THE SIX REMEMBRANCES These acts of remembrance define three positive and three negative parameters of Jewish faith and life. Positively, the exodus reminds us of divine redemption, Sinai of revelation, and the Sabbath of creation. Negatively, the golden calf reminds us of sins against God; Miriam’s fate reminds us of sins against our fellows, especially through evil speech. Amalek’s attack on the Israelites showed how a failure to fear God leads to cruelty against human beings.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS In Temple times, the Ten Commandments were recited as part of the daily prayers, immediately prior to the Shema*.* The practice was discontinued when sectarians maintained that only these, and not the other commandments, were from God (Berakhot 12a). So deep was the attachment of Jews to this “sublime summary of human duties” (Rabbi J.H. Hertz), however, that the custom developed to say it privately after the end of the morning service.

THE THIRTEEN PRINCIPLES OF JEWISH FAITH A prose counterpart to the poetic Yigdal, both of which summarize the principles set out by Moses Maimonides (1135–1204). The first five are about God: (1) His existence; (2) His unity; (3) His incorporeality; (4) His eternity; and (5) the belief that He alone is to be worshiped. The next four are about revelation: (6) belief in prophecy; (7) the unique status of Moses as the greatest of the prophets; (8) the divine authorship of the Torah; and (9) the immutability of the Torah. The last four are about reward, punishment and justice: (10) God knows our thoughts and deeds; (11) He rewards and punishes; (12) He will send the Messiah; and (13) in time to come, He will bring the dead back to life again. The presence of this passage is a reminder that the siddur is not just a book of prayer but also of faith.