13 principles of faith

Maimonides, within his commentary on the Mishnah, in the treatise Sanhedrin, wrote a series of principles and foundations of the Jewish faith. The following is a translation of the original text of these principles.

It should be noted that, as with any translation, it is subject to the translator's understanding. The original text is in Arabic, and many translations have been made throughout history. This translation is based on the text of Rambam Laam (Rav Kuk Publishing House edition). It is essential to read the notes. These are clarifications of the translation derived from the commentary accompanying that edition of Rambam's books.

Due to the complexity of the matter, a summary of the 13 principles is included, followed by the translation of the original text:

1) Existence of a Creator. Everything that exists needs Him to be, and He is the only entity that does not need anything else to exist.

2) The Creator is One, He cannot be divided nor is anything like Him in His essence.

3) The Creator has no body and nothing that happens in the material world affects him.

4) The Creator is Eternal, that is, all things except Him were created.

5) He is the only one who is to be served and prayed to, and all other creatures cannot do anything against His will, therefore, the Creator cannot be served through them.

6) Prophecy. Human beings can be prophets.

7) Moshe Rabbeinu possessed a level of prophecy superior to all other prophets in four aspects: he prophesied openly, without weakness, while fully awake, and whenever he chose. Therefore, Moshe attained a level of knowledge of the Creator superior to that of any other human being.

8) The Torah “comes from heaven.” The five books of Moses were written by Moses at the dictation of the Creator; Moses did not write a single letter of his own understanding. The Oral Torah was also received at Mount Sinai and transmitted from generation to generation.

9) The Torah will never change, nor will any part of it.

10) The Creator knows the actions of human beings.

11) The Creator gives reward to those who observe the Torah and punishment to those who transgress it.

12) The coming of the Messiah from the house of David and he will be a king superior to all kings.

13) The resurrection of the dead.

The first principle

Know¹ of the existence of the Creator, blessed be He, that is: that there is a full “existence” in all paths of existence². He is the cause of all existence; in Him is the support of their existence, and from Him they are sustained.³. And don't even consider the possibility of His non-existence, because in the absence of His existence, all existence would be nullified, and no "existence" would remain to sustain itself. And if we were to consider the absence of all existence except Him, His existence would not be nullified, nor would He lack anything, because His own existence is sufficient for Him, and He is content with Himself; He needs no other existence. And everything else, like intellects—I mean, angels—and the bodies of the celestial spheres and what is within them, is also within His existence.⁴ , And everything below it needs Him to exist. This is the first principle indicated by the verse “I am God your Lord.”.

The second principle

Its oneness, blessed be, means that we believe that that which is the cause of everything is one. And it is not like the unity of a couple.⁵ and not like one of a kind⁶ And not as a composite individual that is subdivided into many parts, and not as a single, unique body that can be infinitely divided and partitioned. But He, praised be He, is one in His oneness, and there is no oneness like His in any form. And this is the second principle indicated by the verse, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.".

The third principle

The denial of the materiality of Him, that is, that we believe that this oneness we mentioned is neither corporeal nor a force within a body⁷ and it does not experience the events that happen to bodies, such as movement, rest, and residence, not by itself, not by occurrence⁸ . That is why our sages denied union and separation from Him, and said: "Above there is neither sitting nor standing, neither separation nor union.""⁹. And the prophet said, "To whom shall you compare God... and to whom shall you compare me, and I shall be equal, says the Holy One." And if He were a body, He would be comparable to bodies. And everything that appears in the holy scriptures that describes Him with bodily adjectives, such as walking, standing, sitting, speaking, and the like, is in a borrowed form.¹⁰ . And so our sages said, "The Torah speaks the language of people," and our sages have spoken extensively on this matter. Regarding this third principle, the verse "For they saw no image" indicates that they did not perceive Him as "possessing an image" because He, as we mentioned, is neither corporeal nor a force within a body.

