The Creator

By Leibel Estrin

The core of Judaism, and of all existence, is G-d. Nothing exists outside of G-d. Maimonides[1], the great Jewish philosopher, physician, and scholar, opens his compendium of Jewish law, the Mishneh Torah with, “The foundation of foundations and the pillar of wisdom is to know that there is a Primary Being who brought into being all existence. All the beings of the heavens, the earth, and what is between them came into existence, only from the truth of His being.”[2] Maimonides is indicating several things:

There is only one Prime Force in the universe.

G-d existed before creation and will continue to exist forever. He is both eternal and unchanging. Anything, and everything, whether it’s the stars, the forces of nature, good and evil, mankind, and all of existence derive from G-d. In essence, nothing exists independently from G-d. The apparent independence of reality is only from our perspective as created beings. In truth, G-d is the ultimate reality.

Second, G-d is not physical, yet is perfect in every manner.

Maimonides states, “G-d is one. He is neither two nor more than two, but one. The oneness of any of the individual things that exist in the universe is unlike His unity.”[3] In short, G-d’s unity is both unique and indivisible. This also means that G-d has no shape, form, or matter. G-d is above and beyond anything that we can conceive. Again, we return to Maimonides, “He is the Knower. He is the Subject of Knowledge, and He is the Knowledge itself. All is One.”[4]

Third, G-d is the vitalizing Force of existence.

Some philosophies state that G-d created the world and monitors it from afar, allowing the cosmos to run on its own, similar to a watchmaker who installs a battery and intercedes only when necessary.

Judaism rejects this concept. Although G-d’s presence is hidden from our mortal eyes, G-d continually sustains creation. If G-d withdrew His sustaining force even for the tiniest fraction of a second, the world would cease to exist; not only that, it would be as if the world never existed at all.

An excerpt from the book “Judaism From Above The Clouds.”

Leibel Estrin has been writing about Jewish topics for four decades. He is working as a Jewish chaplain for the Aleph Institute. Leibel has recently published a work on Jewish perspectives and values entitled “Judaism From Above The Clouds.” To read more of Leibel’s writings and to purchase his book click here.