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Jews are commanded to believe in God, and this is the commandment upon which all of Judaism depends. On the other hand, there are traditional sources—albeit few and far between—that minimize the role of God in Judaism.
- God 101
God is beyond human comprehension, but that has not stopped...
- God Of Jews, God Of Humanity
The Torah presents that paradox to us — God is the God of...
- God 101
- What Do Jews Mean When They Say G‑d?
- G‑d Is Not A Superhero
- G‑d Is Not An Old Man in The Sky
- G‑d Has Many Titles
- G‑d Is One
- Does G‑d Have A Personality?
- G‑d Did Not Retire
- The Universe Is Not G‑d
- G‑d Wants Something from Us
- Addendum: Absolute Existence
The Problem of Definition
The philosopher will likely explain that G‑d is absolute existence. Or that G‑d is the true reality of all things. The kabbalist will utter some mysterious words about the Infinite Light—or perhaps just “The Infinite.” He’ll explain that the Infinite Light, being infinite, is found everywhere, within all things, and beyond all things. The simple Jew will tell you that G‑d is the one you talk to when things get rough, the only one who truly knows what’s in your heart, and also the only one, gi...
On Polytheism
Many people believe in a supreme god over all the other gods. The minor gods, they believe, dominate various forces such as fire and wind, while the supreme god reigns over all of them—although rarely mixing in. This is called polytheism. Belief in one G‑d, on the other hand, means believing that there is only one force behind all things—life, physics, even existence. Whatever happens, G‑d is there, intimately involved.And yet, at the same time, He remains above it all. If that’s hard to conc...
On Anthropomorphism
The Torah and the prophets often speak about G‑d as though He has a right hand and a left hand, steams with anger through His nose, sits on a throne, writes with His finger, hears with His ears, and peers down from heaven with His eyes. He also fills the heavens and the earth,6 knows everything everyone is planning to do even before they do,7 and remains unchanged by any of it.8 If that seems contradictory and absurd to you, you’re right on track. Because it is all obviously metaphor. G‑d not...
Names of G‑d
“G‑d” is a relatively new European word of Proto-Germanic origin. In Hebrew, quite a few titles are used, each with a different meaning according to the circumstance. The only title that is referred to as G‑d’s name, and not simply a descriptive title, is YHVH (י–ה–ו–ה). (We don’t want to write out divine names, since we are not permitted to erase them.13We’ve interpolated those hyphens to get around that.) This name is only pronounced in the Temple in the priestly blessing, or by the High Pr...
The Shema
“Hear O Israel, YHVH is our G‑d, YHVH is one.”17 You might think this just means that there’s only one G‑d. But that’s not what it says. It says G‑d is totally one. In simple words: G‑d is not made of parts. Neither is He an idea that encapsulates many ideas. Neither does He occupy space. Neither does He change over time. And if you are looking for a parallel of some sort to grasp this, there is none. Here is how Maimonides, the great codifier of Jewish law, describes the oneness of G‑d: Some...
The Mind of G‑d
Fine, G‑d doesn’t have a nose or eyeballs. But what about emotions? Doesn’t the Torah describe G‑d’s wrath and jealousy, His love and compassion? And what about a brain? Isn’t G‑d wise and understanding? Yes, but those are not descriptions of G‑d. Because, like we said, G‑d has no parts or details. Those are the modalities by which He interacts with His universe. When G‑d created the universe, He did it through these modalities. He continues to direct it through these modalities. But He’s not...
Constant Creation
Here’s a common question: Why can’t G‑d just build a world, program it to do what it does, zap it with sufficient energy for a few trillion years, and then leave it running? Could the problem be that He has to step in to get things back on track once in a while? That would be strange—if He’s an all-powerful, all-knowing G‑d, why couldn’t He get the program right on the first iteration? Quite simply, G‑d can’t retire because if G‑d would step away from His creation even for a moment, it would...
On Pantheism
Take a look at the first statement of the Torah: “In the beginning, G‑d created the heavens and the earth.”23 First of all, that tells us He is not the universe. He is the creatorof the universe. But there’s a yet more important point: Saying that a higher sentience deliberately created this place means that it doesn’t have to be here. It didn’t pop up by accident or by necessity. Rather, G‑d choseto create it, purposefully and with intent. Which makes exquisite sense. Our world is filled wit...
G‑d and Humanity
So if the universe is purposeful, what does G‑d want with these creatures He made—meaning you and me? Basically, He wants us to do just what He does, but in reverse. Just as He relates to us through the things we find important, He wants us to reach up to Him through the things He desires. That way, the whole world will feel His presence and it will be a wholesome world. That’s the ultimate purpose of this world—to be a place where G‑d sort of “feels at home.” What are the things He desires?...
The problem of defining G‑d can be stated simply: Everything we know of is defined in relation to something else. Light is only light because there is dark. Big is big relative to something smaller. The same with all categories, events, and things. The definitions we use for them describe their relationship to the rest of the universe. But when we ...
Names of God in Judaism. In Judaism, the name of God represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relation of God to the Jewish people. In the biblical text, the most frequent name used for God is "YHWH," also called the tetragrammaton, and usually translated as "the Lord" or "Jehovah."
Key beliefs in Judaism. Judaism is a monotheistic religion, which means that Jews believe there is only one God. According to Jewish belief and the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, God...
Yahweh, name for the God of the Israelites, representing the biblical pronunciation of “YHWH,” the Hebrew name revealed to Moses in the book of Exodus. The name YHWH, consisting of the sequence of consonants Yod, Heh, Waw, and Heh, is known as the tetragrammaton.
