Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith. On the mishnah Sanhedrin Chapter 10
Moses Maimonides (ca. 1138-1204)
The eighth principle That the Torah is from Heaven and that is that we believe that this Torah that is given to us through Moshe, our teacher - peace be upon him - is completely from the mouth of the Almighty; which is to say that it all came to him from God, may He be blessed, in a manner that is metaphorically called speech.
And no one knows how it came to him except Moshe himself, peace be upon him - since it came to him. And [we believe] that he was like a scribe who is dictated to and writes down all of the events, the stories and the commandments. And therefore [Moshe] is called the engraver.
And there is no difference between "And the sons of Cham were Kush and Mitsrayim" (Genesis 10:6), "and his wife's name was" Meheitabel" (Genesis 36:39), "And Timnah was his concubine" (Genesis 36:12) [ on the one hand] and "I am the Lord, your God" (Exodus 20:2) and "Hear Israel" (Deuteronomy 6:4) [on the other]; since they are all from the mouth of the Almighty and it is all the Torah of God - complete, pure and holy truth.
And anyone who says, "These type of verses or stories were written by Moshe on his own," is for our sages and prophets a heretic, and one who reveals [incorrect] faces [of the Torah] more than all of the heretics; since he thinks that there is a heart and a peel to the Torah and that these chronicles and stories don't have a point to them and that they are from Moshe our teacher - peace be upon him.
And this matter of one who holds that the Torah is not from Heaven, the sages said about it (Sanhedrin 99a), that it is one who believes the whole Torah is from the mouth of the Almighty except for this one verse, which the Holy One, blessed be He, did not say, but rather it was from Moshe himself. And this is "Since he disgraced the word of the Lord" (Numbers 13:31) - God, may He be blessed, is above the statements of the heretics.
Rather every single word of the Torah contains wisdom and wonders for the one who understands them. And their ultimate wisdom is not [fully] grasped, as 'its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.'
And a man should only walk in the footsteps of of David, the anointed of the God of Yaakov, who prayed (Psalms 119:18), "Uncover my eyes and I shall look upon the wonders of Your Torah."
And so too, the accepted understanding of the Torah is also from the Almighty; and [so] that which we today make a [certain] form for the sukkah, the lulav, the shofar, the tsitsit, the tefilllin and other [such maters], it is the exact form that God, may He be blessed, said to Moshe, and which [Moshe] told to us - and he is reliable in his charge. And the statement that indicates this principle is that which is stated (Numbers 16:28), "with this shall you know that it is the Lord that sent me to do all of these acts, and it is not from my heart."
The ninth principle Faithful transmission and that is that this Torah has faithfully been transmitted from the Creator, God - may He be blessed - and not from anyone else. And [so] it cannot be added to and it cannot be taken away from, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 13:1), "you shall not add to it and you shall not take away from it." And we have already elucidated this principle in the introduction to this composition.
(א) וְיֹתֵר מֵהֵמָּה בְּנִי הִזָּהֵר, מְהוּמָה, שֶׁכָּל הַמַּכְנִיס בְּתוֹךְ בֵּיתוֹ יוֹתֵר מֵעֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה סְפָרִים, מְהוּמָה הוּא מַכְנִיס בְּבֵיתוֹ, כְּגוֹן סֵפֶר בֶּן סִירָא וְסֵפֶר בֶּן תִּגְלָא. וְלַהַג הַרְבֵּה יְגִיעַת בָּשָׂר, לַהֲגוֹת נִתְּנוּ וְלֹא לִיגִיעַת בָּשָׂר נִתְּנוּ.
(1) “More than that, my son, be careful: Making many books has no end, and much prattle is exertion of the flesh” (Ecclesiastes 12:12).
“More than that [mehema], my son, be careful” – [of] confusion [mehuma], as anyone who introduces more than [these] twenty-four books into his house introduces confusion into his house, such as the book of ben Sira and the book of ben Tigla. Ancient works of wisdom literature. “And much prattle is exertion of the flesh” – as they were given for prattle and were not given for exertion. This is in contradistinction to the twenty-four books of the Bible, whose study requires exertion.
