Undoubtedly, many of you reading these lessons are not even sure if you believe in G-d. This question is legitimate and demands serious attention. A later lesson will examine the dilemma of how to obligate belief in anything, let alone belief in G-d. In the meantime, the word is going to come up. Judaism is about G-d and about our relationship with G-d. It is impossible to present the principles and practice of Torah without constantly referring to the Rootless Root of all existence, the Creator and Sustainer of all reality, the Divine Presence that we call G-d.

For many, the questioning of G-d's existence is a valid response to a distorted conception. Whether consciously or not, we internalized our childhood notions of Divinity that we built from anthropomorphisms taken literally. As adults, we examine our belief systems and do some housecleaning. If our concept of G-d did not mature with the rest of us, then it has to go. If the word conjures visions of a great bearded man in the sky demanding obedience and exacting retribution -- or even a more sophisticated image of a cosmic persona with petty concerns and inhumane values, capable of horrible cruelty to innocent children -- we must reject the concept altogether, and rightly so. It does not make sense; it should offend our rational sensibilities, it is primitive, superstitious, and psychologically unhealthy. In reaching these conclusions, we are absolutely correct. Judaism states unequivocally and uncompromisingly, as one of its Thirteen Articles of Faith, that G-d is incorporeal. And even more than a simple tenet of the religion, this idea is the bedrock truth of the Jewish faith. To take these anthropomorphisms literally, on any level, is truly heresy.

In his monumental work, Guide to the Perplexed, Maimonides goes through each anthropomorphism used in the Bible and identifies the information that it metaphorically communicates about G-d. For example, in the final verses of Deuteronomy, it says, "There arose not again in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom G-d knew face to face . . .." To see the "face" of a person is to be in his or her presence. To communicate "face to face" implies physical intimacy and direct communication. The Bible acknowledges that, although Divinity fills all points of time and space, the perfection that characterizes G-dliness is hidden most of the time. Thus when Scripture mentions the "face" of G-d, it is saying that the omnipresence of Divinity is revealed in this particular moment. It is as if one were face to face with the Creator, for sublime perfection is all one sees.

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