You cannot touch G – d

B"H

Until the foundation and spreading of Christianity and Islam as well as Karaite theories, Jews never thought about the concept that G – d could be corporeal and / or might have human character traits.

Especially Christianity loves to understand the Torah literally. Far too literally and without taking into account that there could be a deeper inner meaning within the text, let alone metaphorical meanings. There are plenty of hidden messages in the Torah and we cannot take everything literally. The Torah is full of metaphors such as "G – d's arm, G – d is angry, G – d enjoyed the smell of the offerings …"

Somehow this fact has always been very clear to Jews until the Christians came and falsely turned around the meaning of the Torah. This was simply more convenient for them.

Some time later, the great era of Islam started and the Muslims accused the Jews of believing in a corporeal G – d. The early Islamic book, "The Kalam" became very popular among Muslims and there it states that Jews have the wrong understanding about G – d.

By the way, in Judaism as well as in Islam, G – d doesn’t have form or matter. In both religions He is incorporeal.

The Rambam (Maimonides) explains "The Kalam" in detail and lengths. His book "Moreh Nevuchim – The Guide for the Perplexed" is an answer to the accusations in "The Kalam" and for others who don't understand the metaphoric language of the Torah. Everyone should study the "Guide for the Perplexed" although it is anything but easy. If you have the book, you should preferably study it with the Abarbanel – commentary.

The intention of the Rambam was to prove and clarify the Jewish believe in an incorporeal G – d. In Judaism, G – d is an eternal being without any form and matter. Or in other words, a being we cannot grasp with our limited human understanding. We already have problems understanding the term "eternal". What is "eternal" ?
We don't know. The longest we can live is up to 120 years and therefore, what do we know about eternity ?

If you just have a brief look at the "Guide of the Perplexed" you will see a book without any order. It is rather confusing and all contexts are mixed. Many times the Rambam even contradicts himself. Many people mistakenly draw the conclusion that the "Guide" is a philosophical book. However, the book is actually a Jewish book; for Jews who are not afraid to think.

A short example:

Already at the beginning in Genesis (Bereshit), the Torah tells us about Seth (third son of Adam) and that he was the first in his (Adam's) image. How then did Cain and Abel (Hevel) look ?
Many commentators explain that they rather had an animal like shape. The Rambam, on the other hand, gives a very precise and logic explanation.

In order to be regarded as an "animal", one doesn't need to look like one. It is already enough when a human being behaves like an animal. I am regarded as an animal when I don't use my G – dgiven intelligence, mind and thoughts; when I don't make positive use of my abilities but rather hang around without doing anything. G – d gave us abilities and a mind, and exactly this is the meaning of this particular Torah verse. Therefore, Seth was the first after Adam, using his intelligence and abilities in a positive intelligent way.

Conclusion: Cain and Abel (Hevel) weren't running around as animals but simply didn't make use of any of their brains in the right way.