Authorship & Editing
And who wrote the books of the Bible? Moses wrote his own book, i.e., the Torah, and the portion of Balaam in the Torah, and the book of Job. Joshua wrote his own book and eight verses in the Torah, which describe the death of Moses. Samuel wrote his own book, the book of Judges, and the book of Ruth. David wrote the book of Psalms by means of ten elders of previous generations, assembling a collection that included compositions of others along with his own. He included psalms authored by Adam the first man, by Melchizedek king of Salem, and by Abraham, and by Moses, and by Heman, and by Jeduthun, and by Asaph, and by the three sons of Korah. Jeremiah wrote his own book, and the book of Kings, and Lamentations. Hezekiah and his colleagues wrote the following, and a mnemonic to remember which books they wrote is yod, mem, shin, kuf: Isaiah [Yeshaya], Proverbs [Mishlei], Song of Songs [Shir HaShirim], and Ecclesiastes [Kohelet]. The members of the Great Assembly wrote the following, and a mnemonic to remember these books is kuf, nun, dalet, gimmel: Ezekiel [Yeḥezkel ], and the Twelve Prophets [Sheneim Asar], Daniel [Daniel ], and the Scroll of Esther [Megillat Ester]. Ezra wrote his own book and the genealogy of the book of Chronicles until his period.
Canonization
Against Apion
By Josephus 38 - 100 CE
Book 1 :7...Because every one is not permitted of his own accord to be a writer, nor is there any disagreement in what is written; they being only prophets that have written the original and earliest accounts of things as they learned them of God himself by inspiration; and others have written what hath happened in their own times, and that in a very distinct manner also.
Book 1:8
For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from and contradicting one another, [as the Greeks have,] but only twenty-two books,. which contain the records of all the past times; which are justly believed to be divine; and of them five belong to Moses, which contain his laws and the traditions of the origin of mankind till his death.
This interval of time was little short of three thousand years; but as to the time from the death of Moses till the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, who reigned after Xerxes, the prophets, who were after Moses, wrote down what was done in their times in thirteen books.
The remaining four books contain hymns to God, and precepts for the conduct of human life.
It is true, our history hath been written since Artaxerxes very particularly, but hath not been esteemed of the like authority with the former by our forefathers, because there hath not been an exact succession of prophets since that time; and how firmly we have given credit to these books of our own nation is evident by what we do; for during so many ages as have already passed, no one has been so bold as either to add any thing to them, to take any thing from them, or to make any change in them; but it is become natural to all Jews immediately, and from their very birth, to esteem these books to contain Divine doctrines, and to persist in them, and, if occasion be willingly to die for them.
(א) משֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי, וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ, וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לִזְקֵנִים, וּזְקֵנִים לִנְבִיאִים, וּנְבִיאִים מְסָרוּהָ לְאַנְשֵׁי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. הֵם אָמְרוּ שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים, הֱווּ מְתוּנִים בַּדִּין, וְהַעֲמִידוּ תַלְמִידִים הַרְבֵּה, וַעֲשׂוּ סְיָג לַתּוֹרָה:
(1) Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be patient in [the administration of] justice, raise many disciples and make a fence round the Torah.
Avot D'rabi Noson 1:3
Rabbi Nathan, was a tanna of the third generation (2nd century).
Joshua received (the Torah) from Moses, as it states: (Num. 27) "And you (Moses) shall place (a portion) of your splendor on him (Joshua), so that the entire congregation of the Children of Israel shall hear."
The Elders received it from Joshua, as it states: (Judges 2) "And the nation served God during all the days of Joshua and all the days of the Elders, who saw the great deeds that God performed for Israel, whose life spanned for days after Joshua('s)."
The Judges received it from Joshua, as it states: (Ruth 1) "And it was in the days of the rule of the Judges."
The Prophets received from the Judges, as it states: (Jeremiah 7) "and I sent My servants, the prophets, to you daily, betimes and often." Haggai, Zakhariah and Malakhi received it from the Prophets. The Men of the Great Assembly received it from Haggai, Zakhariah and Malakhi. And they said three things: "Be patient in judgement, and appoint many students and make a fence for the Torah.
How should one be patient in judgement? This comes to teach that one should wait in judgement. For all who wait in judgement - (their minds) are settled in judgement. As it states: (prov. 25) "These too are the parables of Solomon, which the men of Hizkiyah, King of Judah, copied over." And (the meaning of the verse) is not that they copied over, rather that they waited.
