Creating Covenant

Lesson plan by Zion Ozeri, Josh Feinberg, and Dara Unterberg

Circumcision Ceremony, Mexico City, Mexico, 2004 © Zion Ozeri

Look closely at the photograph.

Please describe what you see.

• What do you notice about the figures in this photograph?
• Where do you think this scene is taking place?
• How would you describe the mood or feeling of the scene?
• What (or who) is the focal point of the picture?  How does the photographer focus our attention on this central element?
• The baby in this photograph is about to have his brit milah (circumcision).  If you have been to a circumcision ceremony, what do you recall from the event?  
• What happens at a circumcision (besides the actual medical procedure)?
• Why do you think we, as Jews, have circumcision ceremonies?

Learn more about circumcision here: Jewish Practices & Rituals: Circumcision - Brit Milah

Circumcision Ceremony, Bukhara, Uzbekistan, 1993 © Zion Ozeri

Look closely at the photograph.

• What do you notice about this photograph?
• How is it similar to the picture above? How is it different?
• What do you think is happening?

These women are Bukharan Jews in the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan.  They are practicing a tradition among Bukharan Jews, in which the family matriarch washes her hands with water which is first poured on the babys feet as she blesses the baby, right before he is taken to be circumcised.

• What is the significance of the water in this ritual?
• Why is the family matriarch chosen to bless the baby?
• What blessings do you imagine she gives at this time?
• What customs do  you know of in your community that are practiced at the milestones in a childs life?

You can learn more about the Bukharan Jewish community here: Who Are the Bukharan Jews? | My Jewish Learning

The first brit milah in Jewish history took place in the book of Genesis. God gave this commandment to Abraham in a covenantal context.

Genesis, Chapter 17
[God said to Abraham:] I will maintain My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring to come, as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be God to you and to your offspring to come. I assign the land you sojourn in, to you and your offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding. I will be their God. God further said to Abraham, As for you, you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My covenant. Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.

Discuss:

• What is a covenant? 
• What do you think is the difference between a covenant and a contract?  
• What is Gods obligation in the covenant?
• What is Abrahams and his descendants' obligation to the covenant?  
• Why do you think a circumcision is needed to confirm the covenant between God and the people of Israel? 
• What are other ways that we affirm our covenant with God?  

For more information on the covenant of circumcision: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/brit-milah-the-biblical-origins/

Follow up activities:

• Photograph a custom or tradition in your community that you feel demonstrates a covenantal relationship or a communal relationship. Find a text,or write your own, that speaks to this covenant.
• Create a covenant mosaic with your class. Each student writes a short message or draws an illustration that expresses their personal connection to the Jewish community or their understanding of the covenant with God on an individual square of paper. The squares will then be displayed in the form of a collaborative mural.