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The commandments of faith (the first word is I, the Lord)

שו”תCategory: faithThe commandments of faith (the first word is I, the Lord)
asked 3 years ago

Peace, Your Honor,
Regarding the mitzvah of faith, which is probably counted according to the majority of the mitzvahs that a mitzvah has performed, the question is well-known as to how it is possible for the mitzvah itself to command belief in itself.
I’m looking for a solution to this. Intuitively, I think it’s true that it’s a mitzvah, but the question is strong.
I found something at Maharl that might answer the question, but I’m not sure yet, so I’m sharing it with you.
“Tiferet Yisrael” (Chapter 37) – the gist of his words, and he answers 2 questions about those who say that it is not a commandment because the plain language seems to indicate a fact and not the language of a commandment. To this he answers that the Lord announces that He is God without regard to human opinions, but rather is an existing fact. Therefore, it does not come in language that could possibly depend on the will of humans.
And regarding the logical question, he says this: “I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and therefore you shall not deny me, saying, ‘I am not your God,'” that is, there is a commandment that appears in the negative, which is “do not deny,” and not a commandment in the affirmative, “believe that there is a God.”
Is there a solution to this in his words? That is, do you think he saves us from the difficulty?

Thanks in advance!


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0 Answers
מיכי Staff answered 3 years ago
I don’t see what they gain from it. Some have explained that the commandment is to deepen one’s faith. I once thought that it was a declarative commandment, a title for the book of commandments that places the basic norm (Kelzen’s term) at the beginning of the book. See the commandments of the Tza-Tzo, which are declarative commandments that are not commandments of anything. The problem is not only the circularity that without faith there is no mitzvah, but that faith is a matter of fact and therefore does not pertain to the commandment upon it.

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א' replied 3 years ago

I remember the rabbi rejected this proposal. I don't remember why. Can the rabbi elaborate?

מיכי Staff replied 3 years ago

Rabbi Prof. Dror Pixler commented to me that this mitzvah appears among the Rambam's eternal mitzvahs, meaning that it is indeed a mitzvah that is to be observed and not merely declared.

In the 2nd of Elul, the Maimonides formulates the commandment of faith as “to know that there is a name.” This means that the commandment is to study and examine until the path is clear in a person’s mind, just as the commandment of Talmud Torah is defined by “and memorization,” which the Sages demanded, “that they be memorized by mouth so that things are clear to a person.”

With blessings, Yaron Fishel Ordner

אורי replied 3 years ago

Since faith is in the natural consciousness of man, the team can connect to the natural consciousness.

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