Editing Jewish principles of faith (section)

==History and development==
A number of formulations of Jewish beliefs have appeared over the centuries, and there is some dispute over the number of basic principles. Though they were incorporated in the [[Siddur|liturgy]] to a limited extent and utilized for purposes of instruction, these formulations carried no weight other than that imparted to them by the fame and scholarship of their respective authors. None of them had an authoritative character analogous to that given by [[Christianity]] to its three great formulas (the [[Apostles' Creed]], the [[Nicene Creed|Nicene]], and the [[Athanasian Creed|Athanasian]]), or to the [[Islam|Muslim]] [[Shahada]]. Of the Jewish formulations, the most widely accepted is that of [[Maimonides]].

===Talmudic period===
The first to attempt to formulate Jewish principles of faith was [[Philo]] of [[Alexandria]] in the 1st century CE. He enumerated five articles: God is and rules; God is one; the world was created by God; Creation is one, and God's providence rules Creation.<ref>[[Harry Austryn Wolfson]], ''Philo: Foundations of Religious Philosophy in Judaism, Christianity and Islam'', part 1, chapter 3</ref>

Many early rabbis were drawn into controversies with both Jews and non-Jews, and had to fortify their faith against the attacks of contemporaneous philosophy as well as against rising Christianity. The [[Mishnah]] ({{circa | 200 CE}}) excludes from the world to come the [[Epicureans]] and those who deny belief in [[Resurrection of the Dead|resurrection]] or in the divine origin of the [[Torah]].<ref>Mishnah, Sanhedrin 11:1</ref> [[Rabbi Akiva]] (died 135&nbsp;CE) labeled as heretical the readers of "external books" ([[Jewish apocrypha|sefarim hitsonim]]) &ndash; certain theological writings that rabbinic tradition did not canonize &ndash; as well as individuals who used magical incantations for healing. [[Abba Saul]] designated as suspected heretics those that pronounce the ineffable name of God.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Articles of Faith |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/articles-of-faith |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref>

Some early rabbis attempted to summarize Judaism via a small number of guiding principles. Rabbi [[Simlai]] (3rd century) traces the development of Jewish religious principles from [[Moses]] with his [[613 commandments]], through [[David]], who (according to Simlai) enumerates eleven; through [[Isaiah]], with six; [[Micah (prophet) |Micah]], with three; to [[Habakkuk]] who sums up all religion in the single phrase, "The pious lives in his faith".<ref>Talmud, Makkot, toward end</ref> Akiva himself declares that the command to love one's neighbor is the fundamental principle of the Torah (''kelal gadol batorah''); while [[Ben Azzai]] assigns this distinction to the Biblical verse "This is the book of the generations of man".<ref>[[Genesis Rabbah]] 24:7</ref> [[Hillel the Elder]] declared to a would-be convert, "That which you find hateful, do not do to others, the rest is commentary."<ref>Talmud, Shabbat 31a</ref>

===Medieval era===
Detailed constructions of articles of faith did not find favor in Judaism until the medieval era, when Jews were forced to defend their faith from both Islamic and Christian inquisitions, disputations, and polemics. The necessity of defending their religion against the attacks of other philosophies induced many Jewish leaders to define and formulate their beliefs. A number of Jewish scholars formulated such lists of principles of faith. By this time, centers of Jewish learning and law were dispersed geographically, and no central authority existed that might bestow official approval on any particular list.

[[Saadia Gaon]]'s [[Emunoth ve-Deoth |''Emunot ve-Deot'']] ({{circa | 933 CE}}) is an exposition of the main tenets of [[Judaism]]. Saadia lists these as: The world was created by God; God is one and incorporeal; belief in [[revelation]] (including the divine origin of tradition); man is called to righteousness, and endowed with all necessary qualities of mind and soul to avoid [[sin]]; belief in reward and punishment; the [[Soul (spirit)|soul]] is created pure; after death, it leaves the body; belief in [[resurrection]]; [[Jewish eschatology|Messianic expectation]], retribution, and final judgement.

[[Judah Halevi]] endeavored, in his [[Kuzari]], to determine the fundamentals of Judaism on another basis. He rejects all appeal to speculative reason, repudiating the method of the Islamic [[Ilm al-Kalam|Motekallamin]]. The miracles and traditions are, in their natural character, both the source and the evidence of the true faith. In this view, speculative reason is considered fallible due to the inherent impossibility of objectivity in investigations with moral implications.

