7:00 PM
Chaviva Gordon-Bennett
I present, the 13 Principles of Faith of Maimonides (aka Rabbi Moses ben Maimon or Ramban)
- I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is the Creator and Guide of everything that has been created; He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.
- I believe ... that there is no unity in any manner like His, and that He alone is our God, who was, and is, and will be.
- I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is not a body, and that He is free from all the properties of matter, and that there can be no (physical) comparison to Him whatsoever.
- I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is the first and the last.
- I believe with perfect faith that to the Creator, blessed be His Name, and to Him alone, it is right to pray, and that it is not right to pray to any being besides Him.
- I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true.
- I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses, our teacher, peace be upon him, was true, and that he was the chief of the prophets, both of those who preceded him and of those who followed him.
- I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that is now in our possession is the same that was given to Moses, our teacher, peace be upon him.
- I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be exchanged, and that there will never be any other Torah from the Creator, blessed be His name.
- I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, knows all the deeds of human beings, and all their thoughts, as it says: "Who fashioned the hearts of them all, Who comprehends all their actions." (Psalms 33:15)
- I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, rewards those that keep His commandments and punishes those that transgress them.
- I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, nonetheless I wait every day for his coming.
- I believe with perfect faith that there will be a revival of the dead at the time when it shall please the Creator, blessed be His name, and His mention shall be exalted for ever and ever.
3 comments:
the only one i am still having a hard time with is #13. i just don't know how to fit it into my current understanding of things, but i haven't given up!
i think the key is to look beyond what that principle gives at face value. to any sane person, resurrection should seem completely bogus. it just isn't within our understanding to concieve of such a thing. we can't save the living, let alone envision the raising of the dead.
exploring and reading the commentaries and analyses of it are key, though. there's something there. you'll find it :)
We can raise the dead. It depends on how fine a line you want to draw. People are defibrillated everyday. If left alone they are dead. If not then they are brought back to life relatively quickly.
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