The fourth principle

Eternity, that is, our belief that this uniqueness we mentioned is absolutely eternal.¹¹ . And all existences, except for Him, are not eternal in relation to Him.¹². And the evidence of this in the Holy Scriptures is abundant. And regarding this fourth principle, the verse states: "From His dwelling place, the eternal God.".

The fifth principle

He, blessed be He, is the one whom we must serve and glorify, and make known His greatness, and observe His precepts, and not do so to those who are below us in existence: the angels, the stars, the celestial spheres.¹³ , the fundamentals¹⁴ , and what is composed of them, because they are all actors by nature in their actions¹⁵ They have no judgment or choice, only He, blessed be He.¹⁶ . Nor is it appropriate to use them as intermediaries to approach Him; rather, thoughts should be focused solely on Him, leaving everything else behind.¹⁷ . And this fifth principle is what He warned us about regarding idolatry, and most of the Torah warns about this.

The sixth principle

The prophecy, that is, that man should know, that in his species¹⁸ Among them are those who by nature possess high, highly refined, and complete qualities, and whose souls are prepared¹⁹ until receiving the fundamental intellect²⁰ . Then that human intellect is united in the "intellect that acts"."²¹ And from him emanates a higher emanation, and these are the prophets, and this is prophecy and its subject. The explanation of this principle in its entirety is very long; and it is not our intention to bring proofs for every principle²² nor of the essence of its capture²³ because it includes all wisdom²⁴, but we mention it only in the form of a narrative. The verses of the Torah testify to the prophecy of many prophets.

The seventh principle

The prophecy of Moses, our teacher, peace be upon him, means that we should believe that he is the father of all the prophets who came before him and those who came after him; all are beneath him in stature. And he was the highest of all human beings who grasped His knowledge, blessed be He: higher than any human being who has ever lived or ever will. He, peace be upon him, reached his exaltation.²⁵ from the human until he grasped the angelic level, and was included among the angels²⁶ . Not a single curtain remained.²⁷ He had not broken through it and passed through it; he was not hindered by any physical impediment, and no defect, great or small, was mingled with him. His imaginative powers and perceptive senses were nullified.²⁸ , And the forces of desire and passion withdrew from him, and only the intellect remained. Regarding this matter, it is said of him that he speaks with God, blessed be He, without the intermediary of angels.

I want to explain this wonderful matter here and open what has been closed.²⁹ in the verses of the Torah and explain the reason for "mouth to mouth""³⁰ And the whole verse and others like it, only I saw that these matters are very subtle and would require much proof, and we would need many explanations and introductions and examples, and that we should first explain the existence of angels and the different levels [of angels that exist] from the Creator, exalted be He, and that we should explain the soul and all its powers, and that the circle should be widened³¹ until we discuss the forms the prophets saw that correspond to the Creator and the angels, and until we enter into this [the book] Shiur Komá³² and their affairs, and this alone would not suffice. Even if it were summarized completely, it would only be a hundred pages. Therefore, I will leave it in its place: either in the book "Explanation of the Words of Our Sages" that I decided to write, or in the "Book of Prophecy" on which I am working, or in a book that I will write explaining these secrets.³³. .

Returning to the idea of this seventh principle, I will say that the prophecy of Moshe, our teacher, peace be upon him, differs from the prophecy of all the prophets in four matters:

The first is that any prophet who ever lived did not speak to God, blessed be He, but through an intermediary; and Moses, without an intermediary, as it is written "I will speak to him mouth to mouth.".

The second point is that prophecy comes to every prophet only when he is asleep, as it says in several places: "in a dream at night," "in a dream and a vision at night," and many similar examples. Or by day, when a deep sleep overwhelms a person, so that all feelings are extinguished and their thoughts become empty, as in a dream. This is called "vision" and "perception," and it was said of this that "divine vision" was meant. And Moses, the word came to him during the day, while he stood between the two Cherubim.³⁴, As God, exalted be He, instructed him: "And I will meet you there and speak to you from above the lid [of the Ark]." And He said, exalted be He: "If there is a prophet, God will communicate with him in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream... not so my servant Moses... I will speak with him face to face.".

