11th Principle: God Rewards the Righteous

The Eleventh Principle -

God Rewards the Righteous and Punishes the Wicked

The eleventh principle of Jewish faith is the belief that God rewards with good those who observe His commandments and punishes those who violate His commandments.

"I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be He, rewards good to those who keep His commandments, but punishes those who violate them."

Note: This principle actually is contrary to Maimonides' Aristotelian belief that "reward" is possible only if a person perfected his intellect to the highest degree, causing his "active intellect" to be reabsorbed into God, who is the ultimate Active Intellect of the universe. How Maimonides' intent was changed in rabbinic tradition is unclear.

In the Brit Chadashah:

Yeshua the Mashiach also taught that there is reward for the faithful and punishment for the unbelieving. In fact, with regard to matters of the heart, Yeshua went beyond the dictates of Torah, saying for example that whoever is angry and insulting to his brother is in danger of the fires of hell (Matt 5:22).

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