MAIMONIDES’ (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon; abbr. Rambam); 1135~1204 THIRTEEN PRINCIPLES OF JEWISH FAITH
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 Tehillim (Psalms) 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.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) once characterized the difference between Judaism and other faiths. Judaism, he said, is a religion given by G-D to define man, while the other faiths were created by man to define G-D.
It has also been said that the Greeks designed their gods to take on the forms of men, while the Jews understood that as men they were created in the image of G-D.
Rabbi Yeshua ben Yosef
(est. 3~4 BCE to 29 ACE as Torah Incarnate)
1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with G-D, and the Word was G-D. He was with G-D in the beginning. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing made had being." Yochanan Ch 1:1~3
2. One of the Torah~teachers asked Rabbi Yeshua: "Which is the most important Mitzvah (command) of them all (613)?" Yeshua answered, "The most important is, 'Sh'ma Yisra'el, ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad...." Mark 12:28~29
Rabbi Yeshua continues in Yochanan Ch 10:30: Va'ani v'ha'av echad "I and The Father are One."
Rabbi Sha'ul's Letter to the Messianic Community in Philippi, concerning Rabbi Yeshua, it states in Ch 2:10~11: "....Therefore G-D raised Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name above every name; that in honor of the Name given Yeshua, every knee will bow- in heaven, on earth and under the earth- and every tongue will acknowledge that Yeshua HaMashiach (The Messiah) is ADONAI (Yud Hey Vav Hey)- to the glory of G-D the Father."