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The Divine Essence

An exploration into the profound and evolving understanding of God within the Jewish tradition, from ancient revelation to modern philosophical discourse.

Core Concept ๐Ÿ‘‡ Divine Attributes โœจ

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The Concept of God in Judaism

Foundational Beliefs

Judaism traditionally posits a singular, indivisible God, identified as Yahweh, the deity of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This God is understood as the national deity of the Israelites, revealed through the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.[1][2][3] Central to this belief is the affirmation of absolute monotheism: "God is one."[4][5]

Transcendence and Immanence

The Jewish conception of God is characterized by a dual nature: transcendence, signifying God's independence from and separation from the material universe, and immanence, reflecting God's active involvement within the world.[3] God is perceived as unique, perfect, and without flaw, serving as the sole creator and sustainer of all existence.[3][6]

Aniconism and Incomparability

A fundamental principle in Judaism is aniconismโ€”the strict prohibition against creating or possessing physical representations of God.[7] This stems from the belief that God is incorporeal and utterly incomparable to anything in creation. The Torah emphasizes God's absolute oneness, stating that nothing is comparable to God, and God is beyond all human conceptualization and expression.[3][6]

Names of the Divine

Primary Names

The most frequently used divine names in the Hebrew Bible are the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) and Elohim.[8]

  • Tetragrammaton (YHWH): Traditionally pronounced as Adonai ("My Lord") during prayer to avoid pronouncing the sacred name. Scholarly consensus reconstructs the original pronunciation as "Yahweh".[8][10][11]
  • Elohim: A plural form often used in a singular sense to refer to God, signifying majesty or intensity.[3]

Other significant names and titles attributed to God in Judaism include:

  • Adonai: "My Lord," used as a substitute for YHWH in prayer.[10]
  • El-Elyon: "God Most High."
  • El Shaddai: "God Almighty."
  • Shekhinah: The divine presence, often depicted as immanent.

Traditional interpretations maintain that God is referred to using masculine grammatical forms, but this does not imply gender attribution.[12]

Historical References

The Mesha Stele (c. 840 BCE) provides one of the earliest known references to Yahweh.[9] The concept of God's presence is sometimes symbolized, as seen in representations of a winged disk, notably associated with Hezekiah's seals.[wiki-winged-disk-1][wiki-winged-disk-2]

The Divine Essence: Godhead

Unknowable Depths

In Jewish philosophy, particularly following Maimonides, the "Godhead" refers to the intrinsic essence of God, lying beyond God's actions or attributes. This essence is considered fundamentally unknowable, with existence being the only attribute that can be equivocally affirmed.[3] Maimonides asserted that no concept can encompass both God and creatures, as God's existence is unique and absolute.[3]

How then can a relation be represented between God and what is other than God when there is no notion comprising in any respect both of the two, inasmuch as existence is, in our opinion, affirmed of God, may God be exalted, and of what is other than God merely by way of absolute equivocation. There is, in truth, no relation in any respect between God and any of God's creatures.

โ€” Maimonides, Moreh Nevuchim (Pines 1963)

Kabbalistic Perspective

Within Kabbalah, the term "Godhead" often denotes Ein Sof (ืึตื™ืŸ ืกื•ึนืฃ), the aspect of God that transcends the emanations known as the sefirot. This ultimate reality is considered beyond human comprehension, as stated by David ben Judah Hehasid: "Of God as God is in Godselfโ€”Ein Sofโ€”nothing can be said at all, and no thought can reach there."[13]

Ein Sof is a place to which forgetting and oblivion pertain. Why? Because concerning all the sefirot, one can search out their reality from the depth of supernal wisdom. However, concerning Ein Sof, there is no aspect anywhere to search or probe; nothing can be known of it, for it is hidden and concealed in the mystery of absolute nothingness.

โ€” David ben Judah Hehasid, Matt (1990)

Attributes of the Divine

Core Attributes

In traditional Judaism, God is often described as eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and the creator of the universe. Furthermore, God is considered the source of morality, guiding humanity through ethical principles.[3][6]

  • Creative Power: Maimonides articulated this as, "The foundation of all foundations... is to know that there is a Primary Being who brought into being all existence."[14]
  • Omniscience: Generally accepted, though some medieval philosophers like Gersonides argued God knows possibilities but not specific future choices.[16]
  • Omnipotence: Rooted in the Hebrew Bible, though some modern theologians question absolute omnipotence.[15][18] The traditional view affirms God's power to intervene in the world.
  • Omnipresence: Inferred from verses like Deuteronomy 4:39, suggesting God is simultaneously in heaven and on earth.[19]

Incorporeality and Gender

Jewish philosophy strongly asserts God's incorporeal nature, arguing that corporeality would imply limitations and comparability, which contradicts God's absolute uniqueness.[19] While the Tanakh uses masculine language, this is understood metaphorically, not as an attribution of gender.[12] Modern thinkers often articulate God outside the gender binary.[21]

