חדש באתר: NotebookLM עם כל תכני הרב מיכאל אברהם. דומה למיכי בוט.

On the first commandment: How to command to believe in oneself

שו"תOn the first commandment: How to command to believe in oneself
שאל לפני 5 שנים

Hello.
I just wanted to clarify what I wrote in the email.

Hello Rabbi Michi,
I will write this email in English (but I have no problem if you answer in Hebrew).
My father in law holds a doctorate about Maimonides (Theory of providence in the guide) and is also an Arabist. Therefore, I asked him the question about the first commandment in the sefer HaMitsvot. How can there be a mitzvah about a fact? How can God ask us to believe in Himself?
He replied that the translation from Arabic is faulty. That I should look in the mishne Torah where Rambam writes: The foundation of the foundations and the pillar of wisdom, to know that there is a first name. He told me that the term דע is the equivalent of the arabic philosophical term « i'tiqâd » which means « to know firmly » (whereas the Arabic for the term עמונה is « amâna »). He suggested that the point of the mitzvah is to make our knowledge of God a firm one.
This mitsva takes for granted that we believe in Mount Sinai (the source of the authority of mitsvot). It is only about having a firm knowledge of God. Hence the details: It is the commandments that were commanded by God. The portion of divinity, and it is that we believe that there is Ele and Seba are workers for all those present. And he said: "I am the Lord your God."
Concerning the principles of faith, about which the question « how to command facts » can also be asked, I just thought that Rambam simply states: « If you believe in those 13 principles then you are not an apikoros. If you happen not to believe in one of them, even if you are convinced that it is wrong, you are out of the game. I am simply informing you that you are an apikoros. » But Rambam is not forcing us to believe in those 13 principles. There is no problem of commanding facts.

This is what you told me:
There are two different suggestions here.
1. To make knowledge solid means to examine and deepen, which is roughly what I said in the lesson. But still, if my conclusion is that there is no God, it cannot be said that I have abrogated a positive commandment. According to this, as I answered a question asked me in the lesson, rabbis who say not to examine faith intellectually are inciting the abrogation of a positive commandment.
2. You suggest that this is just a definition and not a mitzvah. But I said in class that this is what I also thought (that it is a definitional mitzvah, like the Rambam does in verse 6), and Pixler corrected me for my mistake, because the Rambam listed this as part of the sixty eternal mitzvot that a person always fulfills. It is impossible to fulfill a definitional mitzvah.

And the clarification:

1) I don't know if it's exactly the same thing. According to you, the problem is: How can a commandment check whether it actually exists?
What I wanted to say is that there is a difference between knowing that there was a Mount Sinai event and that there is a legitimate mitzvah and between (investigating in order to) know that this mitzvah is, as the Maimonides says, an ale and a sabah and it applies to all who are present.
2) My suggestion is regarding the Thirteen Principles. For example, someone who does not believe in the coming of the Messiah is an Epicurus. The Principles are not commandments.


לגלות עוד מהאתר הרב מיכאל אברהם

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

השאר תגובה

0 Answers
מיכי צוות ענה לפני 5 שנים
  1. I didn't understand your suggestion and the difference.
  2. Was this said regardless of your first discussion? The problem is that the attitude towards Epicurus requires sanctions that are not simple. I doubt to what extent such a person deserves sanctions.

לגלות עוד מהאתר הרב מיכאל אברהם

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

השאר תגובה

Back to top button