- There is a Creator who is perfect and put into motion all that exists.
- God is One.
- God has no body and cannot be affected by any physical force.
- God is Eternal.
- A Jew must worship God exclusively and no foreign or false gods.
- God communicates with humanity through prophecy.
- The prophecy of Moses is the greatest there is and ever will be.
- The Torah comes from God.
- The Torah cannot be changed.
- God knows and sees all.
- God rewards and punishes people.
- The Messiah and the messianic era will arrive, some day.
- God will resurrect the dead.
These Attributes, or Principles of Faith, were controversial from the very first time they appeared. Many people argue that there is no "test" of belief for Judaism at all; others argue the specific details of the principles with Rambam. If you are interested in these controversies it might be helpful to look at these articles in the Jewish Encyclopedia and at MyJewishLearning.com.
Seventh Grade Etz Chayim students should read the list of Rambam's 13 Attributes and add to the comments section here a sentence that says one thing that they believe and that they feel could apply to all Jews. Students may also share a response to Maimonides' Attributes. Please be aware that all posts are being reviewed by Rabbi Rachel, so they will not appear immediately. The only non-students whose comments will be posted are those of parents from this class.
24 comments:
I don't belive in G-d so most of the atrributes I don't agree with, but i do think that the Torah cannot be changed because it is the history of our ansestors and history can't be changed because it is in the past. (One of the resons i don't belive in G-d is because it claims that God has no material form so if he isn't made up of anything then i think he is just an idea. )
(this is Janine by the way 7th grade)
I'm not sure if G-d created the universe and the world because of the big bang being a chemical reaction, not magic. I'm also not sure if G-d is perfect.
(Ethan)
I believe that if there is a G-d than there is only one G-d
(Ethan)
I do believe that god is eternal
(Ethan)
I also believe that G-d has no physical form
(Ethan)
I think that if you are Jewish and you believe in G-d than you should only believe in the one G-d, but you don't have to believe in G-d
(Ethan)
I do think that G-d communicates with us through prophecy.
(Ethan)
I believe that everyone should have religious freedom because there have been times when religious intolerance led to violence. (Tzvi)
Janine,
I don't think god exists on the physical dimension, but maybe on a spiritual or virtual dimension.
Rachel,
I don't agree on the 7th principal, "The prophecy of Moses is the greatest there is and ever will be." I believe that there may be a greater prophet.
just a thought,
(Daniel) 7th grade
I believe that all Jews should repair the world. We only have one world. If we don't repair it, we will all die. I. for one, don't really think God exists, but you can still be a good Jew by helping the world. (Gregory)
I think that Jews should believe that G-d wrote the Torrah, because he was watching over us for all our history, and thats what the Torrah is about.
(Ethan)
The Torrah is history, and history cannot be changed, therefore, the Torrah cannot change.
(Ethan)
I think that if in the time of the Torrah that G-d was watching everything then why wouldn't he be now?
(Ethan)
I think that G-d rewards and punishes people because he has fair judgment.
(Ethan)
I think that Jews should believe that the messiah will arrive some day because people are getting better at caring for the world and each other, and eventually when we get good enough at it, the messiah will come.
(Ethan)
I think that G-d will resurrect the dead, because even when our body dies, our soul lives on and goes to heaven, and G-d might reward us with a new body.
(Ethan)
I disagree about the thirteenth one: G-D will resurrect the dead. I have never believed resurrection was real. and also the one about G-D only speaking to us through prophecy. I believe he speaks to us through everyday experiences. For example, if you are driving and you make a wrong turn, you get upset. But then, when you arrive at your destination, you have arrived earlier then you would have had you gone the other way. Like my mom says, what may be a curse, may actually be a blessing. And vice versa.
(Scott)
I disagree with 13, because I don't belive in ressurection. I think that the dead are really dead- that you can't physically bring them back, but you can through memories. I disagree with number 11, because i think g-d doesn't punish us, our own actions will come back to haunt us. If you do something mean, you will have to feel the guilt your whole life.
(Elani)7th grade
God is only eternal if people believe in "it"... for example, no one believes in greek gods anymore.....
(Josh B.)
Elani,
I believe that the 13th one is saying that you could bring them back in spirit by remembering them, and keeping them in your memory
(Zach)
The ones that jumped at me first were:
"God communicates with humanity through prophecy. The prophecy of Moses is the greatest there is and ever will be."
If there is a God, and I am to have a personal relationship with God, then I have to believe that I can have direct communication. To say that God communicates through prophecy implies that communication is limited to a select few and that there is some kind of hierarchy. Also, it is one thing to say that Moses is the greatest to date, but to say he is the greatest that will ever be says that there is no future relationship between humankind and God.
(Noah's mom)
I don't think #7 is true because who knows what will happen in the future? I also don't like the parts that say stuff about how jews can only worship God and God is the best and he will resurect the dead, etc. I think that we can believe whatever we want, and we won't get punished for it. If God has no physical body, how can he punish us anyway? dun dun dun dun....
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