Three Things Every Jew Needs to Hear at the Seder This Year
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Explore the meaning of God in Judaism, based on classical Jewish sources.
Judaism rests on three core principles:1 belief in the existence of God, belief in the divine origin of the Torah (the foundational Jewish text), and the belief that human beings are morally responsible for their actions. The belief in God’s existence is fundamental. Without it, Judaism ceases to be a system of spiritual belief and becomes merely a cultural or historical identity. Furthermore, if we don’t have a sense of who or what God is, it becomes difficult to understand the significance of the Torah or the basis for moral responsibility.
Exploring the nature of our Creator is essential to grasping the purpose of our lives or the duties that come with being human.
How does Judaism define “God”? And how is this idea expressed in daily life and ritual?
The medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides2 identified five central ideas that define the Jewish concept of God:
These principles serve as a foundation for understanding how Judaism envisions God. While a full grasp of an Infinite Being’s essence is beyond the limits of human intellect, exploring what we can understand is a meaningful and valuable pursuit. In the Torah, Moses pleads with God, “Show me Your ways so that I may find favor in Your eyes,” 4 expressing a desire to deepen his understanding of the divine. Similarly, the prophet Jeremiah records God's message: “Only in this may one take pride: in understanding and knowing Me—for this is what I desire” (Jeremiah 9:23).
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto,5 an influential 18th-century thinker and mystic, emphasized that the most accessible aspect of God for the human mind is God’s oneness—Maimonides’ second principle. Concepts like God’s all-knowing nature (omniscience) or unlimited power (omnipotence) are simply too vast for the human mind to truly grasp.6 The Talmud7 even cautions, “That which is beyond you, do not investigate,” recognizing the limitations of human reasoning when it comes to divine matters.
This ties into Maimonides’ third principle: God is entirely beyond physical form. Everything in the material world is measurable or defined in some way. God, by contrast, is boundless and cannot be measured or contained.
In Jewish teachings,8 God is sometimes referred to as “Makom,” a Hebrew word meaning “place.” This suggests that God isn’t located within the universe but rather contains the universe.9 God transcends space and time; these are creations within God, not environments that hold God.
From this perspective, Maimonides’ first and fourth principles become clearer: reality itself was created by God and does not contain or limit God. Time, being part of the created universe, has no hold over God, who is timeless.
Unlike the harder-to-comprehend ideas of omniscience or omnipotence, the unity of God can be understood by recognizing what God is not.10 God is not fragmented, not divided, and not subject to shifting moods or contradictions. All of God’s actions and intentions come from a singular, unified source—God’s essence.
When we add Maimonides’ first principle to this—God as the source of all existence—it leads to a powerful insight: everything we experience, as individuals and as a collective humanity, emerges from that one singular divine source. The joy and the sorrow, the beauty and the hardship—all stem from the same origin.
The fifth principle—recognizing God as the only true power—guides how we spiritually relate to God. One of the most central Jewish prayers is the Shema, found in Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: God is our Lord, God is one.”
This brief statement encapsulates profound theological ideas and a powerful message of faith.
To fully appreciate this verse, it's important to understand the Hebrew terms translated as “God” and “Lord.” The word translated as “God” is spelled י-ה-ו-ה, which is a combination of the Hebrew words for “was,” “is,” and “will be” (היה, הוה, יהיה).11 This emphasizes that God transcends time entirely. (Out of reverence, Jewish tradition avoids pronouncing this word as written, instead using the term Adonai, from the Hebrew word meaning “my Master”.12)
The Hebrew word translated as “Lord” is Elohim, a term that describes God as the unifying force behind all the diverse elements of existence.13 Interestingly, the word Elohim is also used for judges in the Torah,14 signifying power and authority. The root word eleh, meaning “these,” suggests multiplicity, and its use in describing God implies a being who brings many forces into harmony.
Putting this all together, the Shema can be understood as follows:
“Hear, O Israel” — Pay close attention; deeply consider this idea.15
“God is our Lord” — The eternal source of reality (י-ה-ו-ה) is the force that governs and shapes every part of existence (Elohim).
“God is one” — All actions, all realities, all experiences come from the same unified source.
This brings us to the deeper question: Why did God create the world? What is the purpose behind our existence?
Judaism teaches that God created the world out of love—the desire to do good and share goodness.16 Human beings were brought into existence to grow, struggle, and develop into their best selves within a meaningful world.
Of course, life often appears contradictory. There is kindness, but also cruelty; construction, but also destruction; life, and inevitably, death. The Shema stands as a declaration that all of it—the joyous and the painful—is part of one unified, purposeful reality shaped by a loving Creator.17
Even in moments when hardship seems senseless, the Shema reaffirms our trust that there is meaning, even if it’s beyond our understanding. We recite it with conviction: everything has a reason, even suffering. We strive to understand what we can and hold onto faith for what we cannot. We believe that God loves us—and we respond with love in return.
That’s why the very next verse in the Torah reads: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…”
The Jewish concept of God isn’t just an abstract idea. It offers a framework for understanding our world, finding meaning in our experiences, and approaching life with a sense of coherence and hope. The Shema, a simple sentence repeated daily, encapsulates the richness and depth of this worldview.
It is a reminder that everything—every moment, every joy, every challenge—is part of a greater whole, shaped by a singular divine presence who loves us and wishes good for us.
Click here to learn about the different names of God.
I'm going to print this article and give it to one of the leading figures in the local synagogue, who tries his best to make up for the lack of a trained rabbi by leading the occasional service from a songbook. The songbook is printed in both Hebrew and English, but without any clue of a melody. It's pitiful.
Great!
I find G’d everywhere and in everything, that has happened to me. I pray and G’d has answered my prayers, but maybe not in the timeframe I would have liked sometimes. I can attest that there are reasons to events in my life, that are explained later on, where I get clarity. I just love Judaism for the clarity and peace I feel.
Enjoyed this article and it’s clarity!
I appreciate this clearly written piece as a learning guide.
Maimonides also wrote that the story of the Bible is G-d searching for man and not man searching for G-d.