What are orthodox Jews 13 principles of faith?

Answer 1

Here are the traditional 13 principles of Jewish faith, as formulated by Moses Maimonides, also known as the "Rambam"(1138-1204):

# Existence of God. God is the creator and ruler of all things. He alone has made, makes, and will make all things. # God's unity. God is one. There is no unity that is in any way like His. He alone is God. He was, He is, and He will be. # God's spirituality and incorporeality. God does not have a body. Physical concepts do not apply to Him. Nothing resembles Him at all. # God's eternity. God is first, and He is last. # God alone should be the object of worship. It is only proper to pray to God. One may not pray to anyone or anything else. # Revelation through God's prophets. All the words of the prophets are true. # Preeminence of Moses among prophets.The prophecy of Moses is true. He was the chief of all prophets, both before and after. # God's law given at Mount Sinai. The entire Torah that we now have is that which was given to Moses. # Immutability of the Torah as God's law. This Torah will not be changed, and that there will never be another given by God. # God's foreknowledge of human actions. God knows all of man's deeds and thoughts, as it is written, "He has molded every heart together, He understands what each one does." (Psalms:33) # Reward of good and retribution of evil. God rewards those who keep His commandments and punishes those who transgress them. # Coming of the Jewish messiah. However long it takes, we await his coming every day. # Resurrection of the dead. The dead will be brought back to life when God wills it.

Answer 2

Here they are, translated from the original Hebrew:

1. 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. 2. I believe with perfect faith that G-d is One. There is no unity that is in any way like His. He alone is our G-d He was, He is, and He will be. 3. I believe with perfect faith that G-d does not have a body. physical concepts do not apply to Him. There is nothing whatsoever that resembles Him at all. 4. I believe with perfect faith that G-d is first and last. 5. I believe with perfect faith that it is only proper to pray to G-d. One may not pray to anyone or anything else. 6. I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true. 7. I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses is absolutely true. He was the chief of all prophets, both before and after Him. 8. I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that we now have is that which was given to Moses. 9. I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be changed, and that there will never be another given by G-d. 10. I believe with perfect faith that G-d knows all of man's deeds and thoughts. It is thus written (Psalm 33:15), "He has molded every heart together, He understands what each one does." 11. I believe with perfect faith that G-d rewards those who keep His commandments, and punishes those who transgress Him. 12. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah. How long it takes, I will await His coming every day. 13. I believe with perfect faith that the dead will be brought back to life when G-d wills it to happen.

Answer 3

1. God exists, and is the Creator.
This tells us that the world is not purposeless or chaotic. Life is the result of a deliberate, purposeful, intelligent and kind Creator; not a melancholy chaos or a string of fortuitous accidents.

• Link: Can you show that God exists
  

2. God is One and unique.
This is the basis of all Western monotheistic belief, which was given to the world by Abraham and his descendants. This belief places God at the center of reality and of our world-outlook and thoughts.

• Link: Biography of Abraham
  

3. God is not physical.

• Link: What do Jews believe God is like?
  

This includes the corollary that no person should be worshiped as God or as a god. Judaism has no god-kings, no demigods, no angel who flouts God's will, and no sports-idols, movie-idols etc.

4. God is eternal.
This includes the belief that God's ways are also eternal. God is not capricious, forgetful or fickle. Investing in a relationship with God is the only thing that will bear eternal benefits.

5. Prayer is to be directed only to God.
This also teaches us that no person, government or institution is to be accorded blind trust. We pray directly to God, three times a day; and we recount our shortcomings, ask for our needs, and acknowledge our successes with happy thanks.

6. The words of the prophets are true.

• Link: About the Hebrew Prophets
  

The prophecies of the Hebrew Bible have been coming true throughout history. Even secular archaeologists (the unbiased ones) have stated that the Hebrew Bible is the most accurate of historical records, as the disdainful theories of Wellhausen and Bible-critics of his ilk have been shattered by the archaeologist's spade. A list of Bible verses which were deemed anachronistic but later shown to be perfectly accurate would run into the many hundreds.

• Link: Refuting theories of Bible-critics
  

7. The prophecies of Moses are true; and he was the greatest prophet.

8. The Torah was given to Moses by God.
These two beliefs are the basis of our attitude towards the Torah: it is the center of our lives. Jews are keeping mitzvot (commands), saying blessings, praying, learning Torah and doing acts of kindness and charity all the time. The Torah is the single greatest thing that a Jew has; given to us to provide knowledge, guidance, inspiration, awe and reverence, advice, law, comfort, history and more. It is the basis of Judaism.

9. There will be no other Torah.
We Jews have been around for 3800 years. New fads, manifestos, beliefs or lifestyles which rear their heads are met by the Jew with a calm, seasoned eye and the proverbial grain of salt. The Torah doesn't change; and every new thing can be measured against the Torah's standards.

10. God knows the thoughts and deeds of all.
11. God rewards the good and punishes the wicked.
These two beliefs provide a vast incentive towards righteousness and, when needed, repentance.
They also form part of the basis of our belief in the afterlife, since this entire world wouldn't be enough to reward a Moses or punish a Hitler.
God is just (Deuteronomy 32:4); and all outstanding accounts are settled after this life.

12. The Messiah will come.
13. The dead will be resurrected.

• Link: The afterlife in Judaism
  

Judaism is the only ancient religion which taught optimism; and a large part of that optimism was and is based upon the words of the prophets.

Answer 4

Rambam died in 1204 or 1206, so sometime in the decades prior to that.