The third point is that when the prophet receives prophecy, whether in a vision or through an angel, his strength will weaken, his body will be ruined, and he will be overcome by immense fear, almost dying, as Daniel explained when Gabriel spoke to him in a vision and said, "And there was no strength left in me, and my being was transformed into destruction, and I had no strength"; and he says, "And I was drowsy upon my face, and my face was toward the ground"; and he says, "in the vision I trembled." But Moses, peace be upon him, was not like that. Rather, the word came to him, and he did not fear or tremble in any way, as it is written: "And God spoke with Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his neighbor," that is, just as a person does not tremble when speaking with his neighbor, so it was with Moses; he did not tremble at the word [of God] even though it was face to face. And this was due to his strong attachment to the intellect.³⁵ , as we mentioned.

The fourth point is that prophecy does not reside in all prophets by their own free will, but by the will of God, blessed be He. For a prophet may wait days or years, and the prophecy will not come. He may ask the Creator to reveal something to him through prophecy and wait until he prophesies after days, or after months, or he may not prophesy at all. There were groups who prepared themselves and refined their thoughts, as Elisha did, as it is written: "And now take for me a singer," and prophecy came to him. But it is not certain that he will prophesy at the moment he prepares for it. And Moses, our teacher, peace be upon him, always says: "Wait, and I will hear what God commands for you." Our sages, may their memory be a blessing, said, "To Aaron it applies, 'And it will not come,' but to Moses it does not apply.""³⁶ .

The eighth principle

The Torah is from heaven, meaning that we believe that all the Torah we have in our hands now is what was given through Moses, peace be upon him, which is all from the mouth of God, that is, it came to him.³⁷ All of it is from God, blessed be He, in such a form that it is called, figuratively speaking, "word." And it is not known how it came to him, only Moses, peace be upon him, that it came to him.³⁸, And that he was like a scribe who was dictated to, and he wrote down all the events, stories, and precepts; that is why he is called: "sculptor""³⁹. And there is no difference between "And the sons of Ham were Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan"; "And the name of his wife was Meheitabel, daughter of Matred"; "And Timna was a concubine" and between "I am the Lord your God" and "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one," because everything is from the mouth of God and everything is the Torah of God, complete, pure, holy, and true. And whoever says that Moses wrote these kinds of verses and stories on his own is, in the eyes of our sages and prophets, a denier and reveals his true nature.⁴⁰ more than all the deniers, because he thought that in the Torah there is heart and shell⁴¹ And that these stories and tales are useless and belong to Moshe⁴² And this is the matter of "The Torah is not from heaven." Our sages, of blessed memory, said: "It is he who believes that the entire Torah is from the mouth of God except for this verse, which was not said by God but by Moses himself, and this is 'Because he despised the word of God.' May God be exalted and blessed above the words of the deniers."⁴³ . Rather, every word of the Torah contains wisdom and wonders for those who understand it, and the fullness of its wisdom is beyond comprehension.⁴⁴ ""Longer than the measure of the earth, and wider than the sea," and there is nothing for man but to follow the ways of David, the anointed of the God of Jacob, who prayed, "Open my eyes, that I may see wonders of Your Torah." Likewise, the explanation of the received Torah also comes from the mouth of God. And what we do today with the Sukkah, Lulav, Shofar, Tzitzit, Tefillin, and so forth, is the same way that God told Moses, and he told us, and he faithfully carried out his mission.⁴⁵. And the phrase that indicates this eighth principle is what is written: "And Moshe said, by this you will know that God sent me to do all these actions, because they do not arise from my heart.".

The ninth principle

The tradition, that is, this Torah of Moses, was received from God, blessed be He, and from no other. Nothing can be added to it, nor taken away from it, neither in the Written Torah nor in the Oral Torah.⁴⁶ , For it is written: "You shall neither add to it nor subtract from it." And we already explained the necessity of this principle at the beginning of this book.⁴⁷ .

