The Oneness of G-d in its Purity

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

http://www.mesora.org/ToharHayihud.pdf

 Interesting material.

 Also this guy has a videos on it as well. (More than 1 part).

 

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

In my opinion this guy is making to big of a deal out of words, which both sides do! By twisting them into what they want. I can twist things too. G-D created everything! Soo, if I worship the dirt or a star, in all actuality I am worshiping G-d

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

In my opinion this guy is making to big of a deal out of words, which both sides do! By twisting them into what they want. I can twist things too. G-D created everything! Soo, if I worship the dirt or a star, in all actuality I am worshiping G-d

 That is called IDOLATRY. (Your last statement).

  And this guy in the video is just reading the paper written (first link). The paper is mainly from the earlier Torah sages and books like Duties of the Heart, the Rambam, etc.

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

That is called IDOLATRY. (Your last statement).

  And this guy in the video is just reading the paper written (first link). The paper is mainly from the earlier Torah sages and books like Duties of the Heart, the Rambam, etc.

So,if I praise the sun and earth that G-d created, I'm committing idol worship? I'm not putting them before G-d, he created them! Maybe we are making this a little too complicated!

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

This is what you wrote

 " Soo, if I worship the dirt or a star, in all actuality I am worshiping G-d"

 NO. One cannot worship dirt or a star. That is the definition of idolatry. And G-D's Oneness is not connected to His Creation. G-D created the star or the dirt, but that doesn't mean that G-D is in the dirt or sand, nor does it allow for any worship except for G-D.

[muman613]

Hashem is ONE, this is without a doubt the truth. Torah clearly emphasizes that a Jew must recognize the UNITY of Hashem in this world. But when a man looks at the world he doesn't see unity, he sees a lot of different forces which sometimes work together, but at other times these forces work against each other.

I believe that Hashem is the master of all the forces which we observe in the world. I believe that every thing which happens in the world, things we observe, are the direct result of Hashems providence. This ties in with the idea that the Torah often refers to G-d using two names, one is Elokim and the other YKVH (Hashem). When our experience with Hashem is a matter of nature we refer to him as Elokim, and when we are relating to his mercy we call him YKVH. This doesn't, Chas VaShalom, mean that there are two G-ds or even that sometimes Hashem is Mercy and sometimes he is Judgement/Nature. This is a incorrect understanding according to what I have learned.

Hashem has no limitations, he can act any way, but it will always be perceived by limited human beings as being either Hot or Cold, Good or Bad, Light or Dark, Mercy or Judgement.... We are limited, but Hashem is never limited. We refer to him based on our own subjective experiences.

This is how I understand the various eminations which are referred to in Kabbalah. They are not individual forces, they are names by which we relate to him, and our limited understanding allows us to have a better understanding that it is all coming from the ONE, the praised and beloved G-d of Abraham.

I don't want to get into a deep discussion of these topics because then it will require much more thought to write things which may be misinterpreted. Basically the concepts I discussed above explain my understanding of these ideas.

[muman613]

Some reference material for what I wrote:


http://www.torah.org/learning/perceptions/5766/kisavo.html

MELAVA MALKAH:

Nefesh HaChaim, Sha'ar Aleph, Ch. 2

It is important to understand why "b'tzelem Elokim" specifically was used (regarding the creation of man), as opposed to another name of G-d. This was because the understanding of the name "Elokim" is known; it alludes to G-d as the Master of all Forces, as explained by the Tur (Orach Chaim 5).

G-d is called the "Master of all Forces" because He is unlike man; when man builds a house he does not first create the wood of his own power. Rather, instead, man uses wood that is already in existence after which he arranges into a building to suit his plans. And, should he later remove his support, the building will still remain standing.

This is not the case with respect to G-d. Just as He originated Creation with His own power of "something from nothing," so too does every moment since Creation began, depend entirely upon G-d for its existence and form, as a result of the new light with which He chooses to provide them. Should G-d withdraw His support for even one moment, everything would return to void and nothingness.

This is what the "Men of the Great Assembly" meant when they wrote (in "Birchat Yotzer Ohr" in advance of Kriat Shema), "The One who renews Creation continuously in His goodness": continuously literally, that is every moment. Their proof is clear since it says, "To Him Who MAKES great lights ..." (Tehillim 136:7), and not "to Him who MADE great lights."

This is what is meant by the name "Elokim" ("Master of all Forces"): He is the Master over every specific power within Creation. It is He who provides them with force and energy every moment, and they are forever in His hand to change and arrange as He wills.

http://www.torah.org/features/genesis/topic2.html

We would do well to pose another question: The Torah makes use of several names to identify the Creator, the loftiest of which is the Tetragammaton (the four letter name consisting of the Hebrew letters Yud, Heh, Vav, Heh, known also as the "Shem Havayah," "The Name of Existence"). The narrative in the first chapter of Genesis, instead of using the more direct form of the Tetragammaton, uses the term Elokim. This term, in its connotation of "lordship," is often used to identify humans who possess authority, such as judges (as in Exodus 21, 6). It is frequently used to identify other, pagan gods. The Shem Havayah, on the other hand, is exclusively associated with the God of Judaism, Creator of Heavens and Earth. Why would the Torah choose to use the less specific Elokim over the more specific, more obvious choice, of Shem Havayah?

