Covenant: Jewish Culture And Rituals

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Judaism is a faith that puts much emphasis on the relationship with God in which referred as “covenant”. The idea of “covenant” is a personal relationship between God and believers that are developed individually (BBC, 2009). This relationship is mainly reflected in four aspects, including Jewish history, culture, symbol and rituals. Section one focuses on the idea of covenant and how it is conveyed through the Jewish history while section two considers the Jewish culture and symbols from which covenant takes place. Section three then examines some of the rituals in which covenant act as a basis.

The idea of covenant represents the exchange between God and the people. Jews follow God’s words and endeavor to bring holiness to their lives in …show more content…
Jews are only allowed to consume “ritually slaughtered meat” while they cannot consume any pork, rabbit or camel (Leaman, 2014). Moreover, another part of Jewish culture that is of paramount importance is prayers recitation. Jews recite prayers three times a day, visit the synagogue on Saturdays and carry out Sabbath, which means the day of rest(Cohn-Sherbok, 2010). On the day of Sabbath, Jews are not allowed to use electricity or kindling a fire as these are actions related to the action of creating. Jews stop themselves from creation on Sabbath so as to make time for God and show that God is indeed in charge of their lives (Palatnik et al., 2004). This once again shows the covenant between God and its people.
On the other hand, the symbol of the Jews, known as the Star of David, has been representing Judaism and all of the Jewish people. Many interpret the two overlapping triangles as the relationship between God and the Jewish people (Simmons, 2002), which indicates that God’s presence in all aspects of Jews’ lives. Also, the star symbolizes the protection provided by God against. This is why Jewish people often wear jewelry or Kippah (skull-cap) with the Star of David on it. The Star of David is also an indicator of Jewish houses for worship purposes, which is often seen at the entrance of …show more content…
A failure to comply with the commandments will result to the penalty of Karet under the Jewish Law (BBC, 2009). Circumcision is one of the most representative commandment which is an ancient practice done on babies eight days old since more than 3000 years ago. This ritual is carried out in the hope of establishing the covenant and strengthening the bonding between God and the Jews. “You shall be circumcised…a sign of the covenant between me and you” (Genesis 17:9-14). However, it has been receiving more criticism over the years due to ethical and hygienic concerns or secular discomfort. In recent years, a significant percentage of Jewish parents refuse to carry out circumcision on their children and indicated that they will not “do something simply ‘for tradition's sake’” (Boorstein, 2014).
However, another criticism is that circumcision is a part of the Jewish identity that are given to children either by their biological mother or father. Some Jewish parents claim that being circumcised is ”what they do” and “who they are” (Boorstein, 2014). Declining in circumcision is hence believed to destroy their identity. “Anyone…has not been circumcised by the eighth day, does not belong to the people of the pact which the Lord made with Abraham” (Thiessen, 2011). In other words, they believe that children who are not circumcised cannot be viewed as Jews and will not have the covenant with
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