Tom Bledsoe
Calhoun, Georgia, USA
Inquiry: B"H

The B’ritot of haSheim reflect the revelation of haSheim’s will over time concerning how man should live his life. Successive b’ritot occurred as haSheim became more specific and clear regarding His will, which culminated in the B’rit of har Sinai. Following Derekh Halakhah to the best of one’s understanding and ability is necessary for kipur, and by His khein, the only path to relationship with haQadosh, Barukh Hu, and a place in ha-olam haba. HaSheim never “changes his mind” and the individual cannot pick and choose between prior b’ritot anymore than he can between the khuqim and mish’patim of Torah she-b’al peh’. Ribi Y’hoshua haMoshiakh was the first to understand and teach that the Sh’khinah was truly meant to dwell in the hearts of the Torah observant (those included in the 10 categories of yukhasin), thus inaugurating the B’rit Khadashah of Yirm’yahu.

I understand what you intended, but, for the benefit of readers who might not, the succession of increasingly refined b^әrit•otꞋ  awaited the refinement of humankind. This wasn't a growing awareness on the part of י--ה. The b^әrit•otꞋ  had to begin with baby steps because that's where humankind was, and progress, as the b^әrit•otꞋ  helped humankind progress, toward what י--ה desires of humankind. This process continues today, as Yi•s^ә•râ•eilꞋ  has been weaned from animal sacrifices and from her national dependence on a physical dwelling mistakenly perceived to house י--ה. Thanks to RibꞋ i Y^әho•shuꞋ a, י--ה is now understood to dwell in the hearts of His Tor•âhꞋ  keepers, not in a mountain (even though we revere Har ha-•BaꞋ yit as qâ•doshꞋ ) or physical temple like the gods of the goy•imꞋ .