13 Principles of Faith

Yad, Yesodey Hatorah

1

The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of wisdom is to know that there is a Primary Being who brought into being all existence. All the beings of the heavens, the earth, and what is between them came into existence only from the truth of His being.

א

.יסוד היסודות ועמוד החכמות לידע שיש שם מצוי ראשון והוא ממציא כל נמצא וכל הנמצאים משמים וארץ ומה שביניהם לא נמצאו אלא מאמתת המצאו:

2

If one would imagine that He does not exist, no other being could possibly exist.

ב

.ואם יעלה על הדעת שהוא אינו מצוי אין דבר אחר יכול להמצאות:

3

If one would imagine that none of the entities aside from Him exist, He alone would continue to exist, and the nullification of their [existence] would not nullify His existence, because all the [other] entities require Him and He, blessed be He, does not require them nor any one of them. Therefore, the truth of His [being] does not resemble the truth of any of their [beings].

ג

ואם יעלה על הדעת שאין כל הנמצאים מלבדו מצויים הוא לבדו יהיה מצוי ולא יבטל הוא לבטולם שכל הנמצאים צריכין לו והוא ברוך הוא אינו צריך להם ולא לאחד מהם לפיכך אין אמתתו כאמתת אחד מהם:

4

This is implied by the prophet's statement [Jeremiah 10:10]: "And God, your Lord, is true" - i.e., He alone is true and no other entity possesses truth that compares to His truth. This is what [is meant by] the Torah's statement [Deuteronomy 4:35]: "There is nothing else aside from Him" - i.e., aside from Him, there is no true existence like His.

ד

.הוא שהנביא אומר וה' אלהים אמת הוא לבדו האמת ואין לאחר אמת כאמתתו והוא שהתורה אומרת אין עוד מלבדו כלומר אין שם מצוי אמת מלבדו כמותו:

5

This entity is the God of the world and the Lord of the entire earth. He controls the sphere with infinite and unbounded power. This power [continues] without interruption, because the sphere is constantly revolving, and it is impossible for it to revolve without someone causing it to revolve. [That one is] He, blessed be He, who causes it to revolve without a hand or any [other] corporeal dimension.

ה

המצוי הזה הוא אלהי העולם אדון כל הארץ והוא המנהיג הגלגל בכח שאין לו קץ ותכלית בכח שאין לו הפסק שהגלגל סובב תמיד ואי אפשר שיסוב בלא מסבב והוא ברוך הוא המסבב אותו בלא יד ובלא גוף:

6

The knowledge of this concept is a positive commandment, as [implied by Exodus 20:2]: "I am God, your Lord...."

Anyone who presumes that there is another god transgresses a negative commandment, as [Exodus 20:3] states: "You shall have no other gods before Me" and denies a fundamental principle [of faith], because this is the great principle [of faith] upon which all depends.

ו

וידיעת דבר זה מצות עשה שנאמר אנכי ה' אלהיך וכל המעלה על דעתו שיש שם אלוה אחר חוץ מזה עובר בלא תעשה שנאמר לא יהיה לך אלהים אחרים על פני וכופר בעיקר שזהו העיקר הגדול שהכל תלוי בו:

English

I believe with perfect faith that G-d is the Creator and Ruler of all things. He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.

Principle III

I believe with complete faith that G-d does not have a body. Physical concepts do not apply to him. There is nothing whatsoever that resembles him.

PRINCIPLE IV

He preceded all things that were created. He is first, yet without beginning.

Guide to the Perplexed 2:13

Everything (other than God Himself) was created by God out of absolute nothingness. In the beginning, God alone existed. There was nothing else. He then created everything that exists from absolute nothingness. It all followed His will and desire.

Even time itself is among the things created by God. In order for motion to exist, we must have things that move. And all things were created by God.

YESH VAYESH

Tanya, Shaar HaYichud
VehaEmunah, chs. 1-3,
Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 20;
Likkutei Sichos, Vol. VI, p. 17ff.,
Vol. XXIV, p. 41ff.

Gnawing Issues

For years, philosophers have struggled with questions concerning the very nature of our existence. Is our life genuine or is it just an illusion? And if it is real, does it have true meaning and purpose, or are we existing in an existential framework without any goal or direction?