The tenth principle

May He, exalted be He, know the actions of human beings and not hide His eye from them. Not like the opinion of those who say, "God has forsaken the earth," but as it is written: "Great in counsel and with much understanding, Your eyes are open upon all the ways of humankind." And it says: "God saw that the wickedness of humankind had multiplied upon the earth"; and it says: "The cry of Sodom and Amora is very loud," this indicates regarding this tenth principle.

The eleventh principle

May He, exalted be He, reward those who observe the precepts of the Torah, and punish those who transgress its warnings. And may the greatest reward be the World to Come, and the strongest punishment, Keret.⁴⁸. And we have already explained what was necessary about this matter. And the verse that indicates this principle is what is written: "And now if you forgive their sin; and if not, blot me out of Your book.""⁴⁹. And God, blessed be He, answered him, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book." The proof [that God] knows who serves Him⁵⁰ and who sins, to give this one a reward, and that one a punishment.

The twelfth principle

The days of Messiah, that is, that we believe and have true faith that He will come, and not think that He will delay. "And if He delays, I will wait for Him.""⁵¹. And don't put a moment on it⁵². And the sages say, "Let those who calculate the times [when the Messiah should come] be amazed." And believe in him, for he will have a virtue, exaltation, and honor above all the kings who have ever lived, and extol him, love him, and pray for him, as all the prophets prophesied about him from Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, to Malachi, peace be upon him. And whoever doubts him or diminishes his greatness denies the Torah, which testified about him clearly in the section of Balaam and the section "You Stand Firm." And included in this principle is that there is no king in Israel except from the house of David and the descendants of Solomon alone. And whoever dissents from this family denies God, blessed be He, and the words of His prophets.

The thirteenth principle

The resurrection of the dead, and we already explained it.

This concludes the original text of the 13 principles of faith that Rambam wrote.

Since Maimonides summarized the last principle and concluded it with two words, many accused him of having weak faith in this principle, particularly considering that he didn't even mention it in his book, Guide for the Perplexed. Therefore, Maimonides saw fit to address these accusations and, some twenty-five years after this introduction, wrote the "Article on the Resurrection of the Dead." There, Maimonides explains, saying: "This foundation is not appropriate to the nature of existence."⁵³ And it cannot be maintained as a philosophical principle that its truth can be proven by rational evidence; that is why he did not elaborate on it here when he explained the 13 principles of faith and did not mention it in the "Guide for the Perplexed." But upon us [the obligation] to believe in it with complete faith, as it is brought forth in the true tradition; and there is no religion or adherence to the Jewish religion without this. And just as we believe in creation ex nihilo And in the miracles and wonders of the Torah, in the same way we must believe in this principle of faith indicated in the Torah, in the prophets and clearly stated in the verses (Daniel 12:2-13).

There was also resistance to Rambam's principles. Some were completely against establishing foundations, as Don Yitzchak Abarbanel said in his book "Rosh Amana": "Every word of the Torah is a great principle and cannot be touched, and whoever touches it is a denier and is cutting down the garden."⁵⁴ . There were those who criticized the number of principles, such as Rabbi Hasdai ibn Karshcash in his book "Or Hashem"; and after him, his student Yosef Albo in his book "The Principles," who maintained only three principles: 1) The existence of God, 2) The revelation of God, and 3) Divine supervision: that God supervises and sees the actions of human beings and rewards each one according to their deeds. Albo argues that Rambam separated essentially unified things that are only one principle, counting them as independent principles. For example, faith in God and faith that God is one, because there cannot be two gods, and one God cannot be within a body; therefore, these three matters are only one principle, and Rambam counts them as three.

However, Rambam had the merit that his thirteen principles entered the prayers of many Jews and are mentioned daily by thousands of Jews.