Q&A: The Commandment of Faith
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
The Commandment of Faith
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Regarding the commandment of faith: I understand that it is impossible to command someone regarding a factual claim, and therefore seemingly there is no commandment to believe.
I just wanted to understand, then, how God nevertheless commands us in the first commandment.
Answer
Who says the first commandment is a commandment at all? Maybe it is merely an introduction / self-identification before the commandments. As for Maimonides, who counted it as a commandment, that is indeed difficult. However, that does seem to be implied in Makkot 23, that “I am” and “You shall have no other gods” are the two commandments that we heard directly from the Almighty, and this requires further analysis.
Perhaps one could say that the command in “I am the Lord your God” is to examine the factual claim, and not just believe it blindly.
That is why Maimonides phrases it as “to know”—the command is to investigate the fact and the first premise.
In other words, the command is to read the first book in the trilogy.