The Mosaic covenant
Who is Moses?
Moses is regarded as an important ProphetSomeone believed to give messages from God. in Judaism.
The belief is that:
- Moses also made an important covenant with God
- Moses is the only person to have ever witnessed God face to face
- Moses delivered the words of God and received miracles sent by God
- God acted through Moses
Freeing the Israelites from slavery
Many of the stories about Moses are important to the Jewish people, especially the story where he led the IsraelitesThe descendants of the patriarchs who lived in the land of Canaan, which is also called the Land of Israel. out of slavery to the promised land. This important story is concerned with a time when Jewish people were living in slavery in Egypt. God called Moses to rescue these people, but at first the PharaohA ruler in ancient Egypt refused to let them leave Egypt. As a result, God sent ten plagues to the Egyptian people. Eventually the pharaoh let the Israelites go, but then sent his army after them. God parted the Red Sea to let the Jews through and help them escape, but then brought the sea back down on the Egyptian army. Jews celebrate this story each year during PesachThe Jewish festival (Passover) which remembers the redemption of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt..
Who am I to go to the pharaoh?鈥 said Moses to God. 鈥淎nd how can I possibly get the Israelites out of Egypt?鈥 鈥淏ecause I will be with you鈥 replied God...
The commandments
It is also believed that after Moses had led the Israelites out of Egypt he took them through the desert and disappeared up a mountain. The belief is that this is when God revealed to Moses the 613 commandments that Jews are expected to follow. They included the Ten CommandmentsThe list of rules, revealed by God to Moses, found in the Old Testament books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. The Bible refers to them simply as 鈥榮ayings鈥 or 鈥榮tatements鈥. Also known as the Ten Sayings or the Decalogue.. Many Jews also believe that Moses was given the Oral TorahThe Oral Torah is the rabbinic tradition of the first five centuries CE. It found written expression in the Mishnah, the Midrash and the Talmud., which was passed down by word of mouth to help people interpret the Written TorahThe five books of Moses, the first part of the Tenakh..