We all have relationships at various levels.
There are shallow ones. And there are deeper ones.
Then there are ‘Covenantal’ ones.
What's a 'Covenantal' relationship? It's an attitude that takes relationships to a whole new level.
When two parties forge a covenant, it means that their relationship is beyond the spectrum.
ItÂ’s deep. And real.
Imagine if your spouse said “I really love you. But when I go to work, it’s all about me. I never think about you; you’re not even in the back of my mind.
I work for my self-interest, not to build a better life for us. In short: YouÂ’re totally off my radar screen from 9 to 5.
But I genuinely love you from 5 to 9.”
Is that possible?
I donÂ’t think so.
A genuine – covenantal - relationship doesn’t mean that we spend 24-7 gazing at into each other’s eyes. But it means that each is – at some level –always part of the other’s life. One partner may be totally engrossed elsewhere, but the other is never truly out of the equation.
The same applies to our relationship with the Divine.
The core of a relationship with G-d isn’t about Yom Kippur; it’s not even about praying three times a day, although those are special opportunities for ‘gazing into each other’s eyes’.
Maintaining a ‘covenantal’ relationship means that G-d – Meaning, Responsibility, Destiny – is never out of the equation.
And it’s specifically when I’m ‘out of the house’ that I can express this level of commitment. If I’m mindful, our covenant shines.
When I’m at work, eating lunch or facing a stressful situation – that’s when I need to remain conscious - at some level - of my Divine covenant.
Our Covenant is an agreement to bring Meaning and Responsibility into all areas of life, not just the spiritual ones.
And that’s what the Bris (Bris means ‘Covenant’ because it represents our deep relationship with the Divine) expresses.
The Bris engages a physical – potentially self-indulgent - part of the body, and says ‘this too can be Holy”.
It teaches us that the physical does not innately contradict the Holy; it depends on our focus and consciousness.
Because in a deep relationship, the other is always part of the equation.