Q&A: Appears in Hamichlol and Not on Wikipedia
Appears in Hamichlol and Not on Wikipedia
Question
He stated [14] that he does not believe in some of the Thirteen Principles of Faith, such as belief in the truth of the Torah’s words as a historical fact,
the words of the prophets, and belief in the coming of the Messiah.
In an interview on “Geekonomy,” episode 560
What do you mean when you say that you do not believe in these three things?
Answer
Is the truth of the Torah as historical fact a principle of faith? Fascinating innovation, especially since the author par excellence of the principles of faith is Maimonides, who himself interpreted some of the Torah’s events as a dream or a parable.
I have explained more than once my attitude toward the principles concerning the Messiah, resurrection of the dead, and the World to Come. In short, there is no authority regarding facts. It is not certain that these three were received in tradition from Sinai. From the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) it is hard to draw any definite conclusions. Therefore I am skeptical about these matters. Some seem more reasonable and better grounded, and some less so.
Discussion on Answer
I mean every fact in the Torah, and not only the stories. Also the description of the creation of the world. And regarding the prophets too, my doubt is whether their description is factual. But there it דווקא does seem factual. At the beginning of the portion of Genesis, the text smells like a myth that is not a factual description.
So the wording needs to be corrected: it’s not that you do not believe in the coming of the Messiah, since that doesn’t fit your approach. After all, how could one know that the Messiah will not come? Rather, you are skeptical, and you do not think it is obligatory to believe it.
So basically, in your view, there are only 2 beliefs that one must believe in in order to be within Jewish faith: a) that there is a Creator of the world, b) that He gave the Torah, (c) that there is reward and punishment in the World to Come? I understood that this is not obligatory to believe?)
And that it is binding.
I didn’t understand what that was referring to.
One more obligatory belief: that the Torah that was given is binding.
You only didn’t answer me about belief in the Messiah.
In your view, is that a foolish belief, or a reasonable one, or an obligatory one, or what?
By the way, the one who invented this belief was our teacher Maimonides, who in general also does not believe in the idea that the world will exist for six thousand years, as Rashba attacked him over this. So according to Maimonides, the Messiah could definitely come another 2 billion years from now… the bread fell into the pit.
I answered all of them. Maimonides did not invent this belief. Where did you get such a strange idea? I am skeptical, but I do not reject it. It has a basis in the prophets, and perhaps it is also a tradition. And perhaps not.
Maimonides invented it in the sense that he established it as a principle.
After all, in the Talmud it is not agreed upon,
and likewise among the medieval authorities (Rishonim) who discussed the principles.
So by the truth of the Torah, do you mean the stories that appear in the Torah, where you are doubtful whether they happened? By the way, Maimonides spoke only about a certain detail and gave a general rule that whenever there is an appearance or speech of an angel, it is in a dream, because in reality there is no angel that appears openly or speaks. But what do you mean?
And likewise, by the truth of the words of the prophets, do you mean that you doubt the truth of their prophecy or the truth of the stories told in the books of the prophets?