iBelieve: God

YHVH in a Sefer Torah
YHVH in a Sefer Torah

Long post…

God has many titles and identifiers but no matter what we call God He is One and Indivisible. God has no human form and the use of terms such as “the hand of God” is a metaphor since the human mind cannot comprehend God on such a profound metaphysical level.

I believe that God Exists and He is eternal.

The Torah begins by stating “In the beginning, God created…” It does not tell who God is or how He came into being. The fact of God’s existence is accepted almost without question. The existence of God is a necessary prerequisite for the existence of the universe. The existence of the universe is sufficient proof for the existence of God.

God has no beginning and no end. He will always be there to fulfill His promises. When Moshe asked for God’s name, He replied, “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh,” the Hebrew word Ehyeh can be present or future tense, meaning “I am what I will be” or “I will be what I will be.” The ambiguity of the phrase is interpreted as a reference to God’s eternal nature.

God has a name.

Throughout the Tanakh we see various titles and identifiers for God – such as El, El Shaddai, King, Lord, Merciful, Ruler, Master of the Universe, Creator, etc. We are first introduced to God’s true name in Bereishit (2:4).

Even though we see this name throughout Bereishit we do not get formally introduced to God’s name until the time of Moshe during his encounter with God through a burning bush (Shemot 3:14-15). Thus we learn God’s real, eternal name. We are told that anyone who calls upon God’s name will be delivered from troubles and find refuge in God’s name (Yoel 3:5).

God is one.

One of the primary expressions of Jewish faith, recited twice daily in prayer, is the Shema, which begins שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָֽד׃ (Hear, O Israel: יהוה [the Eternal One] is our God, יהוה [the Eternal One] is one.) This single statement contains three central Jewish beliefs:

There is only one God.
God is a unity. He cannot be divided into parts or described by attributes.
God is the only Being to whom we should offer praise. God is the Creator of everything.

God is incorporeal.

Although many places in the Tanakh speak of various parts of God’s body or speaks of God in anthropomorphic terms, God has no body. Any reference to God’s body is simply a means of making God’s actions more comprehensible to beings living in a material world. The human mind cannot comprehend the totality of God so man uses euphemisms to describe God (i.e. the hand of God). We are forbidden to represent God in a physical form. That is considered idolatry.

God is neither male nor female.

God has no body, no genitalia, therefore the very idea that God is male or female is completely incorrect. We refer to God using masculine terms simply for convenience’s sake, because Hebrew has no neutral gender; God is no more male than a book.

God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient.

God is in all places at all times. He fills the universe and exceeds its scope. Closely tied in with this idea is the fact that God is universal. He is not just the God of the Jews; He is the God of all nations. God can do anything. The belief in God’s omnipotence has been tested during the many persecutions of Jews, but Jews have always maintained that God has a reason for allowing these things, even if we cannot see the reason. God knows all things, past, present and future.

God created the world out of nothingness.

When God began His creation of the world – of the entirety of creation – He began with nothingness (Bereishit 1:1-2). God was the only thing in existence at the time of creation. God is above and beyond time and space and there was nothing in the beginning beside God Himself.

God is both just and merciful.

Judaism has always maintained that God’s justice is tempered by mercy, the two qualities perfectly balanced (Bereishit 6:17-18).

God is holy and perfect.

We are told time and again in the Tanakh that we are to be holy because God is holy (Vayikra 11:45). We are also told in the Tanakh that God is not like man – for God is perfect and what He wills will occur (Bamidbar 23:19-20).

God is our father and our king.

Judaism maintains that we are all God’s children. It is said that one of God’s greatest gifts to humanity is the knowledge that we are His children and created in God’s image. God is our father for he formed the world and all of creation and he also gave us the instructions by which we are to live our lives (Yeshayahu 63:16). As the creator and the giver of life’s instructions, God is also considered the king of all creation (Yeshayahu 43:15).

God requires ethical behavior of humans.

God demands ethical behavior of humans. We are to be stewards of the world and care for the earth and all the creatures contained therein. We are to act ethically toward our family members and our neighbors. We must act in ways that are caring for the orphan, the poor, and the stranger. We are commanded by God to act in responsible ways so as not to cause damage or harm to others or other people’s property.

God is a personal God.

God is a personal God. He is not far away from those who seek Him and do His will. Even if he turns His face from Yisrael at times He has always vowed to return to Yisrael if only Yisrael would return to Him. God has a personal name – that of יהוה [the Eternal One] – which is used throughout the Tanakh. God has what we humans would call emotions – love, pity, mercy, and anger. God is always near if only man would reach out to Him.

God hears and answers prayers.

We see throughout the Tanakh that mankind offers us prayers to God. We also see that God hears and answers the prayers of man. God may not answer the way that man hopes He will answer neither does God always answer immediately. However, we are assured throughout the Tanakh that God does indeed hear and answer the prayers of man (Melakhim Beit 20:1-2, 4-5).

God has made a special relationship with Yisrael.

God has a special relationship with Yisrael. This relationship began with Avraham when he agreed to follow the commands of God, circumcise himself and all the males of his household, and declare that God is the only God. This relationship was passed down to Yitzchak and Yaakov and the tribes of Yisrael. Moshe led the tribes of Yisrael out of Mitzrayim to Har Sinai. At Har Sinai the tribes officially became a nation with God as their king. God has sworn to protect Yisrael and give her Eretz Yisrael for as long as the people shall obey God’s commands. God made a special covenant with Yisrael – beginning with the promises made to Avraham and continuing through the time of Moshe and the prophets.