What Do Orthodox Jews Believe? Core Principles of Faith

People ask me all the time: "What do Jews actually believe?" It is a fair question. You hear a lot about what Orthodox Jews do — the kosher food, the Shabbat candles, the black hats — but the beliefs underneath all of that? Those are the engine that drives everything.

So let me walk you through it. Not as a textbook, but as someone who lives these beliefs every single day.

The Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith

If you want the foundation of Jewish belief in one place, you go to the Rambam — Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, also known as Maimonides. He was a towering Torah scholar of the twelfth century, and he distilled all of Jewish belief into thirteen principles. These are not suggestions. According to the Rambam, if you do not accept these thirteen principles, you have stepped outside the boundaries of Torah-observant Judaism.

Every Orthodox Jew knows these. We sing them, we recite them, we teach them to our children. Here they are:

1. G-d exists. He is the Creator and Leader of everything that was, is, and will ever be.
2. G-d is One. There is no unity like His. He alone is our G-d.
3. G-d has no body. No physical form, no physical properties. Nothing in the material world can be compared to Him.
4. G-d is eternal. He was first and will be last.
5. Only G-d deserves prayer. It is proper to pray to Him alone, and to no other being.
6. The words of the prophets are true.
7. Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses) was the greatest prophet. Greater than any who came before or after him.
8. The Torah we have today is the same Torah given to Moshe.
9. The Torah will never be exchanged. There will never be another Torah from G-d.
10. G-d knows all human actions and thoughts. As the Tehillim (Psalms 33:15) says: "He who fashioned the hearts of them all, who comprehends all their actions."
11. G-d rewards those who keep His commandments and punishes those who transgress.
12. The Mashiach (Messiah) will come. And even though he may delay, we wait for him every single day.
13. There will be a revival of the dead at a time that pleases Hashem.

These are not abstract ideas for us. When I sing "Ani Ma'amin" — "I believe with perfect faith" — at a Shabbos table with my family, I feel the weight of generations behind those words. Jews sang Ani Ma'amin on their way to the gas chambers. That is how deeply these principles run.

Our Relationship with G-d

There is a song that Orthodox Jewish children learn when they are very small:

"Hashem is here, Hashem is there, Hashem is truly everywhere. Up, up, down, down, right, left and all around — here, there and everywhere, that's where He can be found."

It sounds simple, but it captures something profound. In Orthodox Judaism, G-d is not a distant concept you think about on holidays. He is the absolute reality behind every moment of every day. He is one, indivisible, incomparable — the definitive cause of every bit of existence.

We do not try to define G-d in physical terms. That is actually forbidden. The true nature of G-d is beyond human comprehension. But what we do know is this: He created the world out of love, He listens to every prayer, and He is intimately involved in our lives.

One of our most important prayers is the Shema, which we recite every morning and every evening: "Hear, Israel: the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One." This is the bedrock statement of Jewish faith.

And you know what I find beautiful? The way this belief shows up in everyday conversation. Ask an Orthodox Jew how they are doing, and you will hear "Boruch Hashem" — "Thank G-d." Something good happened at work? Boruch Hashem. The baby is healthy? Boruch Hashem. It is not just a phrase. It is a reflex of gratitude that comes from genuinely believing that everything — everything — comes from G-d.

Torah from Heaven

If there is one belief that defines Orthodox Judaism more than any other, it is this: the Torah is divine. We believe that the entire Torah — every word, every letter — was given by G-d to Moshe (Moses) at Mount Sinai, in front of six hundred thousand Jewish men, plus women and children. This was not a private revelation to one person in a cave. It was a national event, witnessed by an entire people.

This is actually unique in world religious history. Of the thousands of known religions, how many claim that G-d spoke to their entire nation at once? One. Judaism.

The Sinai revelation is not just a story we tell. It is the foundation of our entire system of belief. And because the Torah is divine, it is eternal — it cannot be changed, replaced, or updated by any later prophet or movement.

The Oral Torah

Here is something that often surprises people: Orthodox Jews believe the Written Torah is not complete on its own. When G-d gave Moshe the Torah at Sinai, He also gave him an oral explanation — the Torah Sheb'al Peh (Oral Torah). This oral tradition explains how to understand and apply the written text.

Think of it this way: the Written Torah says to bind "signs" upon your hand and between your eyes. But what are those signs? What do they look like? How do you make them? The Oral Torah provides those answers. Without it, the Written Torah would be incomplete.

This Oral Torah was passed down from teacher to student for generations, until eventually it was written down in the Mishnah and expanded in the Talmud. Believing in the Written Torah while rejecting the Oral Torah is considered a fundamental error in Orthodox Judaism.

The Afterlife

Many people are curious about what Jews believe happens after death. Let me be honest: the afterlife is not some minor footnote in Judaism. It is central to how we live.

The Talmud describes this world as a corridor leading to a palace. This life is the corridor — the world to come is the palace. Everything we do here is preparation for what comes next. Every mitzvah, every act of kindness, every moment of Torah study is an investment in eternity.

In the world to come, there is Gan Eden (Paradise) and Gehinom (a place of spiritual cleansing — not the fire-and-brimstone "hell" of popular imagination). If a person's good deeds outweigh their sins, they go to Gan Eden. If not, they may need to spend time in Gehinom to purify their soul before entering Gan Eden. The maximum time in Gehinom, according to our tradition, is twelve months.

We teach this to our children from the time they are small. Not to scare them, but to give them perspective. The choices you make matter — not just today, but forever.

What Jews Believe About Death

In Judaism, death is not the end. It is a transition to a new and better existence. When someone passes away, of course the family mourns. We sit shiva, we say Kaddish, we grieve deeply. But underneath that grief is a quiet comfort: the neshama (soul) of our loved one is now in a better, brighter place.

This is why Judaism has such detailed laws about honoring the dead. The body is treated with the utmost respect — it is washed, dressed in simple white shrouds, and buried as soon as possible. Desecrating a grave is strictly prohibited. Every person, created in G-d's image, deserves dignity even after death.

What About Jesus?

I get this question more than you might think, so let me be direct: Orthodox Jews do not believe in Jesus. This is not a gray area.

We believe that G-d is One — absolutely, indivisibly One. No human characteristics or physical forms can be attributed to Him. The greatest prophet was Moshe, and no later prophet can come and change his words. The Mashiach has not yet come.

The various "Jews for Jesus" movements are deeply troubling to the Orthodox Jewish community. Many organizations actively work to counter these missionary activities, because they fundamentally contradict the core beliefs of Judaism.

The Chosen People

One more belief that matters deeply: we believe the Jewish people are the "chosen nation." But chosen for what? Not for privilege — for responsibility.

The Jewish people are meant to be a light to the nations. When a Jew behaves immorally, it is considered a desecration of G-d's name — a chillul Hashem — because the world looks at us and draws conclusions about the G-d we serve. This is taken extremely seriously. Being chosen means holding yourself to a higher standard, not claiming superiority.

Living These Beliefs

What I want you to understand is that these are not ideas that sit on a shelf. They shape how I wake up in the morning (with a prayer of thanks on my lips), how I eat (with brachos before and after), how I speak (careful not to gossip), and how I go to sleep (with the Shema on my lips again).

Judaism is not just a religion of belief — it is a religion of action. But the beliefs are what give the actions their meaning. When I light Shabbos candles on Friday night, I am not just following a ritual. I am affirming that G-d created the world, that He gave us the Torah, and that He asked us to sanctify time.

That is what Orthodox Jews believe. And honestly? After all these years, it only gets deeper.