The answer lies in the meaning of the term Elokim. It is derived from the word "el," that means "strength," or "force." An Elokim is a "Master of Forces." Any individual or deity that possesses authority is a "Master (or Mistress) of Forces." When God is identified as Elokim, we are really describing Him as the ultimate "Master of Forces."

The identification of God as the ultimate Master of Forces is one of the most fundamental realizations stressed by Jewish thought. On the holiest day of the year (Yom Kippur), in the final and holiest prayer of the day (Ne'ila), the statement: "God is the Elokim" is repeated seven times. Judaism stresses this point in order to counteract human nature. It is a natural human tendency to ascribe mastery to immediate causes: financial security to one's employer; health to one's fitness or medical care; safety to one's protective resources, etc. We are taught, by repeating "God is the Elokim" seven times, corresponding to the days of the week, symbolic of the cumulative forces of the world, that all these causes are ultimately in the hands of God.

God endowed humans with certain natural drives, among them the aspiration towards mastery: "They shall rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, the whole earth, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth" (Genesis 1, 26). The serpent was not in error when he encouraged Eve [Chava] to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in order to: "be like the Lord" (Genesis 2, 5). It was the path which he proposed that Eve and Adam follow, in order to achieve that goal, that was wrong.

God did not intend humans to master only the material world. He endowed humans with the capacity to master the Heavens, to manipulate the angels and the spiritual forces that angels represent. (It is for that reason that God turned to the angels and said "Let us make Man." He was really requesting them to contribute of their essence to Man, so as to "hard-wire" humanity with compatibility with the angels, ultimately affording us the capability to master and sway these spiritual forces.) The good deeds of Man enhances the positive forces of the spiritual realm, and these forces, in turn, exert a beneficial influence on the material world. Man's evil deeds diminish the spiritual realm, and, in turn, the material world is afflicted.

God's mastery of forces is thus reflected in the mastery He granted humanity. The term "image" expresses that thought. The Hebrew word for "image" in all these verses is "tzelem." The word tzelem is derived from the word "tzel," that means "shadow" or "reflection." Man is intended to be a lord, an Elokim, over the forces of Creation, a reflection of God's Lordship. The other word that the Torah utilizes here, "likeness," reflects this idea as well. The Hebrew word for "likeness" in all these verses is "demus." The word demus is derived from the word "domeh," that means "similar." Human beings are certainly not duplicates of a God that has no body nor form. They are similar in their mastery - of the spiritual and physical dimensions of Creation.

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

This is what you wrote

 " Soo, if I worship the dirt or a star, in all actuality I am worshiping G-d"

 NO. One cannot worship dirt or a star. That is the definition of idolatry. And G-D's Oneness is not connected to His Creation. G-D created the star or the dirt, but that doesn't mean that G-D is in the dirt or sand, nor does it allow for any worship except for G-D.

Tag, I was over exaggerating! My whole point was G-d created everything! So, if I admire one of G-d's creations, is that idol worship?

[muman613]

Tag, I was over exaggerating! My whole point was G-d created everything! So, if I admire one of G-d's creations, is that idol worship?

Ephraim,

There is a difference between 'admiring' and 'worshipping'.... One worships something if they believe it has power to influence things in life.  Jews praise the Moon every month with Kiddush Levana yet this is not considered worshipping..

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1904288/jewish/The-Sanctification-of-the-Moon.htm

To bless the new moon at the proper time is like greeting the Divine Presence.

—Talmud, Sanhedrin 42a

There is something mystical about the moon. Despite its secondary status as a luminary, people have always been fascinated by its silvery, luminous light and its precise cycle of waxing and waning. Indeed, the months of the Jewish calendar follow the phases of the moon.

The sages of the Talmud write that the renewal of the moon each month reminds us of the magnificent wonders of G‑d’s creation, as if the Divine Presence in our world, so often hidden, is coming out to greet us.1 Because the moon has the most visible cycle of all the stars and planets, we take the occasion of its renewal to make a blessing in appreciation of the entire masterpiece of celestial orchestration.2

So, once a month, Jews open their prayerbooks to speak of the moon. Upon seeing the soft, mellow light of the moon born again in the night sky, we recite a special blessing and verses of praise called the Sanctification of the Moon, or kiddush levanah (Heb. קידוש לבנה).

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

Tag, I was over exaggerating! My whole point was G-d created everything! So, if I admire one of G-d's creations, is that idol worship?

   No. But you didn't say that earlier. I was addressing what you said exactly. You said "worship".
 With idolatry we do not play around.
 you can admire, in fact its great to ponder G-D's great majesty and the way He created the world and everything and to ponder on G-D's greatness for all of these creations. But then their is a fine line to go from admiring to actually praying to and worshiping. Rambam says that is the way idolatry was introduced to the world.

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

   No. But you didn't say that earlier. I was addressing what you said exactly. You said "worship".
 With idolatry we do not play around.
 you can admire, in fact its great to ponder G-D's great majesty and the way He created the world and everything and to ponder on G-D's greatness for all of these creations. But then their is a fine line to go from admiring to actually praying to and worshiping. Rambam says that is the way idolatry was introduced to the world.

Ok, I won't play around about worshiping dirt! Sorry, I was kind of irritated about the video.

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

Thanks Muman for all the info. I agree with your theory!