The Idea of Covenant

“At the core of Jewish faith is the idea of covenant, the mutual commitment between God and the people Israel. But the covenant embodies a specific tension. On the one hand, it is immune to history. Its text, the Torah, and the way of life it commands, are Divine, eternal, immutable, unchanging. On the other hand, the covenant is realised in history… Judaism is thus a metahistorical and historical faith, peculiarly poised between timelessness and time.”

Crisis and Covenant, pp. 1-2