===Maimonides' 13 principles of faith===
{{See also|Maimonides#Thirteen principles of faith}}
{{Quote_box
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| quote = 13 Principles of Faith, summarized:<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goldstein |first1=Meir |title=Foundations of Jewish Belief: Maimonides 13 Principles of Faith |url=https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/472256.9?lang=bi&with=AboutSheet&lang2=en |website=sefaria.org |access-date=8 May 2025}}</ref>
#There is a God
#There is one God
#God has no physical body
#God is eternal
#Only God may be worshipped
#Prophecy: God communicates with humans
#Moses was the greatest of the prophets
#Torah comes from God
#The Torah is the authentic word of God and may not be changed
#God is aware of all our deeds
#God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked
#The Messiah will come
#The dead will be resurrected}}

[[Maimonides]] (1135–1204 CE) formulated 13 principles of faith, which appear in his commentary on the [[Mishnah]].<ref>Commentary to tractate Sanhedrin, chapter 10</ref>

Some modern Orthodox scholars have pointed out apparent inconsistencies in Maimonides's writings with respect to the 13 principles of faith.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9FYRAQAAIAAJ&q=what+must+a+jew+believe |title= Must a Jew Believe Anything?|last=Kellner|first=Menachem Marc |date= 2006-01-01|publisher= Littman Library of Jewish Civilization|isbn= 9781904113386|language= en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SjwwAAAAYAAJ&q=marc+shapiro+maimonides+the+limits|title= The limits of Orthodox theology: Maimonides' Thirteen principles reappraised|last= Shapiro|first= Marc B.|date= 2004-01-01|publisher=Littman Library of Jewish Civilization|isbn=9781874774907|language=en}}</ref> Maimonides himself, while enumerating his principles, added the following caveat: 
<blockquote>
"There is no difference between [the Biblical statement] 'his wife was Mehithabel' [Genesis 10,6] on the one hand [i. e., an "unimportant" verse], and 'Hear, O Israel' on the other [i. e., an "important" verse]... anyone who denies even such verses thereby denies God and shows contempt for his teachings more than any other skeptic, because he holds that the Torah can be divided into essential and non-essential parts..."
</blockquote>

Eventually, Maimonides' 13 principles of faith became the most widely accepted Jewish statement of belief, even "canonized" in certain periods, though disputed in others.<ref name=gurfinkel/> Two poetic restatements of Maimonides' principles (''[[Ani Ma'amin]]'' and ''[[Yigdal]]'') became standard parts of the [[siddur|Jewish prayerbook]]. 

===After Maimonides===
Despite the popular acceptance of Maimonides' principles, "even a cursory examination of Jewish literature shows that Maimonides' principles were never regarded as the last word in Jewish theology".<ref name=m13/> The 13 principles are simultaneously understood as rooted in legitimate Talmudic scholarship and Jewish tradition, and also remain somewhat controversial as scholars who both preceded and succeeded Maimonides (and Maimonides himself, in one case<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The Thirteen Principles of Faith |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/beliefs/Theology/Thinkers_and_Thought/Doctrine_and_Dogma/The_Middle_Ages/Principles_of_Faith.shtml |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}</ref>) offered different views.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=m13>{{Cite journal |last=Shapiro |first=Marc B. |date=1993 |title=Maimonides' Thirteen Principles: The Last Word in Jewish Theology? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40914883 |journal=The Torah U-Madda Journal |volume=4 |pages=187–242 |jstor=40914883 |issn=1050-4745}}</ref> Nevertheless, in most cases the divergence from Maimonides' principles was relatively minor.<ref>[https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-thirteen-principles-of-faith/ The Thirteen Principles of Faith]</ref>

Some successors of [[Maimonides]], from the 13th to the 15th centuries—[[Nahmanides]], [[Abba Mari ben Moses]], [[Simon ben Zemah Duran]], [[Joseph Albo]], [[Isaac Arama]], and [[Joseph Jaabez]]—narrowed his 13 articles to three core beliefs: belief in God; in creation (or revelation); and in [[Divine Providence|providence]] (or retribution).

Others, like [[Hasdai Crescas]] and [[David ben Samuel Estella]], spoke of seven fundamental articles, laying stress on free-will. On the other hand, [[David ben Yom Tov ibn Bilia]] adds to the 13 of Maimonides 13 of his own<ref>In ''Yesodot ha- Maskil'' (Fundamentals of the Thinking Man)</ref>—a number which a contemporary of Albo also chose for his fundamentals; while [[Jedaiah ben Abraham Bedersi|Jedaiah Penini]] ({{circa | 1270|1340}}) enumerated no fewer than 35 cardinal principles.<ref>''Behinat ha-Dat'', final chapter</ref>

[[Isaac Abarbanel]] argued that while Maimonides' 13 principles are necessary, they are not sufficient as really the truth of every belief or narrative in the Torah should be an article of faith.<ref>''Rosh Amanah'' (The Pinnacle of Faith, 1505)</ref><ref name=m13/> 

For Maimonides, the uniqueness of the 13  beliefs was that even a rejection out of ignorance placed one outside Judaism, whereas the rejection of the rest of Torah must be a conscious act for a person to be classified as a heretic. Others, such as Rabbi Joseph Albo and [[Abraham ben David |the Raavad]], criticized Maimonides' list as containing items that, while true, in their opinion did not place those who rejected them out of ignorance in the category of heretics. Many others criticized any such formulation as minimizing acceptance of the entire Torah. As noted, however, neither Maimonides nor his contemporaries viewed these principles as encompassing all of Jewish belief, but rather as the core theological underpinnings of the acceptance of Judaism.

