אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, בְּבִיאַת הַמָּשִׁיחַ, וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁיִּתְמַהְמֵהַּ, עִם כָּל זֶה אֲחַכֶּה לּוֹ בְּכָל יום שֶׁיָּבוֹא.
I believe with complete faith in the coming of Mashiach, and although he may tarry, nevertheless, I wait every day for him to come.
What role does belief play in your life?
Maimonides: Shloshah Asar Ikkarim: "Thirteen Fundamental Principles" of the Jewish Faith
We believe:
1. God is the Creator and the Primary Cause of all that exists.
2. God is one and alone.
3. God has no anthropomorphic form.
4. God is eternal.
5. Only God should be worshipped.
6. The words of the prophets are true.
7. Moses is a true prophet and is unsurpassed by other prophets.
8. The Torah was given to Moses by God.
9. The Torah will not be changed and no other Torah will be given.
10. God knows the deeds and thoughts of all.
11. God rewards those who follow the mitzvot and punishes those who do not.
12. Moshiach will come.
13. The dead will be resurrected at the time of God's choosing.
Which of these resonate with you? Which do not? Which do you think is most important for modern Jews?
Legend of the melody we generally hear in services:
Azriel David Fastag, a Modzitzer Hasidic Cantor in Warsaw, reportedly composed the melody in a cattle car while being taken to Treblinka. After the people of the car were mesmerized and sang it with him, Fastag announced that he would give half of his share of the World to Come to whoever would bring the tune to the Modzitzer Rebbe, who had escaped Europe in 1940. Two men agreed and leaped from the moving train. One died from the fall. The other survived and brought the melody to Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar, the second Modzitzer Rebbe, in New York, who disseminated it, saying, "With this melody Jews marched to the gas chambers, and with this melody Jews will march to welcome our righteous Moshiach."
What strikes you about this story? Does it impact how you see the other principles of faith?
Some interpretations:
Ani Ma'amin - The 13th Siyum HaShas of Daf Yomi at Metlife Stadium:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaEIVwuoQ_0
Cantor Azi Schwartz with the Jerusalem Cantorial Choir, Binyamin Glickman, conductor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0_cFqhmNwI
Mordechai Shapiro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GU0HYvVl3s
John Conahan arrangement for SATB Choir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nYo9JoDLPA
Do these different melodies change the feeing you have about the text? In what way?
סידור אשכנז, ימי חול, תפילת שחרית, תפילות נוספות, י"ג עיקרי אמונה א׳-י״ג
א] אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, שֶׁהַבּורֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמו הוּא בּורֵא וּמַנְהִיג לְכָל הַבְּרוּאִים, וְהוּא לְבַדּו עָשה וְעושה וְיַעֲשה לְכָל הַמַּעֲשים.
ב] אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, שֶׁהַבּורֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמו הוּא יָחִיד וְאֵין יְחִידוּת כָּמוהוּ בְּשׁוּם פָּנִים, וְהוּא לְבַדּו אֱלקֵינוּ, הָיָה הוֶה וְיִהְיֶה.
ג] אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, שֶׁהַבּורֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמו אֵינו גוּף, וְלא יַשּיגוּהוּ מַשּיגֵי הַגּוּף, וְאֵין לו שׁוּם דִּמְיון כְּלָל.
ד] אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, שֶׁהַבּורֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמו הוּא רִאשׁון וְהוּא אַחֲרון.
ה] אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, שֶׁהַבּורֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמו לו לְבַדּו רָאוּי לְהִתְפַּלֵּל, וְאֵין רָאוּי לְהִתְפַּלֵּל לְזוּלָתו.
ו] אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, שֶׁכָּל דִּבְרֵי נְבִיאִים אֱמֶת.
ז] אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, שֶׁנְּבוּאַת משֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלום הָיְתָה אֲמִתִּית, וְשֶׁהוּא הָיָה אָב לַנְּבִיאִים, לַקּודְמִים לְפָנָיו וְלַבָּאִים אַחֲרָיו.
ח] אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, שֶׁכָּל הַתּורָה הַמְּצוּיָה עַתָּה בְיָדֵינוּ הִיא הַנְּתוּנָה לְמשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלום.
