The Fifth Foundation: It is Appropriate to Pray Only to God

The fifth foundation of the Jewish faith is that wholly appropriate to pray to God and only to God. To direct our service towards any other being, person, force or object constitutes idolatry. We have to recognize that God is the Creator. Everything else, be it an angel, a celestial body or a force of nature, has no power beyond that which He programmed into them.

In the Ani Maamins, this foundation is phrased, “I believe wholeheartedly that it is appropriate to pray to God alone and it is not appropriate to pray to anything else.”

In Yigdal, this foundation is the line that reads “Hino adon olam l'chal notzar, yoreh g'dulaso umalchuso” – “Behold! He is the Master of the universe to everything He created. He displays His greatness and His majesty.”