I believe in God, the one God, the true God, the God of history, the God of nature, the God who created us all with a word, and set the finished world in motion to develop contingently, with the promise that what He had made would always be "very good."
I reject seclusion, and draw strength from what Samson Rephael Hirsch wrote: "the righteous ones must be the ones who fear God not only in the safety and privacy of their homes, but in the midst of the city -- playing a prominent part in public life and exerting their influence against evil forces."
I condemn all superstition, and wish to see Judaism made clean of irrational beliefs like amulets and other segulot. There are no powers outside of God.
I do not hold with GH who said that truth is the only fundemental, because truth is fleeting and can be known to us only in part. Instead, basing myself on Hilel who said: "That which is despicable to you, do not do unto others: This is the whole Torah," I insist that love is the hghest value, because it is only through tolerance, respect and the give and take of self -confident conversation, that the truth can be apprehended.
I affirm, finally that all Jews, and the rightuous of other nations, too, have a place in the world to come. And what of the revelation? Could I call myself a Jew if I did not believe that heaven and earth once intersected at Sinai?
Can't say for certain what put me into a creed-writing mood, but this weekend I felt the need to summarize the beliefs I hold most dear. I should add that this (like everything else) is a work in progress, and I reserve the right to add and subtract from it as time passes.
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