I believe with complete faith that the Creator, Blessed is His Name, is unique and there is no uniqueness like His in any way, and that He alone is our G-d. Who was, Who is, and Who always will be.
G-d is a complete and total Unity. He is not a collection of limbs and organs, as are man and animals. he cannot be split as can a rock or divided into component elements as can everything in Creation. This is the concept expressed in the first verse of Shema. The Shema: “Hear, O Israel: HaShem is our G-d, HaShem, the One and Only!”
As Maimonides said, “If one even allows himself to think that there is another deity other than God, than he violates the commandment, ‘You shall have no other gods before me.’
In the Brit Chadashah:
He that believeth on him (i.e., Yeshua) is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (b’shem ha-ben ha-yachid l’elohim) John 3:18.
“Hear, Israel: The L-rd is our G-d, The L-rd is one.” This simple statement encompasses several different ideas:
- There is only one G-d. No other being participated in the work of creation.
- G-d is a unity. He is a single, whole, complete indivisible entity. He cannot be divided into parts or described by attributes. Any attempt to ascribe attributes to G-d is merely man’s imperfect attempt to understand the infinite.
- G-d is the only being to whom we should offer praise. The Shema can also be translated as “The L-rd is our G-d, The L-rd alone,” meaning that no other is our G-d, and we should not pray to any other.
G-d is the Creator of Everything
Everything in the universe was created by G-d and only by G-d. All comes from G-d. As Isaiah said, “I am the L-rd, and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil. I am the L-rd, that does all these things.” (Is. 45:6-7).
G-d is Incorporeal
Although many places in scripture and Talmud speak of various parts of G-d’s body (the Hand of G-d, G-d’s wings, etc.) or speak of G-d in anthropomorphic terms (G-d walking in the garden of Eden, G-d laying tefillin, etc.), We firmly maintain that G-d has no body. Any reference to G-d’s body is simply a figure of speech, a means of making G-d’s actions more comprehensible to beings living in a material world.
We are forbidden to represent G-d in a physical form. That is considered idolatry. The sin of the Golden Calf incident was not that the people chose another deity, but that they tried to represent G-d in a physical form.
G-d is Neither Male nor Female
This followed directly from the fact that G-d has no physical form. As one rabbi explained it to me, G-d has no body, no genitalia, therefore the very idea that G-d is male or female is patently absurd. We refer to G-d using masculine terms simply for convenience’s sake, because Hebrew has no neutral gender; G-d is no more male than the chair that you are sitting on reading this post.
Although we usually speak of G-d in masculine terms, there are times when we refer to G-d using feminine terms. The Shechinah, the manifestation of G-d’s presence that fills the universe, is conceived of in feminine terms, and the word Shechinah is a feminine word.
G-d is Omnipresent
G-d is in all places at all times. He fills the universe and exceeds its scope. He is always near for us to call upon in need, and He sees all that we do. Closely tied in with this idea is the fact that G-d is universal. He is the G-d of all nations.
G-d is Omnipotent
G-d can do anything. It is said that the only thing that is beyond His power is the fear of Him; that is, we have <i>free will</i>, and He cannot compel us to do His will. This belief in G-d’s omnipotence has been sorely tested during the many persecutions in our seasons of life, but we have always maintained that G-d has a reason for allowing these things, even if we in our limited perception and understanding cannot see the reason.
G-d is Omniscient
G-d knows all things, past, present and future. He knows our thoughts.
G-d is Eternal
G-d transcends time. He has no beginning and no end. He will always be there to fulfill his promises. When Moses asked for G-d’s name, He replied, “Ehyeh asher ehyeh.” That phrase is generally translated as, “I am that I am,” but the word “ehyeh” can be present or future tense, meaning “I am what I will be” or “I will be what I will be.” The ambiguity of the phrase is often interpreted as a reference to G-d’s eternal nature.
G-d is Both Just and Merciful
G-d’s justice is tempered by mercy, the two qualities perfectly balanced. Of the two Names of G-d most commonly used in scripture, one refers toHis quality of justice and the other to His quality of mercy. The two names were used together in the story of Creation, showing that the world was created with both justice and mercy.
G-d is Holy and Perfect
One of the most common names applied to G-d in the post-Biblical period is “Ha-Kadosh, Barukh Hu,” The Holy One, Blessed be He.
Avinu Malkeinu: G-d is our Father and our King
We are all G-d’s children. G-d as “Avinu Malkeinu,” our Father, our King. The Talmud teaches that there are three participants in the formation of every human being: the mother and father, who provide the physical form, and G-d, who provides the soul, the personality, and the intelligence. It is said that one of G-d’s greatest gifts to humanity is the knowledge that we are His children and created in his image.
You shall love HASHEM, you G-d, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your resources. Let these matters, which I command you today,be ypon your heart. Teach them thoroughly to your children and speak of them while you sit in your home, while you walk on the way, when you retire and when you arise. Bind them as a sign upon your arm and let them be tefillin between your eyes. And write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.
It was You before the world was created, it is You since the world was created, it is You in this world, and it is You in the World to Come. Chazzan–Sanctify Your Name through those who sanctify Your Name, and sanctify Your Name in Your universe. Through Your salvation may You exalt and raise our pride. Blessed are You, HASHEM, Who sanctifies Your Name among the multitudes. Amein.
It is You who are HASHEM, our G-d, in heaven and on earth and in the loftiest heavens. True–You are the First and You are the Last, and other than You there is no G-d. Gather in those who yearn for You, from the four corners of the earth. Let all who walk the earth recognize and know that You alone are the G-d over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them. Who among all Your handiwork, those above and those below, can say to You, “What are you dong?” Our Father in Heaven, treat us with kindness for the sake of Your great Name that has been proclaimed upon us. Fulfill for us, HASHEM, our G-d, what is written: “‘At that time I will bring you and at that time I will gather you in, for I will set you up for renown and praise among all the nations of the earth, when I bring back your captivity, before your won eyes,’ said HASHEM.”
Amein!!!!!!!
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