Diverse Conceptions of God

The Personal God

Classical Judaism largely views God as personal, allowing for a reciprocal relationship between God and humanity. This is reflected in the liturgy, such as the Adon Olam hymn, which affirms God as a "living God" who "hears and answers."[22] This personality does not imply physicality but rather an inner essence that is rational and moral.[22] Thinkers like Abraham Joshua Heschel emphasized God's passionate engagement and vulnerability towards the world.[23]

Impersonal Conceptions

Conversely, some modern Jewish thinkers and a significant portion of religiously affiliated Jews view God as an impersonal force or ideal.[1][23]

  • Spinoza: Proposed a pantheistic view where God and nature are identical.[26]
  • Hermann Cohen: Saw God as an archetype of morality, distinct from nature.[28]
  • Emmanuel Levinas: Equated God with ethics, experienced through relations with others.[29]
  • Mordecai Kaplan: Defined God as the sum of natural processes enabling self-fulfillment, the "power that makes for salvation."[31]
  • Zalman Schachter-Shalomi: Viewed God as an evolving process, using the term "godding."[33]

Scholarly References

Source Citations

The content presented herein is synthesized from established academic and religious sources, meticulously referenced for scholarly integrity.

  1. Tuling, Kari H. (2020). "PART 2: Does God Have a Personalityโ€”or Is God an Impersonal Force?". In Tuling, Kari H. (ed.). Thinking about God: Jewish Views. JPS Essential Judaism Series. Lincoln and Philadelphia: University of Nebraska Press/Jewish Publication Society. pp. 67โ€“168. doi:10.2307/j.ctv13796z1.7. ISBN 978-0-8276-1848-0. LCCN 2019042781. S2CID 241520845.
  2. Stahl, Michael J. (2021). "The "God of Israel" and the Politics of Divinity in Ancient Israel". The "God of Israel" in History and Tradition. Vetus Testamentum: Supplements. Vol. 187. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 52โ€“144. doi:10.1163/9789004447721_003. ISBN 978-90-04-44772-1. S2CID 236752143.
  3. Grossman, Maxine; Sommer, Benjamin D. (2011). "GOD". In Berlin, Adele (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion (2nd ed.). Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 294โ€“297. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199730049.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-975927-9. LCCN 2010035774.
  4. Hayes, Christine (2012). "Understanding Biblical Monotheism". Introduction to the Bible. The Open Yale Courses Series. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 15โ€“28. ISBN 978-0-300-18179-1. JSTOR j.ctt32bxpm.6.
  5. Moberly, R. W. L. (1990). "'Yahweh is One': The Translation of the Shema". In Emerton, J. A. (ed.). Studies in the Pentateuch. Vetus Testamentum: Supplements. Vol. 41. Leiden: Brill Publishers. pp. 209โ€“215. doi:10.1163/9789004275645_012. ISBN 978-90-04-27564-5.
  6. Lebens, Samuel (2022). "Is God a Person? Maimonidean and Neo-Maimonidean Perspectives". In Kittle, Simon; Gasser, Georg (eds.). The Divine Nature: Personal and A-Personal Perspectives (1st ed.). London and New York: Routledge. pp. 90โ€“95. doi:10.4324/9781003111436. ISBN 978-0-367-61926-8. LCCN 2021038406. S2CID 245169096.
  7. Leone, Massimo (Spring 2016). Asif, Agha (ed.). "Smashing Idols: A Paradoxical Semiotics". Signs and Society. 4 (1). Chicago: University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Semiosis Research Center at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. pp. 30โ€“56. doi:10.1086/684586. eISSN 2326-4497. hdl:2318/1561609. ISSN 2326-4489. S2CID 53408911.
  8. Ben-Sasson, Hillel (2019). "Conditional Presence: The Meaning of the Name YHWH in the Bible". Understanding YHWH: The Name of God in Biblical, Rabbinic, and Medieval Jewish Thought. Jewish Thought and Philosophy (1st ed.). Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 25โ€“63. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-32312-7_2. ISBN 978-3-030-32312-7. S2CID 213883058.
  9. Lemaire, Andrรฉ (Mayโ€“June 1994). "House of David" Restored in Moabite Inscription". Biblical Archaeology Review. 20 (3). Washington, D.C.: Biblical Archaeology Society. ISSN 0098-9444.
  10. Botterweck, G. Johannes; Ringgren, Helmer, eds. (1986). Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Vol. 5. Translated by Green, David E. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans. p. 500. ISBN 0-8028-2329-7.
  11. Christiano, Kevin J.; Kivisto, Peter; Swatos, William H. Jr., eds. (2015) [2002]. "Excursus on the History of Religions". Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments (3rd ed.). Walnut Creek, California: AltaMira Press. pp. 254โ€“255. doi:10.2307/3512222. ISBN 978-1-4422-1691-4. JSTOR 3512222. LCCN 2001035412. S2CID 154932078.
  12. "The fact that we always refer to God as "He" is also not meant to imply that the concept of sex or gender applies to God." Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, The Aryeh Kaplan Reader (1983), p. 144.
  13. Popkin, Richard Henry, ed. The Columbia history of western philosophy. Columbia University Press, 1999.
  14. Maimonides, Moses (1180). Mishneh Torah, Sefer Ma'adah: Yesodei haTorah. Chapter 1:1.
  15. "Jewish Beliefs about God" in C/JEEP Curriculum Guide American Jewish Committee.
  16. Jacobs, Louis (1990). God, Torah, Israel: traditionalism without fundamentalism. Hebrew Union College Press. ISBN 0-87820-052-5.
  17. Guttmann, Julius (1964). Philosophies of Judaism: The History of Jewish Philosophy from Biblical Times to Franz Rosenzweig. New York City: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. pp. 150โ€“151. OCLC 1497829.
  18. Geoffrey Claussen, "God and Suffering in Heschel's Torah Min Ha-Shamayim". Conservative Judaism 61, no. 4 (2010), p. 17.
  19. Maimonides, Moses (1180). Mishneh Torah, Sefer Ma'adah: Yesodei haTorah. Section 1:8.
  20. Julia Watts-Belser, "Transing God/Dess: Notes from the Borderlands," in Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in Jewish Community, ed. Noach Dzmura (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2010).
  21. Samuel S. Cohon. What We Jews Believe (1931). Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
  22. Edward Kessler, What Do Jews Believe?: The Customs and Culture of Modern Judaism (2007). Bloomsbury Publishing: pp. 42-44.
  23. Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism (New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1955).
  24. Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (2008). U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. p. 164.
  25. Benedictus de Spinoza, The Ethics; Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect; Selected Letters, trans. Samuel Shirley, 2nd ed. (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992), 40.
  26. Daniel B. Schwartz, The First Modern Jew: Spinoza and the History of an Image (Princeton University Press, 2012), ch. 5.
  27. Hermann Cohen, Reason and Hope: Selections from the Jewish Writings of Hermann Cohen, trans. Eva Jospe (New York,: Norton, 1971), 223.
  28. Emmanuel Levinas, Difficult Freedom: Essays on Judaism, trans. Sean Hand (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990), 223.
  29. Alan Levenson, An Introduction to Modern Jewish Thinkers: From Spinoza to Soloveitchik, 137.
  30. Alan Levenson, An Introduction to Modern Jewish Thinkers: From Spinoza to Soloveitchik, 138.
  31. Mordecai Menahem Kaplan, The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1994), 29.
  32. Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Joel Segel, Jewish with Feeling: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Practice (New York: Riverhead Books, 2005), 20.
  33. Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Joel Segel, Jewish with Feeling: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Practice (New York: Riverhead Books, 2005), 8.
  34. Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906.
  35. Hezekiah's seals.

