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Top Document: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Jewish Thought (6/12)
Previous Document: ORGANIZATION
Next Document: Question 12.2: Can one doubt G-d's existence and still be a good Jew?
Question 12.1: What is the Jewish concept of G-d? Do Jews think of G-d as an angry old man with a long white beard?
Answer:
No. That image is an anthropomorphism of an extreme application of
judgment (seen as anger), and wisdom (associated with old men). The
image is part of the "angry jealous Old Testament G-d" misconception,
which ignores G-d's showing kindness and mercy throughout the Torah.
Traditional Jews view G-d as omnipotent and unique, tempering judgment
with mercy. The verse from Shemos [Exodus] 23:23 "And I will remove my
hand and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen" is
taken to mean that we will come to know G-d through His works, and
through observing his commandments. See [5]Handbook of Jewish Thought
by R' Aryeh Kaplan.
Jews conceive of G-d as an absolutely simple Unity (implying
absolutely no constituent divisions), beyond all constraints
(including time and place), and beyond all limitations of human
conception. To the extent that we are even able to refer to G-d, it is
solely through our assignment of human-like attributes to what we
perceive as G-d's interactions with creation. These attributes provide
us with simple terms to which we can relate, but in no way limit or
constrain G-d.
All descriptions of G-d that involve human characteristics are
attempts by human beings to understand the infinite. These human
characteristics can only be crude approximations of the attributes of
G-d, in the same way that a robot's hand, while fashioned in the image
of our own, can only be a crude approximation of the complexity of a
human hand.
Likewise, we often ascribe to G-d the ultimate expression of desirable
traits that fallible humans can only imperfectly attain. Thus the term
"Rachman," as used to refer to G-d, is not "merciful" but the
merciful, and is the standard against which the human characteristic
of mercy is measured.
Top Document: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Jewish Thought (6/12)
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Next Document: Question 12.2: Can one doubt G-d's existence and still be a good Jew?
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