The Eighth Foundation: We Have The Torah As It Was Received

The eighth foundation of the Jewish faith is that the Torah was given by God to Moses, who wrote it down verbatim and that is what has been transmitted to us over the generations. Every word of the Torah came from God and is equally holy, whether it’s the Shema of a list of names.

It is beyond heretical to suggest that Moses might have slipped a few ideas of his own into the text of the Torah. The Talmud in Sanhedrin (99a) says that even if one suggests that Moshe edited the spelling of a single word of his own volition, that person is considered one who despises the Torah.

In the Ani Maamins, this foundation is phrased, “I believe wholeheartedly that the Torah we now possess is the one given to Moshe.”

In Yigdal, this foundation is the line that reads “Toras emes nasan l'amo Ei-l al yad n'vio, ne'eman beiso” – “God gave His people the Torah of truth through His prophet, His most trusted servant.”


By Rabbi Jack Abramowitz