ט] אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, שֶׁזּאת הַתּורָה לא תְהֵא מֻחְלֶפֶת וְלא תְהֵא תורָה אַחֶרֶת מֵאֵת הַבּורֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמו.
י] אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, שֶׁהַבּורֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמו יודֵעַ כָּל מַעֲשה בְנֵי אָדָם וְכָל מַחְשְׁבותָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר הַיּצֵר יַחַד לִבָּם הַמֵּבִין אֶל כָּל מַעֲשיהֶם.
יא] אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, שֶׁהַבּורֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמו גּומֵל טוב לְשׁומְרֵי מִצְותָיו וּמַעֲנִישׁ לְעובְרֵי מִצְותָיו.
יב] אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, בְּבִיאַת הַמָּשִׁיחַ, וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁיִּתְמַהְמֵהַּ, עִם כָּל זֶה אֲחַכֶּה לּו בְּכָל יום שֶׁיָּבוא.
יג] אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה, שֶׁתִּהְיֶה תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים בְּעֵת שֶׁיַעֲלֶה רָצון מֵאֵת הַבּורֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמו וְיִתְעַלֶּה זִכְרו לָעַד וּלְנֵצַח נְצָחִים.
Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Post Service, Thirteen Principles 1-13
1] I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the Creator and Guide of all the created beings, and that He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.
2] I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is One and Alone; that there is no oneness in any way like Him; and that He alone is our G‑d - was, is and will be.
3] I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is incorporeal; that He is free from all anthropomorphic properties; and that He has no likeness at all.
4] I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the first and the last.
5] I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the only one to whom it is proper to pray, and that it is inappropriate to pray to anyone else.
6] I believe with complete faith that all the words of the Prophets are true.
7] I believe with complete faith that the prophecy of Moses our teacher, peace unto him, was true; and that he was the father of the prophets, both of those who preceded and of those who followed him.
8] I believe with complete faith that the whole Torah which we now possess was given to Moses, our teacher, peace unto him.
9] I believe with complete faith that this Torah will not be changed, and that there will be no other Torah given by the Creator, blessed be His name.
10] I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, knows all the deeds and thoughts of human beings, as it is said, "It is He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who perceives all their actions."
11] I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, rewards those who observe His commandments, and punishes those who transgress His commandments.
12. I believe with complete faith in the coming of Mashiach, and although he may tarry, nevertheless, I wait every day for him to come.
13. I believe with complete faith that there will be resurrection of the dead at the time when it will be the will of the Creator, blessed be His name and exalted be His remembrance forever and ever.
The Legend (Longer version from https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/332502/jewish/Ani-Maamin.htm)
The Rebbe of Modzitz, Rabbi Shaul Yedidya Elazar, had Chassidim throughout the major towns and cities of Poland. One of these was Reb Azriel David Fastag, who was noted for his exceptional voice throughout Warsaw. Many came to the shul where Reb Azriel David and his brothers, who were also blessed with lovely voices, would pray on the High Holy Days. Reb Azriel David would lead the prayers, while his brothers accompanied him as a choir. His crisp, clear and moving voice had a profound effect on all who heard him.
Reb Azriel David lived simply, earning his livelihood from a small clothing store, but his happiness and fulfillment came from another source -- the world of Chassidic music. His moving tunes made their way to Otvoczk (a suburb of Warsaw), where his Rebbe, Rabbi Shaul Yedidya Elazar appreciated them immensely. The day a new niggun (melody) by Reb Azriel David arrived was a festive day for for the Rebbe.
Dark clouds began to cover the skies of Europe -- the clouds of Nazism. In spite of the terrible decrees, the yellow patch and the ghettoes, most Jews could not fathom what was about to befall them. Only a few managed to escape the clutches of the Nazi occupation to safe havens. One of them was the Modzitzer Rebbe, Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar, whose Chassidim made a tremendous effort to save him. As the Nazis entered Poland, the Chassidim smuggled him out of Poland to Vilna, in Lithuania, and from there he made his way across Russia to Shanghai, China, eventually arriving in America in 1940.
