The 13 Principles of Faith
In his commentary on the Mishnah (tractate Sanhedrin, chapter 10), Maimonides formulates his "13 principles of faith". They summarized what he viewed as the required beliefs of Judaism:
- The existence of God
- God's unity and indivisibility into elements
- God's spirituality and incorporeality
- God's eternity
- God alone should be the object of worship
- Revelation through God's prophets
- The preeminence of Moses among the prophets
- The Torah that we have today is the one dictated to Moses by God
- The Torah given by Moses will not be replaced and that nothing may be added or removed from it
- God's awareness of human actions
- Reward of good and punishment of evil
- The coming of the Jewish Messiah
- The resurrection of the dead
Maimonides compiled the principles from various Talmudic sources. These principles were controversial when first proposed, evoking criticism by Rabbi Hasdai Crescas and Rabbi Joseph Albo, and were effectively ignored by much of the Jewish community for the next few centuries. ("Dogma in Medieval Jewish Thought," Menachem Kellner). However, these principles have become widely held; today, Orthodox Judaism holds these beliefs to be obligatory. Two poetic restatements of these principles (Ani Ma'amin and Yigdal) eventually became canonized in the "Siddur" (Jewish prayer book).
Read more about this topic: Maimonides
Famous quotes containing the words principles and/or faith:
“...at this stage in the advancement of women the best policy for them is not to talk much about the abstract principles of women’s rights but to do good work in any job they get, better work if possible than their male colleagues.”
—Virginia Crocheron Gildersleeve (1877–1965)
“A faith is something you die for, a doctrine is something you kill for. There is all the difference in the world.”
—Tony Benn (b. 1925)