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<font size="-1"><font face="Arial">I'm not sure what you mean by
"legislate". Nor am I sure that you're right about belief in God being
a commandment. The Rambam says there's a positive commandment to
*know* that God exists. So I guess I'm not sure what you mean by
"belief", either.<br>
<br>
The more a discussion approaches heavy philosophical/theological
issues, the more important it is to define our terms ahead of time, so
that we're all speaking the same language. But even without
definitions, the question "How can you legislate X if you don't X" is a
little ambiguous. Do you mean "How can you demand that others X when
you don't X yourself", or do you mean "How can you require people to X
if they don't X"?<br>
<br>
For my part, I don't accept that "belief" is a correct translation of
emunah, if that's what you're referring to. Emunah is related
philologically to emet (the nun assimilates into the tav). Amen is an
affirmation that what was just said is true. To have emunah is to be
convinced of the truth of something. Conviction and belief are two
different concepts.<br>
<br>
Lisa</font></font><br>
<br>
On 10/30/2012 6:54 AM, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:cantorwolberg@cox.net">cantorwolberg@cox.net</a> wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:F62A5E8E-5AAB-452D-B581-8B945E762E8C@cox.net"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">I have a question which has always troubled me.
One of the quintessential mitzvot is belief in G-d.
How can you legislate belief if you don't believe?
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</pre>
</blockquote>
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