I got into a really interesting argument with a friend this past Shabbat about something fundamental: that almost everything in our religion — the Torah itself, its interpretation, the mitzvot, Halacha Moshe miSinai, and the entire system that follows — ultimately rests on belief.
The one thing that is not treated as a matter of belief is the existence of God.
That’s why, when the Rambam discusses everything other than God’s existence in Yesodei HaTorah, he consistently uses forms of האמינו (to believe). A few clear examples:
Chapter 8, Halacha 1:
משה רבנו—לא האמינו בו ישראל, מפני האותות שעשה: שהמאמין על פי האותות—יש בליבו דופי, שאפשר שייעשה האות בלאט וכישוף.
“Moshe our teacher — Israel did not believe in him because of the signs he performed, because one who believes on the basis of signs has a flaw in his heart, since it is possible that the sign was performed through sorcery or deceit.”
Chapter 8, Halacha 2:
ובמה האמינו בו, במעמד הר סיניי: שעינינו ראו, ולא זר, ואוזנינו שמעו, ולא אחר—האש והקולות והלפידים.
“And in what did they believe in him? At the Revelation at Sinai — that our eyes saw, and not a stranger’s, and our ears heard, and not another’s — the fire, the sounds, and the torches.”
Chapter 8, Halacha 3:
ומניין שבמעמד הר סיניי לבדו, היא הראיה לנבואתו שהיא אמת שאין בו דופי—שנאמר "הנה אנוכי בא אליך בעב הענן, בעבור ישמע העם בדברי עימך, וגם בך יאמינו לעולם" (שמות יט,ט): מכלל שקודם דבר זה, לא האמינו בו נאמנות שהיא עומדת לעולם, אלא נאמנות שיש אחריה הרהור ומחשבה.
“And from where do we know that the Revelation at Sinai alone is the proof of his prophecy that is true without any flaw? As it is said: ‘Behold I come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will also believe in you forever’ (Exodus 19:9). This implies that before this event they did not believe in him with a lasting, permanent trust, but only with a trust that was followed by doubt and questioning.”
Chapter 7, Halacha 16:
ולא כל העושה אות ומופת, מאמינין אותו שהוא נביא: אלא אדם שהיינו יודעין בו מתחילתו שהוא ראוי לנבואה בחכמתו ובמעשיו...
“Not everyone who performs a sign or wonder is believed to be a prophet; rather, only a person whom we already knew from the outset was fit for prophecy in his wisdom and deeds...”
Chapter 10:
נביא שהעיד לו נביא אחר שהוא נביא—הרי זה בחזקת נביא, ואין זה השני צריך חקירה: שהרי משה רבנו העיד ליהושוע, והאמינו בו כל ישראל קודם שיעשה אות. וכן לדורות.
“A prophet for whom another prophet testifies that he is a prophet is presumed to be a prophet, and the second one does not require further investigation. For Moshe our teacher testified concerning Yehoshua, and all of Israel believed in him before he performed any sign. And so it is for all generations.”
Chapter 6, Halacha 8:
אבל מין ישראל שכתב ספר תורה, שורפין אותו עם האזכרות שבו, מפני שאינו מאמין בקדושת השם...
“But a heretic from Israel who writes a Torah scroll — we burn it together with the Divine Names in it, because he does not believe in the sanctity of the Name...”
Outside Yesodei HaTorah the same language continues. In Hilchot Mamrim the Rambam writes that one who does not believe in the Oral Torah is considered a heretic, and in Hilchot Melachim he states that anyone who does not believe in the Messiah (or does not await his coming) denies the Torah and Moshe.
The only place the Rambam uses לידע (“to know”) on its own, without the language of belief, is regarding the existence of God. In Chapter 1, Halacha 1 he writes:
יְסוֹד הַיְּסוֹדוֹת וְעַמּוּד הַחָכְמוֹת, לֵידַע שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם מָצוּי רִאשׁוֹן. וְהוּא מַמְצִיא כָּל הַנִּמְצָא; וְכָל הַנִּמְצָאִים מִן שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ וּמַה בֵּינֵיהֶם, לֹא נִמְצְאוּ אֵלָא מֵאֲמִתַּת הִמָּצְאוֹ.
“The foundation of foundations and the pillar of wisdom is to know that there is a First Existence. He brings into existence all that exists; and all the entities in the heavens, on earth, and between them exist only from the truth of His existence.”
In essence: For Christians, belief in Jesus is the goal. For Muslims, belief in Mohammed/Koran is the goal. For Jews, belief in the Torah — its mitzvot and our teacher Moshe — is the path. Through that belief and practice we aim to arrive at knowledge of God. Our “belief” in the authenticity of the Torah is the means by which we reach the knowledge of God’s existence.
Both my friend and AI disagreed with me on this, but I know I’m right… until someone proves me wrong. 😊
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