by Rav Moshe Ben Maimon, the Rambam – Rabbi Moses Maimonides

שלשה עשר עקרים של אמונת היהודי

The RAMBAM, in his commentary on the Mishnah (Sanhedrin, chap. 10), refers to these ‘Shloshah-Asar Ikkarim’ or thirteen principles of faith as “the fundamental truths of our religion and its very foundations.”

• Belief in the existence of a Creator and of providence
• Belief in His unity
• Belief in His incorporeality
• Belief in His eternity
• Belief that worship is due to Him alone
• Belief that G-d communicates with man through prophecy
• Belief that Moses was the greatest of all the prophets
• Belief in the revelation of the Torah to Moses at Sinai
• Belief in the unchangeable nature of the revealed Law
• Belief that G-d is omniscient
• Belief in divine reward & retribution in this world and in the hereafter
• Belief in the coming of the Messiah
• Belief in the resurrection of the dead

Yud Gimmel Ikrim – יג עקרים

From The Siddur (prayer book)

1. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the Creator and Guide of everything that has been created, and that He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.
2. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is One, and that there is no oneness like His in any way; and that He alone is our G-d, who was, is, and ever will be.
3. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is not a physical body, and no physical phenomena can apply to Him, and that He has no form whatsoever.
4. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the first and is the last.
5. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the only one to whom it is proper to pray, and that it is not proper to pray to anyone else.
6. I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true.
7. I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses our teacher, peace be to him, was true, and that he was the father of all the prophets, both of those who preceded him and of those who followed him.
8. I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah which we now possess is the same that was given to Moses our teacher, peace be to him.
9. I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be changed, nor will there be any other Torah from the Creator, blessed be His name.
10. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, knows all the actions and thoughts of human beings, as it is said, It is He who fashions the hearts of them all, who discerns all their actions. (Psalms 33:15)
11. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, rewards those who keep His commandments, and punishes those who transgress His commandments.
12. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah, and, though he tarry, I wait daily for his coming.
13. I believe with perfect faith that there will be a resurrection of the dead at the time when it will please the Creator, blessed be His name and exalted be His mention for ever and ever.

In what has become one of his most celebrated and well‑known works, Maimonides, in his commentary on the Mishnah, com­piles what he refers to as the Shloshah‑Asar Ikkarim, the Thirteen Articles of Faith, compiled from Judaism’s 613 com­mandments found in the Torah. The Thirteen Articles of Jewish faith are as follows:

1. Belief in the existence of the Creator, be He blessed, who is perfect in every manner of existence and is the Primary Cause of all that exists.
2. The belief in God’s absolute and unparalleled unity.
3. The belief in God’s non-corporeality, nor that He will be affected by any physical occurrences, such as movement, or rest, or dwelling.
4. The belief in God’s eternity.
5. The imperative to worship Him exclusively and no foreign false gods.
6. The belief that God communicates with man through prophecy.
7. The belief that the prophecy of Moses our teacher has priority.
8. The belief in the divine origin of the Torah(Bible).
9. The belief in the immutability of the Torah(Bible).
10. The belief in divine omniscience and providence.
11. The belief in divine reward and retribution.
12. The belief in the arrival of the Messiah and the messianic era.
13. The belief in the resurrection of the dead.

It is the custom of many congregations to recite the Thirteen Articles, in a slightly more poetic form, beginning with the words Ani Maamin‑”I believe‑‑every day after the morning prayers. In his commentary on the Mishnah (Sanhedrin, chap. 10), Maimonides refers to these thirteen principles of faith as “the fundamental truths of our religion and its very foundations.”