Abba Shaul says (the meaning is) not that they waited, rather that they explained: in the earlier days, they would say that that Proverbs and Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes were to be put away, as those texts spoke parables and were not of the Holy Scriptures - and so they stood (in decisive judgement) and hid them away. (and these texts remained hidden away) Until the Men of the Great Assembly came along and explained them.
Parchment, Ink, Scrolls, Alphabet, spelling/orthographic, division into words, verses, parshiyos open & closed sidros & chapters
Vocalization, Punctuation, Musical notes, Translation
(א) וַיֵּאָסְפ֤וּ כׇל־הָעָם֙ כְּאִ֣ישׁ אֶחָ֔ד אֶל־הָ֣רְח֔וֹב אֲשֶׁ֖ר לִפְנֵ֣י שַֽׁעַר־הַמָּ֑יִם וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ לְעֶזְרָ֣א הַסֹּפֵ֔ר לְהָבִ֗יא אֶת־סֵ֙פֶר֙ תּוֹרַ֣ת מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה ה' אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ב) וַיָּבִ֣יא עֶזְרָ֣א הַ֠כֹּהֵ֠ן אֶֽת־הַתּוֹרָ֞ה לִפְנֵ֤י הַקָּהָל֙ מֵאִ֣ישׁ וְעַד־אִשָּׁ֔ה וְכֹ֖ל מֵבִ֣ין לִשְׁמֹ֑עַ בְּי֥וֹם אֶחָ֖ד לַחֹ֥דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי׃ (ג) וַיִּקְרָא־בוֹ֩ לִפְנֵ֨י הָרְח֜וֹב אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ לִפְנֵ֣י שַֽׁעַר־הַמַּ֗יִם מִן־הָאוֹר֙ עַד־מַחֲצִ֣ית הַיּ֔וֹם נֶ֛גֶד הָאֲנָשִׁ֥ים וְהַנָּשִׁ֖ים וְהַמְּבִינִ֑ים וְאׇזְנֵ֥י כׇל־הָעָ֖ם אֶל־סֵ֥פֶר הַתּוֹרָֽה׃ (ד) וַֽיַּעֲמֹ֞ד עֶזְרָ֣א הַסֹּפֵ֗ר עַֽל־מִגְדַּל־עֵץ֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשׂ֣וּ לַדָּבָר֒ וַיַּֽעֲמֹ֣ד אֶצְל֡וֹ מַתִּתְיָ֡ה וְשֶׁ֡מַע וַ֠עֲנָיָ֠ה וְאוּרִיָּ֧ה וְחִלְקִיָּ֛ה וּמַעֲשֵׂיָ֖ה עַל־יְמִינ֑וֹ וּמִשְּׂמֹאל֗וֹ פְּ֠דָיָ֠ה וּמִֽישָׁאֵ֧ל וּמַלְכִּיָּ֛ה וְחָשֻׁ֥ם וְחַשְׁבַּדָּ֖נָה זְכַרְיָ֥ה מְשֻׁלָּֽם׃ {פ}
(ה) וַיִּפְתַּ֨ח עֶזְרָ֤א הַסֵּ֙פֶר֙ לְעֵינֵ֣י כׇל־הָעָ֔ם כִּֽי־מֵעַ֥ל כׇּל־הָעָ֖ם הָיָ֑ה וּכְפִתְח֖וֹ עָֽמְד֥וּ כׇל־הָעָֽם׃ (ו) וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ עֶזְרָ֔א אֶת־ה' הָאֱלֹקִ֖ים הַגָּד֑וֹל וַיַּֽעֲנ֨וּ כׇל־הָעָ֜ם אָמֵ֤ן ׀ אָמֵן֙ בְּמֹ֣עַל יְדֵיהֶ֔ם וַיִּקְּד֧וּ וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֛וּ לַה' אַפַּ֥יִם אָֽרְצָה׃ (ז) וְיֵשׁ֡וּעַ וּבָנִ֡י וְשֵׁרֵ֥בְיָ֣ה ׀ יָמִ֡ין עַקּ֡וּב שַׁבְּתַ֣י ׀ הֽוֹדִיָּ֡ה מַעֲשֵׂיָ֡ה קְלִיטָ֣א עֲזַרְיָה֩ יוֹזָבָ֨ד חָנָ֤ן פְּלָאיָה֙ וְהַלְוִיִּ֔ם מְבִינִ֥ים אֶת־הָעָ֖ם לַתּוֹרָ֑ה וְהָעָ֖ם עַל־עׇמְדָֽם׃ (ח) וַֽיִּקְרְא֥וּ בַסֵּ֛פֶר בְּתוֹרַ֥ת הָאֱלֹקִ֖ים מְפֹרָ֑שׁ וְשׂ֣וֹם שֶׂ֔כֶל וַיָּבִ֖ינוּ בַּמִּקְרָֽא׃ {פ}
(ט) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר נְחֶמְיָ֣ה ה֣וּא הַתִּרְשָׁ֡תָא וְעֶזְרָ֣א הַכֹּהֵ֣ן ׀ הַסֹּפֵ֡ר וְהַלְוִיִּם֩ הַמְּבִינִ֨ים אֶת־הָעָ֜ם לְכׇל־הָעָ֗ם הַיּ֤וֹם קָדֹֽשׁ־הוּא֙ לַה' אֱלֹקֵיכֶ֔ם אַל־תִּֽתְאַבְּל֖וּ וְאַל־תִּבְכּ֑וּ כִּ֤י בוֹכִים֙ כׇּל־הָעָ֔ם כְּשׇׁמְעָ֖ם אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֥י הַתּוֹרָֽה׃