Chassidic thought explains that these questions and the resolution to them stem from the fact that our world was created yesh me’ayin, something from nothing. We, as created beings, feel ourselves as yesh, something, an entity that exists. And yet, intellectually, we realize that this existence had to come from somewhere. The very fact our reality is made up of finite, limited beings who live in a continuum of time and space forces us to conclude that this existence did not exist for all time. It had a beginning.

What existed before that beginning? We do not know. Because we cannot know. As created beings, we cannot appreciate anything beyond the set of creation. For that reason, we call the source for our existence: ayin, nothing, i.e., something that we do not and cannot comprehend or know.

Now since there was a state2 in which our world did not exist, there is room to say that even now when the world appears to exist, its existence is not genuine. To cite an example: Our Sages3 relate that only streams that flow continuously are considered as “living water” and may be used for the purification process involving sprinkling the ashes of the red heifer. If a stream dries up once in seven years, it is not considered “living water” and may not be used for this process.

Similarly, one might argue that since at the outset, the world did not exist and ultimately, the world will cease to exist, even at present, its existence is not genuine. Chassidus , however, dismisses this approach, citing as a proof the Torah’s statement:4 “In the beginning, G‑d created the heaven and the earth.”

Proof is not derived from the fact that we feel that the world exists, for that feeling is part of our set of existence and thus could itself be an illusion. Instead, since the Torah an objective standard that transcends our world states that the world came into being, we accept this as the truth5 and this is what grants validity to our existence.

A Different Type of Craft

To understand these concepts, we have to appreciate the uniqueness of creation yesh me’ayin. It is not like shaping a utensil from clay or metal. For in that instance, the clay and the metal existed previously and have the potential to be shaped as the craftsman desires. With regard to the world, by contrast, nothing existed previously, not the matter nor the potential for the matter. Everything was brought into being from absolute nothingness.

Now, since it was brought into being from absolute nothingness, its true state is nothingness. Even as it exists, it still has the tendency to return to nothingness. To cite an example, when a person throws a stone upward, because of the power of gravity, the stone has a natural tendency to fall downward. Why does it continue to rise? Because something the force imparted by the person who threw the stone pushes it upward against its nature. As soon as that force dissipates, the stone resumes its natural tendency and begins to fall downward.

Similarly, with regard to our world, since the natural state of our existence is non-being, it is constantly seeking to revert to that state. Why does it remain in existence? Because G‑d’s creative power that brought the world into being is continuously present, pushing the world against its natural tendency to revert to nothingness and in this way, keeping it in existence.

Continuous Creation

The Baal Shem Tov8 explained this concept in his interpretation of the verse:9 “Forever, O G‑d, Your words are standing in the heavens.” G‑d’s words, i.e., His command:10 “Let there be a firmament,” are standing in the heavens at all times, maintaining their existence. If for one moment, His word would be withdrawn, the heavens would cease to exist, like the stone that falls downward when the force pushing it upward dissipates.

This is true, not only for the heavens, but for all existence. Not only was it brought into existence by G‑d’s word 5760 years ago, today, at this very moment, it is being brought into existence by the same Ten Utterances of Creation.11 Were G‑d to cease this creative power for one moment, the world would cease to be. He does not have to do anything to destroy the world. Instead, were He to desire that it cease, it would be sufficient for Him simply to withdraw His energy and cease bringing it into being. That would cause all existence to return to nothingness.

Creation is thus not merely an activity that took place thousands of years ago, but a present-day event, taking place every moment. As we say in our prayers:12 “He renews each day, continuously,13 the work of creation.” At every moment, each entity is being brought into being by G‑d’s creative energy.

Veiling His Hand

Thus every entity has two elements to its existence: its physical form and the creative force enabling that physical form to be. Now, were a creation as it exists in a physical form able to sense the spiritual life-force that maintains its existence, it would not be able to exist. Looking directly at the sun scorches the cells of the retina. In a far more powerful way, were limited material existence to perceive this spiritual life-force, it would cease to be.

For that reason, the process of creation requires concealment. G‑d’s creative power must be hidden from the entities it brings into existence.14 And since the created beings do not perceive their source, they perceive themselves. For the first time in the spiritual cosmos, there is an entity other than G‑d that feels “I exist.” Instead of seeing themselves as one link and in this instance, the last link in a spiritual hierarchy, the created beings perceive themselves as independent and genuine entities; as they look at themselves, they are the beginning and end of existence.

