To begin to understand God's Jewish covenant, we look at Shemos (Exodus), Chapter 2, Verse 24 - "...God remembered HIS COVENANT with Avraham, Yitzchak (Isaac), and Yaacov (Jacob)."

      When God enters into a covenant, He takes HIS covenantal role AND those He covenants with VERY seriously.  What God remembered in this Verse was that He had a date with the Jewish Nation at Sinai, and God would see to it personally that this date was kept.

      With a mighty hand, and an outstretched arm (metaphors meaning power, not an actual hand or arm), with signs and with wonders, God pulled the Jewish Nation out of Mizrayim (Egypt), out of the house of bondage.

      The Jews would now be trading in one form of bondage for a far superior form of bondage:  JUDAISM.  God took the Jews out of Mitzrayim so that they could serve Him.  At Sinai God would present the Jews with the many details of THEIR covenant, the Torah.  Part of the details would be given in Writing, and the rest Orally, with instructions on how to preserve God's Jewish laws intact throughout the generations. 

      The essence of the contract is the number 613.  There would be 613 basic arenas of commandments, but when one took hold of the immensity of the parts, there were vastly more than 613 rules which needed to be followed. 

      For a Jew already living a Torah life, the rules are not a hardship, but for a Jew who has not lived a Jewish life and is now contemplating returning to the fold, where he belongs, it can appear overwhelming.  It's not overwhelming.  It simply takes time to become acclimated to this different way of living.

      Here are some examples.  There are a myriad of rules for proper Shabbos observance, for kosher living, for taharas hamishpachah (family purity), for modesty, for proper speech, for davening (prayer), and for ever so much more.  Once a Jew is living as a Jew however, it's really not that hard.

      It needs to be clearly understood is that Judaism is a COVENANT with God stipulating how each Jew must live.  Judaism is not a religion, rather, it is A WAY OF LIFE.