Meanwhile in Poland tens of thousands of Jews were being shipped off daily to their death in cattle cars that were part of the railway system. Roused from their warm beds in Warsaw in the middle of the night, husbands were separated from their wives, children wrested from the arms of their parents. The elderly were often shot on the spot, in front of their loved ones. Then the Jews were gathered and sent off in those trains to a place where their existence would no longer trouble the Nazis -- to Auschwitz, Treblinka, Majdanek.
Inside the crowded cars, over the clatter of the cattle cars' wheels, rose the sounds of people gasping, sighing, weeping and dying. One could hear the stifled cries of children crushed together. But in one such car, headed toward the infamous death camp Treblinka, the sound of singing could be heard.
It seems that an elderly Jew, wrapped up in his ragged clothing, his face white as snow, had made his way over to his neighbor on the death train, begging him to remind him the tune of Ma'areh Kohen sung by Modzitzer Rebbe during the Yom Kippur service.
"Now? Now, what you want to hear is niggunim?" answered the other, with a hard look at the Chassid, thinking that maybe all the suffering had caused him to lose his mind.
But this Modzitzer Chassid, Reb Azriel David Fastag, was no longer paying attention to his friend, or to anyone else on the train. In his mind, he was at the prayer stand next to his Rebbe on Yom Kippur, and it is he who was leading the prayer before the Rebbe and all the Chassidim.
Suddenly, there appeared before his eyes the words of the twelfth of the Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith: Ani ma'amin b'emuna sheleima, b'viat hamoshiach; v'af al pi she'yismamaya, im kol zeh, achakeh lo b'chol yom she'yavo -- "I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Mashiach and even though he may tarru, nevertheless, I wait each day for his coming." Closing his eyes, he meditated on these words and thought, "Just now, when everything seems lost, is a Jew's faith put to the test."
It was not long before he began to hum a quiet tune to these words. There, amidst the death and despair on the train to Treblinka, the Chassid was transformed into a pillar of song, bringing forth out of his bloodied lungs the song of the eternity of the Jewish People. He was unaware of the silence in the cattle car, and of the hundreds of ears listening attentively in amazement. He also didn't hear the voices as they gradually joined his song, at first quietly, but soon growing louder and louder.
The song spread from car to car. Every mouth that could still draw a breath joined in Reb Azriel Dovid's Ani Ma'amin.
As if waking from a dream, Reb Azriel David opened his eyes to the sight of the singing train. His eyes were red from crying, his cheeks wet with tears. In a choked voice, he cried out: "I will give half of my portion in Olam Habbah (the World to Come) to whoever can take my song to the Modzitzer Rebbe!"
A hushed silence descended upon the train. Two young men appeared, promising to bring the song to the Rebbe at any cost. One of them climbed upon the other, and finding a small crack of the train's roof broke out a hole from which to escape. Poking his head out under the open sky, he said, "I see the blue heavens above us, the stars are twinkling and the moon, with a fatherly face, is looking at me."
"And what do you hear?" asked his companion.
"I hear," the young man answered, "the angels on high singing Ani Ma'amin, and it's ascending to the seven firmaments of heaven!"
Bidding farewell to their brothers and sisters on the train, the two proceeded to jump off, one after the other. One was killed instantly from the fall. The other survived, taking the memory of the song with him. He eventually found his way to Land of Israel (perhaps to the Modzitzer Rebbe's son, the author of Imrei Aish, who was in Tel-Aviv), and the notes were sent by mail to Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar in New York.
Upon receiving the notes and having the Reb Azriel Dovid's Ani Ma'aminsung before him, the Modzitzer Rebbe said: "When they sang Ani Ma'aminon the death train, the pillars of the world were shaking. The Almighty said, 'Whenever the Jews will sing Ani Ma'amin, I will remember the six million victims and have mercy on the rest of My People.'"
It is told that on the first Yom Kippur that the Modzitzer Rebbe sang the Ani Ma'amin, there were thousands of Jews in the shul. The entire congregation burst into tears, which fell like water into the pool of tears and blood of the Jewish people. The tune soon spread throughout world Jewry.
"With this niggun," said Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar, "the Jewish people went to the gas chambers. And with this niggun, the Jews will march to greet Moshiach."
