Ask the Rabbi - Basic Concepts

faith as proven

Q: If, as you write, “The Jew is required to believe only that which has been proven to be correct.” How can a Jew be required to believe in Rambam’s 13 articles of faith: including Revelation, resurection of the dead, or indeed even an omnipotent, historically-involved, incorporeal and eternal God?

Q: If, as you write elsewhere in this site, “The Jew is required to believe only that which has been proven to be correct- whether that proof be based purely on the intellectual faculties or historical-factual evidence gathered by the senses.” How can a Jew be required to believe in any or all of Rambam’s 13 articles of faith: including Revelation, resurection of the dead, or indeed even an omnipotent, historically-involved, incorporeal and eternal God?

A. The answer is very simple. The basis of the veracity of Judaism is the historical fact of Revelation, which left its imprint on the collective identity of the Hebrew people. Any of the articles of faith derive from this point and not from speculative thinking.

Rabbi Oury Cherki

Rav Oury Cherki was born in Algeria in 1959 and grew up in France, and he made Aliyah in 1972. He studied at Merkaz Harav Yeshiva, which was founded by Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook. He performed his military service in the artillery branch of the IDF. He studied with Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook, Rav Yehuda Leon Ashkenazi (Manitou), Rav Shlomo Binyamin and Achlag. Rav Cherki heads the Israeli department of Machon Meir, and he is the Director of Brit Olam - the Noahide World Center. He teaches in many places throughout Israel. Rav Cherki is the spiritual leader of the "Beth Yehuda" community in Kiryat Moshe (Jerusalem). He has written many books on Jewish thought and philosophy.

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