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References

References

  1.  Popkin, Richard Henry, ed. The Columbia history of western philosophy. Columbia University Press, 1999.
  2.  Geoffrey Claussen, "God and Suffering in Heschel's Torah Min Ha-Shamayim". Conservative Judaism 61, no. 4 (2010), p. 17
  3.  "The fact that we always refer to God as "He" is also not meant to imply that the concept of sex or gender applies to God." Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, The Aryeh Kaplan Reader, Mesorah Publications (1983), p. 144
  4.  Julia Watts-Belser, "Transing God/dess: Notes from the Borderlands," in Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in Jewish Community, ed. Noach Dzmura (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2010)
  5.  Samuel S. Cohon. What We Jews Believe (1931). Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
  6.  Edward Kessler, What Do Jews Believe?: The Customs and Culture of Modern Judaism (2007). Bloomsbury Publishing: pp. 42-44.
  7.  Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism (New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1955).
  8.  Benedictus de Spinoza, The Ethics; Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect; Selected Letters, trans. Samuel Shirley, 2nd ed. (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992), 40.
  9.  Daniel B. Schwartz, The First Modern Jew: Spinoza and the History of an Image (Princeton University Press, 2012), ch. 5.
  10.  Hermann Cohen, Reason and Hope: Selections from the Jewish Writings of Hermann Cohen, trans. Eva Jospe (New York,: Norton, 1971), 223.
  11.  Emmanuel Levinas, Difficult Freedom: Essays on Judaism, trans. Sean Hand (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990), 223.
  12.  Mordecai Menahem Kaplan, The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1994), 29.
  13.  Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Joel Segel, Jewish with Feeling: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Practice (New York: Riverhead Books, 2005), 20.
  14.  Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Joel Segel, Jewish with Feeling: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Practice (New York: Riverhead Books, 2005), 8.
A full list of references for this article are available at the God in Judaism Wikipedia page

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Academic Disclaimer

Important Notice

This document was generated by an AI language model for educational and informational purposes, drawing exclusively from the provided source material. It aims to present a scholarly overview suitable for advanced academic study.

This is not theological or religious advice. The information herein is not a substitute for consultation with qualified theologians, rabbis, or religious scholars. Interpretations and beliefs regarding the Divine are deeply personal and varied within Judaism. Always consult authoritative religious texts and knowledgeable individuals for guidance.

The creators of this content are not responsible for any interpretations, applications, or actions taken based on the information presented. Adherence to specific religious doctrines should be guided by established religious authorities.