The Source for Self

On one hand, this is obviously a disadvantage, for this perception runs contrary to the truth. Simultaneously, we are forced to say that the feeling of self is not solely a handicap stemming from concealment. It must originate somewhere. Since it is a feeling of power and strength, it must have a source. It cannot come about merely because of the withdrawal and concealment of G‑d’s light. Nor does it come from the spiritual forces that serve as the immediate source for the world’s creation. Since these forces have no conception of self they are totally subsumed to G‑dliness they cannot be the source for self-consciousness in this world.

Where is there a feeling of “I am”? In G‑d’s essence. For He truly is. As explained above,15He exists as Primeval Being. He was not made or brought into existence. He is.

For this reason, it is within His potential to create the world. As Tanya states:16

His Being is of His essence, and He is not, heaven forbid, caused by any other cause preceding Himself. He alone therefore has it in His power and potential to create something out of absolute nothingness, without this something having any other cause [obviously]17 preceding it.

Every entity that is brought into being is brought into being in a specific manner. It has a set of potentials which it is given and it cannot extend itself beyond them, for they define its existence. Now, for an entity to bring into being an entity that it has the potential to make cannot be considered as creation of a new entity, for it is just expressing the potential it was given. It is not bringing about a new development. Conversely, for it to make something that is beyond its potential is impossible. Therefore no being that was created or that emanated from Him has the potential to create.

Where does that potential lie? In His essence. For His essence is totally undefined. There is nothing He is, and there is nothing He isn’t. He has no boundaries or limitations whatsoever, and hence can create entirely new frames of reference. Since there is no structure or rules that define Him, He can change structures and rules at will, bringing into being realms of existence that are new entirely, that did not exist previously even in potentia. Since He is true existence, He can be the source for the existence of other entities. As the Rambam writes:18 “All the beings of the heavens and the earth… came into existence solely from the truth of His being.”

At the Top and at the Bottom

Now the feeling that “I exist; I am not dependent on anything else,” exists only in our material world and in G‑d’s essence. No other entity in the spiritual cosmos has such a feeling; they are all to one degree or another aware of G‑d’s presence and hence, subsume their existence to Him.

Why can man and the other creatures of our material world have such a feeling although it is a mistaken one? Because He invests a dimension of His very essence in creation. On the higher, spiritual planes of existence, His light and His qualities alone are revealed. In this material world, however, He imparts His very essence.

This leads to the paradox of our existence mentioned at the outset. On one hand, because He has invested Himself in our world, we feel our existence powerfully. On the other hand, because He created the world through a series of intermediaries expressing and then concealing and withdrawing His power as explained by the Kabbalists we are forced to intellectually acknowledge that our existence has a source above itself. And this enables us to reach the ultimate purpose of our being, to identify our existence with G‑d, the ultimate source of existence.

In this vein, our Sages comment:19 “The world was created solely for Mashiach.” For it is in the era of Mashiach that we will no longer be concerned with selfish, individual goals, but instead will identify with G‑d and His purpose “to perfect the world under the sovereignty of the A-lmighty.”20

English

Basi Legani, Chapter 1

"I have come into My garden, My sister, My bride."

-- Shir HaShirim 5:1

[Song of Songs (Shir HaShirim), the medrash explains, is not to be taken at face value: it is a metaphor describing the ongoing relationship between G‑d and His bride, the Jewish people.

The above verse, for example, refers to the time of the construction of the Sanctuary, when the Shechinah came into His garden — for it was then that the Divine Presence, distant for a time, was again revealed in this world.]

[The Hebrew word that means "to My garden" is now discussed.]

Medrash Rabbah (on the above verse) observes that the word used is not L'Gan [which would mean "to the garden"], but L'Gani [which means "to My garden"] - and this implies L'Gnuni [which means "to My bridal chamber."

For, as the commentaries on the Medrash explain, this possessive form implies a private place, such as the chamber in which the spiritual union of groom and bride is consummated.

The Divine Presence is thus saying:] "I have come into My bridal chamber, into the place in which My essence was originally revealed."

The Medrash continues: "In the beginning, the essence of the Shechinah was apparent in this lowly world.

However, in the wake of the [cosmic] sin of the Tree of Knowledge, the Shechinah departed from the earth and rose into the heavens.

Later, on account of the sin of Cain and then of Enosh, the Shechinah withdrew even further from this world, rising from the nearest heaven to the second, and then to the third.

Later yet, the sins of the generation of the Deluge caused it to recede from the third heaven to the fourth, and so on.

