Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Religious Studies – Anthology
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13 PRINCIPLES OF THE JEWISH FAITH
- I believe wit h perfec t fait h t hat God is t he Creat or and Ruler of all t hings. He
alone has made, does make, and will make all t hings. - I believe with perfect faith that God is One. There is no unity that is in any way
like His. He alone is our God – He was, He is, and He will be. - I believe with perfect faith that God does not have a body. Physical concepts do
not apply t o Him. There is nothing whatsoever that resembles Him at all. - I believe wit h perfec t fait h t hat God is first and last.
- I believe with perfect faith that it is only proper to pray to God. One may not
pray to anyone or anything else. - I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true.
- I believe with perfect faith that all the prophecy of Moses is absolutely true. He
was the c hief of all prophets, both before and after him. - I believe with perfec t faith that the entire Torah that we now have is that whic h
was given to Moses. - I believe wit h perfec t fait h t hat t his T orah will not be c hanged, and t hat t here will
never be another given by God. - I believe with perfec t faith that God knows all of man’s deeds and thoughts. It
is t hus writ t en (Psalm 33:15), “He has molded every heart together, He
understands what eac h one does”. - I believe with perfect faith that God rewards those who keep His
c ommandments, and punishes those who transgress Him. - I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah. No matter how long it
t akes, I will await his c oming every day. - I believe with perfect faith that the dead will be brought back to life when God
wills it t o happen.
Within the c ontext of the halakhic writings, Maimonides often discusses
philosophy, but these books are clearly written for a different audience from that at
whic h t he philosophic al writ ings were aimed. Writ t en in a pelluc id Hebrew, t he
halakhic works are designed for a readership of practicing Jews – not nec essarily
learned but deeply committed to Ju d a is m. These readers are not troubled by the
apparent c ontradic tions between halakhah and Arist ot elian rat ionalism. By contrast,
t he pot ent ial readers of Maimonides’ major philosophic al work, The Guide for the
Perplexed, were severely vexed by that contradic t ion.
Writ t en in Arabic , t he Guide is addressed to non-Jews and Jews who find
themselves in an intellec tual dilemma brought on by attac ks on Judaism by the
neo-Arist ot elian Arab philosophers of t he period. A key purpose of this work is to
allow it s Jewish readers to reconcile Aristotle and Torah, to adhere to the faith of
t heir anc est ors while st ill embrac ing t he rat ionalism t hat a man of sc ienc e, like
Maimonides, embrac ed willingly.