The 13 Principles of Faith

The Rambam, in his commentary on the Mishnayos (end of Maseches Brachos), writes: “More precious to me than all the other topics, is to teach about ikrei daas v’emunah, the fundamentals of Judaism and emunah!” The Rambam, our great teacher, whose teachings encompass the entire Torah, is telling us that the subject most important for him to disseminate is ikrei daas v’emunah. In fact, the Rambam is the one who organized and delineated the famous thirteen principles of emunah in Perek Chelek in Maseches Sanhedrin. Later on, they were made popular As heard from Rav Yisrael Ginsburg, shlita, a grandson of the Mashgiach and a maggid shiur in the Yeshivah of Staten Island.

THE THIRTEEN PRINCIPLES OF FAITH in the famous Ani Ma’amins and in the Yigdal tefilah, which are in the siddur and based on the Rambam’s thirteen ikrei emunah. The thirteen Ani Ma’amins can be divided into three groups. The first group is comprised of principles relating to Hashem’s existence.

1) Believing that Hashem exists;

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