Emunah

Emunah - Faith is knowledge that penetrates a person internally and remains unmoved. The power of faith exists within every Jew in the essence of their soul, and can be revealed in various ways.

Faith in Hashem is the foundation of all Torah, and has two main parts:

1. Faith in Hashem's existence - "I am Hashem your G-d who took you out of Egypt"
2. Rejection and absolute knowledge that there is no existence besides Hashem - "You shall have no other gods before Me"

The Mitzvah of Faith

According to the Zohar and early authorities, faith in Hashem is one of the 613 mitzvos of the Torah.

Some raised the question: every mitzvah requires the preliminary assumption that there is a Commander who is Hashem, so how can there be a mitzvah to believe in Hashem when this belief must precede all mitzvos? Some answer that the mitzvah is to believe Hashem's existence is necessary, unlike created beings that depend on Him. However, the Tzemach Tzedek explains this too is obvious from believing there is a Creator.

Therefore, the Tzemach Tzedek explains the mitzvah of faith is to believe Hashem transcends all worlds (sovev kol almin) - to believe He is far above the wisdom that gives life to creation. But believing He fills all worlds (memale kol almin) - that He gives life to everything - needs no faith as it's tangible. Just as a person feels their life-force animating them, since without it the body would be like meat and bones in a pot, so too the world has life-force, as evidenced by planetary motion and vegetation growth, necessarily indicating a Creator constantly giving life.

Knowledge or Faith

In Mishneh Torah, Rambam writes about knowing Hashem: "The foundation of foundations is to know there is a First Being." Scholars debated whether we're commanded in faith beyond intellect, or understanding through reason.

Some say the main command is faith through tradition, not philosophical investigation. But many great scholars say it's primarily about intellectual understanding, as Rambam carefully wrote "to know." This is necessary since belief itself can't be counted as a mitzvah, being a prerequisite for all mitzvos, and one can't command faith which isn't subject to will. Therefore, the command must be about knowledge.

Chassidus explains there's both - a command for knowledge and faith: Hashem's existence and His creating and sustaining creation can be understood intellectually, requiring "knowledge." But His perfection beyond worlds requires faith. Through maximum intellectual understanding, one fulfills the mitzvah of faith most completely - pure faith in what truly transcends comprehension.

Faith in Every Jew

"Jews are believers, children of believers." Every Jew naturally has faith in their soul's essence in the Creator's existence and creation's constant dependence on Him.

There are two main reasons Jews have natural faith: 1) The Jewish soul sees G-dliness. 2) The soul's essential connection to Hashem. The second reason is stronger, explaining why Jews naturally sacrifice themselves for faith.

The term "faith" (emunah) relates to the Patriarchs being "nursemaids" (omnim) who gradually instilled faith in their descendants until it became natural. Moses' advantage was nurturing this faith through revelation of G-d's Essence via Torah, prayer and kind deeds.

Among Other Nations

While non-Jews can achieve some belief in G-dliness, Chassidus explains their faith is limited to G-dliness clothed in worlds. Only Jews have faith in G-dliness beyond worlds.

Sources of faith

In the Kuntres VeAtah Tetzaveh (5752 / 1992) the Rebbe writes how Emunah arises in situations of revelation, danger and brokenness.

• Emunah from revelation: This is the example of the Jewish People at Mount Sinai who witnessed revelation and as a result said "we will do (based on Emunah) and we will hear (based on understanding)
• Emunah from danger: This is the example of the Jewish People during the Purim story who accepted the Torah in the face of danger as the decree did not apply to those who did not
• Emunah from brokenness: This is the example of after the Purim miracle the Jews completed their acceptance of Torah, and their true essence is revealed because of the brokenness of living in Exile

See Also

• The 13 Principles of Faith
• The Unity of G-d
• Divine Providence
• Trust in G-d - Bitachon