===The role of ''mitzvot''===
Some scholars have debated whether the practice of ''[[mitzvot]]'' in [[Judaism]] is inherently connected to Judaism's principles of faith. [[Moses Mendelssohn]], in his [[Jerusalem (Mendelssohn book) |''Jerusalem'']] (1783), defended the non-dogmatic nature of the practice of Judaism. Rather, he asserted, the beliefs of Judaism, although revealed by God in Judaism, consist of universal truths applicable to all mankind. Rabbi [[Leopold Löw]] (1811–1875), among others, took the opposite view, and considered that the Mendelssohnian theory had been carried beyond its legitimate bounds. Underlying the practice of the Law was assuredly the recognition of certain fundamental principles, he asserted, culminating in the belief in God and revelation, and likewise in the doctrine of divine justice.

The procedure of conversion suggests the relative priority placed by Judaism on observance versus belief.{{cn|date=May 2025}} Converts to Judaism must accept the ''[[mitzvot]]'' (commandments of the Torah) as binding, while the profession of faith demanded is limited to the acknowledgment of the unity of [[God]] and the rejection of idolatry.{{cn|date=May 2025}} The aim of teaching was to convey a knowledge of ''[[halakha]]'' (Jewish law), obedience to which manifested the acceptance of the underlying religious principles; namely, the existence of [[God]] and the mission of [[Israel]] as the people of God's covenant.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

[[Judah ha-Levi]] (''[[Kuzari]]'' 1:115, {{circa | 1140 CE}}) states:

:We are not putting on an equality with us a person entering our religion through confession alone. We require deeds, including in that term self-restraint, purity, study of the Law, circumcision, and the performance of other duties demanded by the [[Torah]].

===The belief of non-Jews===
According to Jewish belief, righteousness is not restricted to Jews, and "Righteous people of all nations have a share in the world to come".<ref>Sanhedrin 105a</ref> This "righteousness" is measured by observance of the [[Seven Laws of Noah]]. For Maimonides, non-Jews are rewarded for keeping the Seven Laws only if they accept them due to them having been given by God to Moses (i.e. an acceptance of Jewish principles of faith), and not if they arrived at these laws by use of reason.<ref>[[Mishneh Torah]], Melachim 8:14</ref> According to [[Steven Schwarzschild]], {{qi|many of the most outstanding spokesmen of Judaism themselves dissented sharply from}} this position, which is {{qi|individual and certainly somewhat eccentric}} in comparison to other Jewish thinkers.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Schwarzschild |first=Steven S. |author-link=Steven Schwarzschild |date=July 1962 |title=Do Noachite Have to Believe in Revelation? (Continued) |journal=[[The Jewish Quarterly Review|Jewish Quarterly Review]] |volume=53 |issue=1 |location=Philadelphia |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]] |pages=46–47 |doi=10.2307/1453421 |jstor=1453421}}</ref> Rather, according to the other thinkers, observance of the Seven Laws is rewarded even if not accompanied by belief in their origin with Moses.

===The Enlightenment===
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2015}}
In the late-18th century [[Europe]] was swept by a group of intellectual, social and political movements, together known as [[the Enlightenment]]. These movements promoted scientific thinking and free thought; they allowed people to question previously unshaken religious dogmas. Like Christianity, Judaism developed several responses to this unprecedented phenomenon. One response saw the Enlightenment as positive, while another saw it as negative. The Enlightenment meant equality and freedom for many Jews in many countries, so some felt that it should be warmly welcomed. [[Science|Scientific study]] of religious texts would allow people to study the history of Judaism. Some Jews felt that Judaism should accept modern secular thought and change in response to these ideas. Others, however, believed that the divine nature of Judaism precluded changing any fundamental beliefs.

While the modernist wing of [[Orthodox Judaism]], led by such rabbis as [[Samson Raphael Hirsch]] (1808–1888), was open to the changing times, it rejected any doubt in the traditional theological foundation of Judaism. Historical-critical methods of research and new philosophy led to the formation of various non-Orthodox denominations, as well as of [[Jewish secularism |Jewish secular movements]].

===Karaism===
A contemporary of Maimonides, the 12th-century [[Karaite Judaism|Karaite]] scholar and liturgist [[Judah Hadassi]], formulated non-Rabbinic articles of faith:
{{blockquote|(1) God is the Creator of all created beings; (2) He is premundane and has no peer or associate; (3) the whole universe is created; (4) God called Moses and the other Prophets of the Biblical canon; (5) the Law of Moses alone is true; (6) to know the language of the Bible is a religious duty; (7) the Temple at Jerusalem is the palace of the world's Ruler; (8) belief in Resurrection contemporaneous with the advent of the Messiah; (9) final judgment; (10) retribution.|sign=[[Judah Hadassi|Judah ben Elijah Hadassi]]|source=''Eshkol ha-Kofer''<ref name="JEarticles">{{JewishEncyclopedia|author=[[Kaufmann Kohler| Kohler, Kaufmann]]; [[Emil G. Hirsch|Hirsch, Emil G.]] |title=Articles of Faith|url= http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1832-articles-of-faith}}</ref>}}