Tag: Principles

Chapter One This chapter explains that God, Lord of the universe and Master of the world, existed before anything else did, that He has no body, and that there is none other beside Him. 1) It is the most basic of basic principles and a support for wisdom to know that there is something [namely God...

Chapter Ten This chapter discusses which signs a prophet has to perform before we believe him. 1) Any prophet who arises and says that God sent him does not have to perform a sign of the type that Moses, Elijah or Elishah did, which involved supernatural events. Instead, the sign that he has to per...

Chapter Three This chapter names the spheres and discusses their physics, and also discusses the nature and physics of the four elements. 1) Those things which are called heaven, firmament, Zevul and Aravot are spheres, and there are nine spheres altogether. The sphere nearest to us is that of the ...

Chapter Two This chapter explains that it is a commandment to love God, that all creations consist of three parts, and starts the discussion of mystical and esoteric speculation. 1) It is a commandment to love and fear the venerable and feared Almighty, for it is written, "And you shall love the L...

Chapter Six This chapter explains that it is forbidden to erase any of the Holy Names, and states which Names mat be erased. 1) Anyone who erases one of the holy and pure Names by which God is called is liable to flogging according to the Torah, for concerning idol - worship it is written, "...and ...

Chapter Seven This chapter discusses prophecy and who warrants it, and explains the difference between the prophecy of Moses and that of the other Prophets. 1) One of the bases of religion is to know that God visits people in prophetic visions, which come only to exceedingly wise people of outstand...

Chapter Four This chapter explains that all creations are made from the four elements, discusses the form of the soul, and the difference between mystical and esoterical speculation and the Action of Creation. 1) These four elements - fire, wind, water and earth - are the foundations of all the crea...

Chapter Nine This chapter explains that a prophet may not make any changes whatsoever in the Torah and the commandments contained therein. 1) It is explicitly and clearly stated in the Torah that it [the Torah] is an everlasting mitzvah, and cannot be changed, subtracted from or added to, as it is ...

Chapter Eight This chapter discusses the signs that Moses performed and why he performed them, and that he did not do so to make the people believe in him. 1) The Children of Israel did not believe in Moses [solely] because of the signs he presented, for someone who believes [in a prophet solely] ...

Chapter Five This chapter explains that all Jews are commanded to sanctify God's Name, when to transgress when under a death a threat and when to die, and defines a what constitutes a desecration of God's Name. 1) Every Jew [including women] is commanded to sanctify God's Name, for it is written, ...