(1) the entire people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the scroll of the Teaching of Moses with which the LORD had charged Israel. (2) On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the Teaching before the congregation, men and women and all who could listen with understanding. (3) He read from it, facing the square before the Water Gate, from the first light until midday, to the men and the women and those who could understand; the ears of all the people were given to the scroll of the Teaching. (4) Ezra the scribe stood upon a wooden tower made for the purpose, and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah at his right, and at his left Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, Meshullam. (5) Ezra opened the scroll in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people; as he opened it, all the people stood up. (6) Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” with hands upraised. Then they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the LORD with their faces to the ground. (7) Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites explained the Teaching to the people, while the people stood in their places. (8) They read from the scroll of the Teaching of God, translating it and giving the sense; so they understood the reading. (9) Nehemiah the Tirshatha, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were explaining to the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God: you must not mourn or weep,” for all the people were weeping as they listened to the words of the Teaching.
Rav Ḥananel said that Rav said: What is the meaning of that which is written with respect to the days of Ezra: “And they read in the book, the Torah of God, distinctly; and they gave the sense, and they caused them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8)? The verse should be understood as follows: “And they read in the book, the Torah of God,” this is the scriptural text; “distinctly,” this is the translation, indicating that they immediately translated the text into Aramaic, as was customary during public Torah readings. “And they gave the sense,” these are the divisions of the text into separate verses. “And they caused them to understand the reading,” these are the cantillation notes, through which the meaning of the text is further clarified. And some say that these are the Masoretic traditions with regard to the manner in which each word is to be written.
Haggadah of Passover
It happened that Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarphon were reclining [at a Seder] in B'nei Berak. They were discussing the exodus from Egypt all that night, until their students came and told them: "Our Masters! The time has come for reciting the morning Shema!"
Rabbi Eleazar ben Azaryah said: "I am like a man of seventy years old, yet I did not succeed in proving that the exodus from Egypt must be mentioned at night-until Ben Zoma explained it: "It is said, (Devarim 16:3)`That you may remember the day you left Egypt all the days of your life;' now `the days of your life' refers to the days, [and the additional word] `all' indicates the inclusion of the nights!" The sages, however, said: "`The days of your life' refers to the present-day world; and `all' indicates the inclusion of the days of Mashiach."
The Torah speaks of four children: One is wise, one is wicked, one is simple and one does not know how to ask.
The wise one, what does he say? (Devarim 6:20)"What are the testimonies, the statutes and the laws which the L-rd, our G-d, has commanded you?" You, in turn, shall instruct him in the laws of Pesach, [up to] `one is not to eat any dessert after the Pesach-lamb.'
