Principles of Faith Rosh Amanah

Moses Maimonides was the first medieval Jewish thinker to posit a set of dogmasfor Judaism, his “Thirteen Prtinciples of Faith”. His statement initiated an extensive discussion among other medieval Jewish thinkers on the subject of dogma, which had an important impact on subsequent Jewish thought. The reaction to Maimonides’ innovation was complex: some scholars accepted his position without reservation; others accepted the idea that Jewish beliefs could be reduced to a creed but disagreed with Maimonides’ formulation; still other rejected the project of creed formulation in Judaism altogether. The locus clasicus of this last position is the Rosh Amanah of Isaac Abranavel (1437-1508).