Beyond our human Understanding

Photo: NASA

B”H

Many many times I have been explaining that in Judaism we define G – d as an eternal being without form and matter. As a matter of fact, we humans don’t know who G – d really is. No one is able to describe or understand His being because He created us humans with a limited understanding. Not that we are stupid but G – d decided not to give is the ability of understanding the entire universe and everything going on. Therefore it seems totally ridiculous and unnecessary that certain people try to understand everything. Try to figure out the last mysteries of creation and the most hidden mystic sides of G – d. When our understanding is limited anyway, why bother and running after something we wouldn’t grasp ?

G – d created anything in our universe and nothing is happening without Him knowing it.

Nevertheless, there are Jews who keep on asking the question “How did everything look before creation ?” The ARIZAL, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, taught (see SEFER ETZ CHAIM) that there was no existence besides G – d. Most of us understand this statement as follows: “There was G – d (whatever He is or however He looks) and then there must have been this darkness in a space. Space must have existed and, somehow, G – d was waving around inside this space until He created our universe”.

This understanding is wrong and we humans have a problem grasping the word / concept of NOTHINGNESS. Somehow we are unable of imagining a complete nothingness. Before creation, there was no black hole, no universe, no darkness in a space together with G – d. There was only G – d and darkness was created by Him much later. Only G – d was filling out whatever there was.

Of course, we are curious about all of this. What actually happened before creation ? Who is G – d ? Is He located within our universe or somewhere else beyond ? If G – d is beyond our universe, is there another universe beyond our universe ? Does our universe have walls or an end ? By the way, NASA could send as many spaceships and astronauts as it wants but science tells us that no human would ever make it until the end of the universe. The reason is that such a trip to the “end of the universe” would take much much longer than an astronaut’s average lifetime.

The famous Talmudic commentator Me’iri asked the question how humans can keep on asking those questions about creation when we are unable to understand the answers due to our limited human understanding. Isn’t the entire investigation a waste of time ?

The Maharal of Prague stated (in a commentary on Talmud Chagigah 11) that it is totally ridiculous investigating why G – d created us humans with two legs and not with three or four legs. Would we ever find an answer ? In order to find one we needed to interview G – d and this is impossible. The Maharal suggested that there is one thing we can do: We should appreciate our human existence on two legs !