The wicked one, what does he say? (Exodus 12:26-27) "What is this service to you?!" He says `to you,' but not to him! By thus excluding himself from the community he has denied that which is fundamental. You, therefore, blunt his teeth and say to him: "It is because of this that the L-rd did for me when I left Egypt"; `for me' - but not for him! If he had been there, he would not have been redeemed!"
The simpleton, what does he say? "What is this?" (Exodus 13:14) Thus you shall say to him: "With a strong hand the L-rd took us out of Egypt, from the house of slaves."
As for the one who does not know how to ask, you must initiate him, as it is said (Exodus 13:8): "You shall tell your child on that day, `It is because of this that the L-rd did for me when I left Egypt.'"
“Behold, silver that we found in the opening of our sacks, we returned to you from the land of Canaan; how would we steal from the house of your lord silver or gold?” (Genesis 44:8).
“Behold, silver…” – Rabbi Yishmael taught: This is one of the ten a fortiori inferences that are written in the Torah: “Behold, silver…we returned to you,” all the more so, “how would we steal?” “Behold, the children of Israel did not heed me” (Exodus 6:12), and all the more so, “how will Pharaoh heed me?” (Exodus 6:12). ....“Behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have been defiant” (Deuteronomy 31:27), all the more so, “so too, after my death” (Deuteronomy 31:27). “
(13) Yet Pharaoh’s heart stiffened and he did not heed them, as G-d had said. (14) And G-d said to Moses, “Pharaoh is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go. (15) Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is coming out to the water, and station yourself before him at the edge of the Nile, taking with you the rod that turned into a snake.
“Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.… The Lord said to Moses: Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn [kaved]” – he is angry. Just as the liver [kaved] becomes angry, so, too, this one’s heart became like a liver; he does not understand, he is a fool: “As anger rests in the bosom of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:9). With what do you chastise the fool? With a staff, as it is stated: “A rod to the back of fools” (Proverbs 26:3). Moses, too, chastised Pharaoh with a staff, as it is stated: “and the staff that was transformed into a serpent [you shall take in your hand].”
Another interpretation: “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn [kaved]” – the Holy One blessed be He said to him: Wicked one, with the expression with which you honored yourself, with the same expression I will be honored at your expense, as it is stated: “When I have gained honor [behikavedi] through Pharaoh” (Exodus 14:18).
“Go to Pharaoh in the morning; behold, he goes out to the water” – he would go out to the water only in the morning, because that wicked one would boast and assert that he was a deity and did not need to relieve himself; therefore, he would go out in the morning. Catch him in the morning when he needs to relieve himself. “And the staff that was transformed into a serpent you shall take in your hand” so that he will be afraid of it.
(16) And say to him, G-d, the G-d of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say, “Let My people go that they may worship Me in the wilderness.” But you have paid no heed until now. (17) Thus says G-d, “By this you shall know that I am G-d” See, I shall strike the water in the Nile with the rod that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood;
“You shall say to him: The Lord, God of the Hebrews.… So said the Lord: With this you will know” – this is what is written: “Behold, God is exalted in His power, who is a teacher like Him?” (Job 36:22). It is the way of the world that when a human being seeks to bring harm to his enemy, he brings it upon him suddenly so he will not sense it [is coming]; but the Holy One blessed be He forewarned Pharaoh for each and every plague so he would repent; this is what is written: “With this you will know that I am the Lord”; “Behold, I will strike all your borders with frogs (Exodus 7:27); “send and gather” (Exodus 9:19).
“On the water that is in the Nile, and it will be turned into blood” – why was the water afflicted first with blood? It is because Pharaoh and the Egyptians worshipped the Nile. The Holy One blessed be He said: I will smite the god first and then his people. This is a folk parable: Smite the gods and the priests will be afraid. Likewise it says: “The Lord will reckon with the host of the high heavens on high,” and after that, [“the kings of the earth upon the earth”] (Isaiah 24:21).
(18) and the fish in the Nile will die. The Nile will stink so that the Egyptians will find it impossible to drink the water of the Nile.’” (19) And ה׳ said to Moses, “Say to Aaron: Take your rod and hold out your arm over the waters of Egypt—its rivers, its canals, its ponds, all its bodies of water—that they may turn to blood; there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.”