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Is there a biblical basis for the Thirteen Principles of Faith?
Discuss (17)The following is a list of the Thirteen Principles, as penned by Maimonides,1 along with their biblical sources:
1. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the Creator and Guide of all created beings, and that He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.
Source: "I am G‑d your G‑d"2—Exodus 20:2.
2. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is One and Alone; that there is no oneness in any way like Him; and that He alone is our G‑d—was, is and will be.
Source: "Hear O Israel, G‑d is our G‑d, G‑d is One"—Deuteronomy 6:4.
3. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is incorporeal; that He is free from all anthropomorphic properties; and that He has no likeness at all.
Source: "You did not see any image on the day that G‑d spoke to you at Horeb [Sinai]."—Deuteronomy 4:15.
4. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the first and the last.
Source: "[The heavens] are the abode for the G‑d who precedes all"—Deuteronomy 33:27.3
5. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the only one to whom it is proper to pray, and that it is inappropriate to pray to anyone else.
Source: "Lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven . . . and be drawn away to prostrate yourselves before them and worship them"—Deuteronomy 4:19
6. I believe with complete faith that all the words of the prophets are true.
Source: "G‑d will raise up a prophet from among you… and you shall hearken to him"—Deuteronomy 18:15.
7. I believe with complete faith that the prophecy of Moses our teacher, peace unto him, was true; and that he was the father of the prophets, both of those who preceded and of those who followed him.
Source: "G‑d would speak to Moses face to face"—Exodus 33:11; "Mouth to mouth, I speak to him"—Numbers 12:8.4
8. I believe with complete faith that the whole Torah which we now possess was given to Moses, our teacher, peace unto him.
Source: "With this you shall know that G‑d sent me to do all these deeds, for I did not devise them myself"—Numbers 16:28.
9. I believe with complete faith that this Torah will not be changed, and that there will be no other Torah given by the Creator, blessed be His name.
Source: "You shall not add to it, not subtract from it"—Deuteronomy 13:1.5
10. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, knows all the deeds and thoughts of human beings, as it is said, "It is He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who perceives all their actions."
Source (in addition to Psalms 33:15 quoted in the actual text): "Who is great in counsel and mighty in carrying it out, for Your eyes are open to all the ways of mankind"—Jeremiah 32:19; "G‑d saw that the evil of man on earth was very great"—Genesis 6:5.
11. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, rewards those who observe His commandments, and punishes those who transgress His commandments.
Source: "And G‑d said to Moses: 'Whoever has sinned against Me, him I will erase from My book!'"—Exodus 32:33.6
12. I believe with complete faith in the coming of Moshiach, and although he may tarry, nevertheless, I wait every day for him to come.
Source: "G‑d will restore your fortunes, have mercy on you, and gather you"—Deuteronomy 30:3.
13. I believe with complete faith that there will be resurrection of the dead at the time when it will be the will of the Creator, blessed be His name and exalted be His remembrance forever and ever.
Source: "Many who sleep in the dust shall awaken, some to everlasting life, and some to ever lasting shame and reproach"—Daniel 12:2.
I hope this has helped!
Rabbi Eliezer Zalmanov
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
The text of the Principles below is based on Maimonides' elucidation of these Principles (in his preface to his commentary on the chapter Chelek of tractate Sanhedrin). In many circles this text is recited at the conclusion of the daily morning prayers. |
| 2. |
Maimonides explains (in his Laws of the Foundations of the Torah) how belief in G‑d, an imperative expressed in this verse, necessarily implies that He is the "Creator and Guide of all created beings, and that He alone has made, does make, and will make all things." |
| 3. |
In Maimonides' work, this principle does not include the idea that G‑d is also "the last." Nevertheless, this idea, which was added to the universally accepted liturgical text of the Principles, is based on numerous verses in the Torah, including Isaiah 44:6: "So said G‑d, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts, 'I am first and I am last...'" |
| 4. |
See the context of this verse in Numbers, where G‑d explains how Moses is greater than all other prophets. See also Deuteronomy 34:10: "And there was no other prophet who arose in Israel like Moses." |
| 5. |
In Maimonides' work, this principle does not include the idea that G‑d will never give another Torah, rather it is limited to the belief that we can never add or subtract from the Torah. |
| 6. |
Maimonides doesn't cite a verse to support the concept of reward for good deeds, but this theme is expressed many times throughout the Torah, specifically in the book of Deuteronomy. |
By Eliezer Zalmanov
Rabbi Eliezer Zalmanov is co-director, along with his wife Chanie, of Chabad of Northwest Indiana, and a member of Chabad.org's Ask the Rabbi team.
All names of persons and locations or other identifying features referenced in these questions have been omitted or changed to preserve the anonymity of the questioners.
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Accord, NY
Covenantal Judaism concerned itself with relationships and interactions (the fulfilment of good deeds) and not with existential truths.
Finally, I suggest we look at the source of one of these principles, the Book of Daniel, which we find in Ketubim (Writings NOT in the Book of Prophets). Daniel was NOT considered a Prophet in the accepted definition. To base one of these fundamental principles of Judaism on the Book of Daniel (a Babylonian - where the belief of the resurrection of the dead had existed for over a thousand years) is somewhat odd?
London
New York, NY
Pre Rambam the basis of Judaism was PRACTICE (the keeping of the 613 mtizvot) - as evidenced by the beautiful Midrash that refers to the Israelites replying at the foot of Mt Sinai - 'we shall DO and we'll listen'. Conviction was not the prime motivator for Judaism. There was no straitjacket of Dogma.
Was Rambam the first to introduce Dogma (absolute conviction) into Judaism as a pre-requisite to Judaism? We know that he was greatly preocupied with the pressure (from the Inquisition) on Jews in Medieval Spain to convert to Christianity. The inquisition could clearly identify Jews by what they practiced - but it couldn't read their minds (ie what they believed in). Rambam concluded that if Jews couldn't be free to practice (ie the 'doing') their religion (for fear of the Inquisition) then at least Jews could retain their Judaism by introducing Dogma - the 13 principles. It was a high risk strategy in desperate times.
To translate the text as 'beliefs' is to minimize the conviction with which Jews adhere to this knowledge.
Are they both mutually exclusive to a lesser or greater extent? Is there a Halachic sanction if you do not believe in the 13 principles?
if the Rambam got his 13 principles from posukim, why was it necessary to have the Rambam give us this new innovation of these 13 principles? Read the Torah and you'll find those principles! Why the necessity to write 13 principles?
Rockville, MD
To confuse religion in general and Judaism in particular with “faith” reduces (Heaven forbid) Torah to opinion and arbitrary “belief” (lack of knowledge). Then, when Jews instinctively and rightly reject the approach of “faith”, they too often have confused “religion” (halakhah) with faith, and end up rejecting Judaism, too.
Hampshire, PEI Canada
Chicago, IL