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Why does the Rambam (רמב"ם) define emunah (אמונה) philosophically as recognizing God's ultimate reality, rather than emphasizing His goodness and guidance? The philosophical foundation is essential because emunah's primary function is making us non-self-centered. Only by recognizing a reality beyond ourselves can we escape the self-centeredness that prevents genuine chesed (חסד) and connection to the Divine.
Rabbi Zweig addresses a fundamental challenge to the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s first principle of faith from the Jewish Quarterly Review (1890), which argued that belief in God should emphasize His goodness and guidance rather than His philosophical existence as creator. The Rambam defines emunah (אמונה) as recognizing that God is the ultimate reality upon whom all existence depends, while He depends on nothing else - a seemingly abstract philosophical concept. Rabbi Zweig explains that this philosophical foundation is actually essential because emunah's primary function is to make us non-self-centered. When someone believes the world arose through cosmic explosions and evolution, they inevitably see themselves as the culmination of existence - making them the center of the universe and inherently selfish. True emunah does the opposite: recognizing God as the only true reality makes us understand we are not the center, enabling genuine selflessness. This explains why Avrohom Avinu's recognition of God was so revolutionary - he was the first person to truly escape self-centeredness by recognizing a reality beyond himself. The connection between emunah and chesed (חסד) (kindness) is not coincidental; only someone who isn't self-centered can perform genuine acts of kindness rather than self-serving gestures disguised as generosity. Rabbi Zweig addresses why the Rambam doesn't include the obligation to serve God in the first principle (unlike the Ramban (רמב"ן)), explaining that once someone truly recognizes God's reality, the desire to connect and serve follows naturally. He also reconciles the apparent contradiction between this Gemara (גמרא) in Makkot (which reduces all mitzvos to emunah) and the Gemara in Shabbos (שבת) (which says 'love your neighbor as yourself' is the fundamental principle), showing both point to the same core: moving from self-centeredness to other-directedness. This transformation is also the key to Olam Haba - only through genuine connection (rather than using God to satisfy our needs) can we experience infinite relationship with the Divine. The entire system of 613 mitzvos serves as the practical means to achieve this connection, but everything must begin with the fundamental shift in perspective that emunah provides.
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