Page:Jewish Encyclopedia Volume 2.pdf/189

151 THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

151 Arama, and Joseph Jaabez articles to three lation)



and



Belief in

—reduced

God

his thirteen

in Creation (or reve-



in providence (or retribution).

is

created

Others,

and David ben Samuel Estella, spoke of seven fundamental articles, laying stress also on freewill. On the other hand, David ben Yom-Tob ibn Bilia, in his " Yesodot ha-Maskil " (Fundamentals of the Thinking Man), adds to the thirteen of Maimonides thirteen of his own a number which a contemporary of Albo (see '"Ikkarim," iii.) also chose

—

while Jedaiah Penini, in the chapter of his "Behinat ha-Dat," enumerated no less than thirty-five cardinal principles (see Low, for his fundamentals; last

Dogmen," in " Gesammelte Werke," i. 156 and Schechter, "Dogmas of Judaism," in "Studies of Judaism," pp. 147-181). In the fourteenth century Asher ben Jehiel of Toledo raised his voice against the Maimonidean ArtiJiidische

et seq.

cles of Paith, declaring

them

to be only temporary,

and suggested that another be added to recognize that the Exile is a punishment for the sins of Israel. Isaac Abravanel, in his"Rosh Amanah," took the same attitude toward Maimonides' creed. While defending Maimonides against Hasdai and Albo, he

refused to accept dogmatic articles for Judaism, holding, with all the cabalists, that the 613 commandments of the Law are all tantamount to Articles of Paith (see Dogma). In liturgical poetry the Articles of Faith as evolved by philosophical speculation met with metrical presThe most noted of such metrical and entation. rimed elaborations are the "Adon 'Olam," by an anonymous writer— now used as an introduction to the morning services (by the Sephardim as the conclusion of the musaf or " additional " service), and of comparatively recent date; and the other known as the "Yigdal," according to Luzzatto, by R. b. Judah Dayyan. The modern catechisms abound in formulated Arti-

Daniel

These are generally intended to be

cles of Paith.

recited

by the candidates for confirmation, or

to be

used for the reception of proselytes (see Dr. Einhorn's " 'Olat Tamid "). CateThe Central Conference of American chisms. Rabbis, in devising a formula for the admission of proselytes, elaborated a These modern schemes set of Articles of Faith. have not met with general favor their authors being in almost all cases the only ones that have

Modern

—

had recourse

them

The

points of agreement in these recent productions consist in the affirmation of the unity of God the election of Israel as the priest people; the Messianic destiny of all humanity. The declaration of principles by the to

in

practise.



Pittsburg Conference (1885) is to be classed, perhaps, with the many attempts to fix in a succinct enumeration the main principles of the modern Jewish religious consciousness. The Karaites are not behind the Rabbi nites in the elaboration of Articles of Faith. The oldest instances of the existence of such articles among them are found in the famous work by Judah ben Elijah Hadassi, "Eshkol ha-Kofer." In the order there given these are the articles of the Karaite faith (1) God is the

Creator of all created beings; and has no peer or associate

(2)

(8)

He

is

premundane

the whole universe

God

Moses and the other Proph(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

ets of the Biblical

called

canon





The

like Crescas

"

(4)



Articles of Faith



Karaites.

the world's Ruler; (8) belief in Resurrection contemporaneous with the advent of the Messiah; (9) final judgment (10) retribution. The number ten here is not accidental. It is in keeping with the scheme of the Decalogue. Judah Hadassi

acknowledges that he had predecessors in this line, and mentions some of the works on which he bases his enumeration. The most succinct cataloguing of the Karaite faith in articles is that by Elijah Bashyatzi (died about 1490). His articles vaiy but little from those by Hadassi, but they are put with greater "

philosophical precision (see Jost,

Judenthums," Bibliography:

ii.

Geschichte des

331).

German translation of 'Ikkarim and annotations), xvi-xliii. '620 et Werke, i. 31-52, 133-176; und Seiner Sekten Ham-

Schlesinger,

(especially introduction

sea., 640 et sea.; L8w, Gesammelte Jost, Gesch. des Judenthums burger, Bealencyclopoldie, s.v.



Daymen;

Bio-

Rapoport,

graphy of Hananel Schechter, The Dogmas of Judaism, in Studies of Judaism, pp. 147-181 J. Aub, Ueherdie GlauhensSymhole der Mosaischen Religion; Frankel's Zeitschrifl fttr die BeligiOsen Interessen des Judenthums, 1845, 409, 449: Creizenach, Grundlehren des Isi'aelitisehen Glauhens, in Geiger's Wissensch. Zeitschrift far Jlld. Tlieolngie, i. 39



etseq.,

ii.

68, 255.

E. G. H.

k.

The

Articles: The thirteen Articles of Faith formulated according to Maimonides in his Mishnah Commentary to Sanhedrin, introduction to ch. ix. which have been accepted by the great majority of Jews and are found in the old prayer-book are

—

—

as follows: I. I (Irmly believe that tbe Creator— blessed be His name !— Is both Creator and Ruler of all created beings, and that He alone hath made, doth make, and ever will make all works of nature. 2. 1 firmly believe that the Creator— blessed be His name !—is one and no Unity is like His in any form and that He alone is our God who was, is, and ever will be. 3. I firmly believe that the Creator— blessed be His name !— and no corporeal relations apply to Him and is not a body that there exists nothing that has any similarity to Him. 4. I firmly believe that the Creator— blessed be His name 1— was the first and will also be the last. 5. I (Irmly believe that the Creator— blessed be His name !— is alone worthy of being worshiped, and that no other being is worthy of our worship. 6. I firmly believe that all.the words of the Prophets are true. 7. 1 firmly believe that the prophecy of Moses, our masterpeace be upon him !— was true,' and that he was the chief of the Prophets, both of those that preceded him and of those that followed him.





8. 1



firmly believe that the

same that hath been given him

to

Law which we

possess

now

is

the

Moses our master— peace be upon

!

9. I firmly believe that this Law will not be changed, and that there will be no other Law [or dispensation] given by the Creator— blessed be His name !— 10. I firmly believe that the Creator— blessed be His name knowetb all the actions of men and all their thoughts, as it is " He that fashioneth the hearts of them all, He that consaid

sidereth all their works " (Ps. xxxiii. 15). II. I firmly helieve that the creator-blessed be He!—rewardeth those that keep His commandments and punisheth those that transgress His commandments. 12. I firmly believe in the coming of the Messiah ; and although He may tarry, I daily hope for His coming. 13. I firmly believe that there will take place a revival of the dead at a time which will please the Creator— blessed be

His name, and exalted His memorial for ever and ever

I

According to Maimonides he that rejects any of these articles is an unbeliever, and places himself outside of the Jewish community.