The Covenant of the Ancestors Israel Will Never Deny God's Name

Midrash Aggadah, Leviticus 26:45

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"And I will remember for them the covenant of the ancestors" (Leviticus 26:45). This teaches that the covenant was cut with the tribes — it is a covenant for Israel that they shall not deny the honored Name. And likewise David says, "All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten You, nor have we dealt falsely with Your covenant" (Psalms 44:18).

Themes

CovenantAdam EveTribesDavidExile

Biblical References

Continue Reading

Mekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelBefore Aaron Was Chosen, All of Israel Were FitBefore Aaron was chosen for the priesthood, every member of Israel was eligible to serve as a priest. The entire nation stood on equal footing when it came to aTalmud Bavli, MenahotAbraham In The TempleThe stones are still hot, the air thick with ash and despair. Who would you expect to find there? In a powerful story preserved in the Talmud (B,. Menahot 53b),Sifrei DevarimRenewing the Commandments and Defeating the Evil ImpulseIt tells us that the commandments shouldn't feel like an antiquated edict, something ignored and forgotten. Instead, they should feel brand new, urgent, somethiExempla of the Rabbis (Gaster, 1924)A Baked Coin and an Oath That Cost a Child's LifeA woman was entrusted with a single dinar for safekeeping. She placed it in a jar of flour, forgot about it, and later unknowingly baked it into a loaf of breadMidrash AggadahIsaac's Donkey Bridle and David's Capture of Metheg-AmmahWhen Isaac made peace with Abimelech and the men of Gerar, he did not seal the pact with words alone. He was riding upon a donkey at the moment he cut the covenMidrash AggadahIf You Walk in My Statutes and the Shekhinah's Dwelling Below"If you walk in My statutes" — what does the LORD ask of Israel? Only that they labor in Torah and good deeds. And when the LORD loves a person, the Midrash tea