As is well known, Maimonides (1130‐1205), was the first Rabbanite who formulated the dogmas of the Synagogue. But there are indications of earlier attempts. R. Saadiah Gaon’s (892‐942) work, _Creeds and Opinions_, shows such traces. He says in his preface, “My heart sickens to see that the belief of my co‐religionists is impure and that their theological views are confused.” The subjects he treats in this book, such as creation, unity of God, resurrection of the dead, the future redemption of Israel, reward and punishment, and other kindred theological subjects might thus, perhaps, be considered as the essentials of the creed that the Gaon desired to present in a pure and rational form. R. Hannaneel, of Kairowan,(118) in the first half of the eleventh century, says in one of his commentaries that to deserve eternal life one must believe in _four_ things: in God, in the prophets, in a future world where the just will be rewarded, and in the advent of the Redeemer. From R. Judah Hallevi’s _Cusari_, written in the beginning of the twelfth century, we might argue that the belief in the election of Israel by God was the cardinal dogma of the author.(119) Abraham Ibn Daud, a contemporary of Maimonides, in his book _The High Belief_,(120) speaks of _rudiments_, among which, besides such metaphysical principles as unity, rational conception of God’s attributes, etc., the belief in the immutability of the Law, etc., is included. Still, all these works are intended to furnish evidence from philosophy or history for the truth of religion rather than to give a definition of this truth. The latter task was undertaken by Maimonides. I refer to the thirteen articles embodied in his first work, _The Commentary to the Mishnah_. They are appended to the Mishnah in Sanhedrin, with which I dealt above. But though they do not form an independent treatise, Maimonides’ remarks must not be considered as merely incidental. That Maimonides was quite conscious of the importance of this exposition can be gathered from the concluding words addressed to the reader: “Know these (words) and repeat them many times, and think them over in the proper way. God knows that thou wouldst be deceiving thyself if thou thinkest thou hast understood them by having read them once or even ten times. Be not, therefore, hasty in perusing them. I have not composed them without deep study and earnest reflection.” The result of this deep study was that the following Thirteen Articles constitute the creed of Judaism. They are:—