Judaism: The Covenant Between God and Abraham

This week we began our study of Judaism by learning about the Jewish belief in a covenant between God and Abraham. 

According to the Torah, God told Abraham that his descendants would be the Chosen People, and that they would be as plentiful as the stars in the sky, if they followed the one true God and if they obeyed his commandments.

Here is a part of the story, from the Torah:

And God took Abraham outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." 

And He said to Abraham, "So shall your descendants be."

A couple of students asked whether Jews believe that they have broken the covenant with God.

The answer is yes: Jews believe that all people have broken the covenant with God, and they believe that God's messiah will eventually come to Earth in order to save believers from their wrongdoing.