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A covenant is a binding agreement between two or more people. It can be thought of as a deal, with both sides having duties to carry out in order to keep the covenant in place.

The covenant at Sinai

The Torah teaches Jews about the covenant God made with all Jewish people at Mount Sinai. The Book of Exodus tells the story of how God brought the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt, with Moses as their human leader. Moses is a very important prophet in Judaism. He was chosen by God not only to lead the enslaved Jewish people to freedom but also to pass on God’s laws to all the Jewish people.

The freed enslaved people were beginning to worship false gods (idolatry) and live in ways that were not pleasing to God. God therefore directly communicated to humans ten commandments as the most basic rules all people should live. These are called the Ten Commandments. They are part of a total of 613 commandments (found in the Torah) that deal in detail with every aspect of Jewish life.

The Ten Commandments

At Mount Sinai, God gave Moses a set of ten laws that they should follow in order to please him. Moses carved these laws on tablets of stone. God told Moses that if these rules were not followed, God would punish people who disobeyed them.

The Ten Commandments are basic rules that Jews believe all people should live by. The first four relate to humans’ relationship with God and the six that follow are about how humans should behave towards one another:

1. Do not have any other gods.
2. Do not make or worship idols.
3. Do not disrespect or misuse God’s name.
4. Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.
5. Honour your father and mother.
6. Do not commit murder.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not tell lies.
10. Do not be envious of others.

Different views on the importance of the covenant at Mount Sinai

The Torah is often referred to as ‘the five books of Moses’. There is very little disagreement among Jews that Moses is a central figure in the story of Judaism. The vast majority of Jews would agree that the covenant at Mount Sinai was one of the most important events in Judaism.

However, there is some disagreement among Orthodox Jews and Reform Jews about the authority of the commandments.

Orthodox Jews believe that the words of the covenant were given directly from God to Moses, and as such they must be strictly followed.

Less traditional Jews, such as Reform Jews, may believe that the Torah was developed over a long period of time and then later attributed to Moses. Some Reform Jews see some of the commandments as being a product of a particular time and culture, and no longer being relevant to today’s world. As a result, some Reform Jews make personal decisions about which mitzvot to follow.