lives rather than to follow the ten commandments.
-This may be through working as doctors or ambulance drivers any day of the week which directly goes against one of the ten commandments.
-Unconvincing: “Do not murder” is one of ten commandments. Therefore, the sanctity of life is already upheld in the ten commandments.
-Hence, another law about preserving life may not be needed and so Jews should still follow the ten commandments.
Describe Jewish beliefs for Pikuach Nefesh.
-Jews believe that God “created mankind in His own image,” and therefore, all life is sacred. As a result, Jews uphold the belief in Pikuach Nefesh.
-This means that all mitzvot can be broken if it is in order to protect a life. Jews are taught, “You shall live by the Torah, not die by it.” This shows that saving a life takes priority over everything else.
-In turn Jews should focus on preserving the life others as life is a gift from God and the only thing placed above the mitzvot which are also God-given.
-Influence: take jobs which help to save lives rather than focussing on following all mitzvot. This may be through working as doctor or an ambulance driver, even on Shabbat, which directly goes against one of the ten commandments.
