תשובה על מצות עשה א׳ ברמב״ם‎‎

שלום רב מיכי,
 
אכתוב את המייל הזה באנגלית (אבל אין לי בעיה אם תענה בעברית).
 
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 mitsva 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: יסוד היסודות ועמוד החכמות, לידע שיש שם מצוי ראשון. He told me that the term דע is the equivalent of the arabic philosophical term « i’tiqâd » which means « to know firmly » (wheras the Arabic for the term אמונה is « amâna »). He suggested that the point of the מצווה is to make our knowledge of God a firm one. 
 
This mitsva takes for granted that we believe in מעמד הר סיני (the source of the authority of mitsvot). It is only about having a firm knowledge of God. Hence the details:היא הצווי אשר צונו בהאמנת האלהות, והוא שנאמין שיש שם עלה וסבה הוא פועל לכל הנמצאים.והוא אמרו: "אנכי ה' אלהיך״
 
Concerning the principles of faith, about which the question « איך לצוות על עובדות » 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 ציווי על עובדות.
 
כול טוב,