These four tenets of the religion are hinted in words of the verse, "I am the L-rd, your G-d, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, from enslavement" (Exodus 20:2).

From parsing these words, we can derive how many foundations there are and what they are.

Our Sages have said that the first words of this verse, "I am the L-rd," teach us the first of the four tenets.  These words teach us that G-d exists.

The second section of the verse, "your G-d," teaches us the second tenet.

The third section of the verse, "Who took you out," teaches us the third tenet of the faith.

The Universe exists only because of Divine Will

This fourth tenet comes from the fourth section of the verse, "from enslavement."  This teaches us the grand power of Divine Will to make us Israelites slaves (to Egypt's Pharaoh) and then to free us.

The power to exercise His Will corresponds to the invention of the Universe.  When G-d wanted the World to exist, it began to exist.  This is the beginning of time as well as of space.  G-d also created human souls.

This is the tenet of Creation from nothing.  Using a Latin phrase, this is called Creation ex nihilo – out of nothing.  The Universe has not evolved from a previous situation or state.

The Universe is as G-d wants it to be.  Nature and miracles are equally part of Creation.

Miracles, Signs and Wonders

Miracles – events not consistent with the Laws of Nature – can only occur because the Creator designed nature and can then violate its laws if and when He wants to.  In truth, He is only changing His mind.  He designed the rules for how the world will ordinarily conduct itself.  Then He decides to change the rules.

Believing in Divine Providence

The early demonstration of Providence as recorded in Scripture – enslavement and freedom – teaches ongoing Providence and Divine Supervision.  Providence is a tenet of the true Faith.  This is an essential foundation of the Torah.  Divine Supervision directs all miracles and wonders.

Creation ex nihilo is an early lesson in the foundations of the Faith.  However, this foundation must be coupled with a sort of ongoing Creation.  This sort of Creation describes Supervision and Providence.

If a person fails to believe in Providence and Supervision, the foundation of reward and punishment falls away completely.  How could a person be rewarded for anything (or punished) if G-d has removed Himself from the conduct of the world?

G-d the clockmaker?

Some people believe in G-d the Creator but do not see how or why He would be interested in events in the world.  An analogy of G-d the Creator as being disinterested is like a craftsman who walks away from what he or she has made.

The clockmaker is an especially apt artisan for this analogy.  He or she winds the clock.  When the clockmaker walks away, the clock continues to operate.  This is as if G-d set Nature into action.  A disinterested G-d then "walks away" leaving the world to operate on its own according to the Laws of Nature.

This philosophy of Nature as operating as designed but now continuing on its own leads to skepticism or even to complete denial of the fundamentals of the Torah.  It is a slippery slope from there to false faiths and belief systems.

Some who have adopted this philosophy refer to a First Cause or Prime Mover.

An accidental world?

One extreme false faith is believing that the world is entirely accidental or at least improbable.  This faith is peculiar when the same person believes in laws of nature.  How can an accident give rise to order?  How can anyone claim to make predictions when the first moment was unpredictable and unexpected?

Maimonides, in his Guide for the Perplexed, describes this peculiarity.  He describes how Aristotle disproved the idea of an accidental world.

Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed

The editor of Hidushei G'eonim cites what Maimonides has taught us in his Guide in two of the chapters –
Part 2, Chapter 27 and Chapter 21 [sic].

I have already explained to you (Chapter 25 toward the end) that believing in a world that G-d invented [from nothing] is, without a doubt, a foundation of the entire Torah. (Chapter 27)

[Accepting the Creation, we find that miracles are possible . . . (Chapter 25 toward the end, as translated by Friedländer)]

Know that by believing in a world that G-d invented [from nothing] all signs [i.e., miracles] are possible . . . (supposedly in Chapter 21)
– The Vilna printing associates these words with Chapter 21, but they also appear in Chapter 25 toward the end in the edition published in Hebrew by Mossad Harav Kook (my translation).