Covenant, Torah and Jewish identity
Judaism is both a religion and a people. That double meaning explains why someone can describe themselves as Jewish and secular without contradiction.
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Describe Jewish beliefs about covenant, Torah and identity
Key learning points
- • Covenant
- • Torah
- • One people, many practices
This lesson at a glance
- 25 minutes
- 20 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 20
Visual introductionPicture this
Covenant, Torah and Jewish identity
Judaism is both a religion and a people. That double meaning explains why someone can describe themselves as Jewish and secular without contradiction.
In a nutshell
Describe Jewish beliefs about covenant, Torah and identity
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 20
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Covenant
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 20
Learn
Covenant
Jewish teaching describes a covenant — a binding agreement — between God and the Jewish people, beginning with Abraham and renewed with Moses at Sinai. The covenant carries responsibilities rather than privileges: to live justly and to keep the commandments.
Reset break
Part 4 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 20
Learn
Torah
Torah means teaching. It refers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, written by hand on a scroll and read publicly in synagogue, and more broadly to the whole body of Jewish teaching, including centuries of rabbinic discussion in the Talmud.
Quick check
Part 6 of 20
Quick check
Part 7 of 20
Reset break
Part 8 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 20
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · One people, many practices
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 20
Learn
One people, many practices
Orthodox, Masorti, Reform and Liberal communities interpret the commandments differently, particularly about Shabbat, food laws and the role of women. Many Jewish people identify strongly with the community and its history while observing little ritual.
Quick check
Part 11 of 20
Reset break
Part 12 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 13 of 20
Explore the idea
Part 14 of 20
Worked example
Source study: a handwritten scroll
A Torah scroll is written by hand by a trained scribe and may take a year to complete; a single error means the section is rewritten. The practice communicates the value placed on the text's exactness — the object itself is evidence of the belief, before a word is read.
Challenge round
Part 15 of 20
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 16 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 17 of 20
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
____ teaching describes a covenant — a binding agreement — between God and the Jewish people, beginning with Abraham and renewed with Moses at Sinai.
The ____ carries responsibilities rather than privileges: to live justly and to keep the commandments.
Many Jewish ____ identify strongly with the community and its history while observing little ritual.
Challenge round
Part 18 of 20
Game · Recall cards
What is a covenant in Jewish teaching?
Card 1 of 4
Mastery quiz
Part 19 of 20
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Covenant, Torah and Jewish identity
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. What is a covenant in Jewish teaching?
2. What does Torah literally mean?
3. Why can someone be Jewish and secular?
4. What does the care taken over a Torah scroll show?
Lesson round-up
Part 20 of 20
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Points this lesson
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Best run
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Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaPart 1 of 20 · Watch & discover