Сергиуш Манжиевский
SELECTED SACRED TEXTS OF JUDAISM IN POETIC PARAPHRASE

SELECTED SACRED TEXTS OF JUDAISM IN POETIC

PARAPHRASEFOREWORD

Within this volume entitled "Selected Sacred Texts of Judaism in Poetic Paraphrase," I have compiled distinct texts compiled at diverse times, which hitherto remain absolutely unpublished and unissued. Though these be varied sacred texts, they are fundamentally united by a harmonious musical form and, consequently, by what I deem a light and fluent poetic paraphrase. Concurrently, these selected texts are of paramount significance and immense interest not merely for those who occupy themselves with formal theology, but for all who strive to comprehend and contemplate the deep spiritual essence of mankind. I shall be profoundly grateful for thy earnest reviews and fresh impressions born of the reading hereof. With best wishes, The author of the world's very first poetic paraphrase of "The Torah.

The Pentateuch of Moses in Weekly Chapters" into the Russian tongue, Sergiusz Manzhievsky

THE THIRTEEN PRINCIPLES OF FAITH ACCORDING TO RAMBAM

I.

I believe with absolute and perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name,

Created all things that exist and directeth everything in the universe with sovereign aim.

He alone made, doth make, and will forever make all things that are wrought,

Possessing a sublime power, transcendent and beyond all human thought".

II.

I believe with absolute faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, —

Is One, and there is no unity in any way like unto His absolute and perfect integrity.

And that He alone is our God, in the past, the present, and the future to see,

The Almighty is complete in His all-encompassing and indivisible eternity."

III.

I believe with absolute faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, —

Is incorporeal, and completely free from all properties and states of matter so grand;

The Almighty abideth in a purely spiritual essence and, consequently,

Hath no similitude whatsoever, standing as the supreme Fountainhead of all creation's land."

IV.

I believe with absolute faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, —

Formed a world strictly void of chance, chaos, and all uncertainty to see;

The Almighty is the ultimate Beginning, an intangible reality, and the End of all,

By His will, the universe stands fully harmonious in its perfect and complete decree."

V.

I believe with absolute and perfect faith that to the Creator alone, blessed be His Name,

Is it proper and right to pray, and to no other being or power to see;

To avert the evil and draw nigh the good is within the hand of God alone, and none else,

Sustained by diligent and unswerving daily prayer, from any breaking completely free."

VI.

I believe with absolute faith that all the words of the prophets are truth without reservation; Through the prophets, the Almighty revealeth Himself unto mankind in his sovereign place.

The prophets transmit the message of God, who is infinitely dear and close to our soul,

To comprehend the creations of God is possible only by loving Him, in His divine grace."

VII.

I believe with absolute faith that the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu, may his soul rest in Gan Eden, —

Is truth, and that he was the chiefest and ultimate of all prophets, both before and after his time.