This progressive recession of the revealed Divine Presence is alluded to in the wording of the verse that relates that Adam and Eve `heard the sound of G‑d walking about in the garden.' [Bereishis 3:8.]

R. Abba notes: `The verse does not use the expected form of the verb, Mehalech, but rather Mithalech, which suggests that they heard the Divine Presence springing back in successive stages of withdrawal.'"

The Medrash proceeds to explain that [after the sins of seven generations had caused the Divine Presence to withdraw seven spiritual levels from its initial manifestation in this world], seven tzaddikim arose whose divine service drew the Divine Presence down once more into this world below.

Through the merit of Avraham the Shechinah was brought down from the seventh heaven to the sixth, through the merit of Yitzchak the Shechinah was brought down from the sixth heaven to the fifth, and so on - until Moshe, the seventh of these tzaddikim (and "all those who are seventh are cherished"), drew the revelation of the Shechinah down once again into this world below.

Divinity was primarily revealed in the Beis HaMikdash, as it is written, "And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I shall dwell within them."

Significantly, the last Hebrew word of the verse is not, as expected, betocho [which would mean "within it"], but betocham, which means "within them" - for G‑d craves a dwelling place within each individual Jew.

This concept can grant us an insight into the verse, - "The righteous will inherit the land and dwell forever upon it."

Now the word le-ad, here translated "forever", recalls the word "ad" in the phrase, - "He Who dwells forever, exalted and holy is His Name."

Our verse may thus be understood as follows:

The righteous will inherit the land, which is an allusion to Gan Eden, because they cause "Him Who dwells forever, exalted and holy is His Name," to dwell and be revealed in this physical world below.

With this in mind [namely, the revelation of the Divine Presence in the Sanctuary, and more particularly, the revelation of the divine dimension within himself which each individual secures through the construction of his personal sanctuary], we can better understand the interpretation of the verse, "I have come into My garden," as "I have come into My bridal chamber"; i.e., the Shechinah here speaks of its return to the original location of its essential abode - in the midst of the nether beings.

Now the ultimate purpose for the creation of the [spiritual and physical] worlds was that "G‑d desired to have a dwelling place in the lower worlds":

He desired that Divinity be revealed [even on the material plane] below - by means of man's divine service of subordinating and transforming his physical nature; He desired that the divine soul descend from its spiritual heights and become enclothed in a body with an animal soul, which would conceal and obscure the divine soul's light; and despite all this, [through the study of Torah and the observance of the commandments], the divine soul would refine and purify the body and the animal soul, as well as its portion in the world, i.e., its environment.

This, then, is the meaning of the above-quoted verse, "And they shall make Me a Sanctuary and I shall dwell within them" - within each individual Jew.

The individual brings about this [revelation of the Divine Presence within his personal sanctuary] through his divine service of sifting and refining materiality, by subordinating and transforming his physical nature.

In this spirit it is written, "When the sitra achra [lit.,'the other side'; i.e., the cosmic force opposing holiness] is subdued, the glory of G‑d rises thereby [and is diffused] throughout all the worlds."

Summary

The essence of the Shechinah was apparent in the lower worlds. The chapter explains that the ultimate purpose for the world's creation is G‑d's desire for a dwelling place in the lower worlds.

This terrestrial abode is constructed through man's divine service - subduing and transforming his physical nature.

In this manner he causes the transcendent light of sovev kol almin, which illuminates all worlds equally, to be revealed.

Principle V

I believe with perfect faith that it is only proper to pray to God. One may not pray to anyone or anything else.

1. Belief in the existence of the Creator, who is perfect in every manner of existence and is the Primary Cause of all that exists.

2. The belief in G‑d's absolute and unparalleled unity.

3. The belief in G‑d's non-corporeality, nor that He will be affected by any physical occurrences, such as movement, or rest, or dwelling.

4. The belief in G‑d's eternity.

5. The imperative to worship G‑d exclusively and no foreign false gods.

6. The belief that G‑d communicates with man through prophecy.

7. The belief in the primacy of the prophecy of Moses our teacher.

8. The belief in the divine origin of the Torah.

9. The belief in the immutability of the Torah.

10. The belief in G‑d's omniscience and providence.

11. The belief in divine reward and retribution.

12. The belief in the arrival of the Messiah and the messianic era.

13. The belief in the resurrection of the dead.