Faith in the Coming of the Messiah
Chapter 1
Having faith in the coming of the Messiah is 1 of the 13 principles of Jewish faith. The philosopher Maimonides – also called Rambam – expressed this point as follows:
"I believe by complete faith in the coming of the Messiah, and even though he tarry in waiting, in spite of that, I will still wait expectantly for him each day that he will come."[1]
Having faith in the coming of the Messiah is important because it is directly related to the belief in the Tanakh that speaks of the coming of the Messiah. In addition to the belief in the coming of the Messiah, there is the expectation of his coming. Faith is an idle stance, expectation is a proactive approach. If you are expecting guests in your house, you clean your house and make your preparations for the arrival of those guests, this proactive approach must be adopted in the expectation of the Messiah.
The above-mentioned brings us to the question of whether this important point of faith to Jews, is also significant to Noahides. And the answer to that is: yes. The 13 principles of the Rambam are also good and applicable to non-Jews, as they all come from the Yeshodei Ha'Torah (Fundamental Principles of the Torah) part of Rambam.
There is however this caveat: a non-Jew has no obligation to all these beliefs and a Jew does. Yet, since these 13 principles represent the foundation of the Jewish faith, they also apply to Noahides that believe in G-d the way taught by traditional Judaism.[2]
Brought By Angelique Sijbolts
Angelique Sijbolts is one of the main writers for the Noahide Academy. She has been an observant Noahide for many years. She studies Torah with Rabbi Perets every week. Angelique invests much of her time in editing video-lectures for the Rabbis of the Academy and contributes in administrating the Academy's website in English and Dutch. She lives in the north of the Netherlands. Married and mother of two sons. She works as a teacher in a school with students with special needs. And is a Hebrew Teacher for the levels beginners en intermediate. She likes to walk, to read and play the piano.
Sources
[1] Rambam, Principles of the Faith, Principle 12. [2] Background and Principles of an Affirmation by Chassidei Umot Ha’Olam – Ask Noah International.
With thanks to dr. Michael Schulman
With thanks to Whitney Ann Sieverink-McNair
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