07-20-2009, 04:17 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-02-2018, 06:51 AM by Director Michael.)
1) The Oral Torah explains the simple meaning of this verse as follows: "And G-d said [to the ministering angels who He had created on the second day of creation], "Let us make man."
When Moses the faithful scribe wrote down the Torah and came to this verse, which is in the plural and could be thought to imply (G-d forbid) that there is more than one creator, he said "Sovereign of the Universe! Why do you thus furnish a pretext for the heretics to maintain that there is a plurality of the Divinities?" G-d replied, "whomever wishes to err [regarding idolatrous ideas] will err... Instead let them learn from their Creator Who created all, yet when He came to create man He [humbly] took council with the ministering angels." G-d provided His answer to the heretics in the very next verse (Genesis 1:27): And G-d created [SINGULAR verb] man..."
2) Gentiles may rest and/or set aside time on the Seventh day for serving G-d, but not in the unique way that Jews are commanded. The sanctification of the Seventh day as a Sabbath of restraint from 39 specific activities and their derivatives was given only to the Jews, so a Gentile who copies this is stealing an inheritance that is not his.
3) One of the Thirteen Fundamental Principles of the Jews' Torah faith is that G-d has no form or body. Our Sages explained that every time a bodily part or act is mentioned regarding G-d in the Torah, it is an allegory for spiritual concepts, but written in the language of man.
The author of the holy Tanya, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, was imprisoned by the Czar of Russia under false accusations. During his imprisonment, one of the Ministers of the Czar asked him to explain the verse where G-d asked Adam, "Where are you?" The Rabbi explained that G-d knew where Adam was, and it was a rhetorical question asking Adam, "And now that you disobeyed Me, at what level are you in this world? Where are you holding in your spiritual path?", and that at all times, G-d is asking this question to every person. By asking this question, G-d gave Adam an opportunity to sieze the moment and repent for his error, and be forgiven. But instead Adam acted ungraciously, and tried to put the blame onto G-d for giving him Hava as his wife (who he had previuosly yearned for from G-d).
4) Likewise, G-d also knew where Abel's body was hidden, but He asked Cain to see if Cain would have remorse and confess. Cain should have answered, "You G-d are all-knowing, You know that I killed him [and I regret my act]." But Cain showed no remorse and did not repent, and he did not ask for any forgiveness until he was faced with G-d's pronouncement of his punishment.
5) Jacob did not wrestle with G-d, but rather with Esau's guardian angel. Angels are given physical forms when G-d requires them to go on missions in a human form. When an angel is on a mission from G-d, the Torah calls that angel by one of the names of G-d [Elokim], because the Divine power channeled through that Name is being invested in that angel.
On a cosmic level, this struggle between Jacob and Esau's angel is ongoing until the descendants of Esau become spiritually refined in preparation for the Messianic Era.
See our web page: https://asknoah.org/essay/elevating-creation
When Moses the faithful scribe wrote down the Torah and came to this verse, which is in the plural and could be thought to imply (G-d forbid) that there is more than one creator, he said "Sovereign of the Universe! Why do you thus furnish a pretext for the heretics to maintain that there is a plurality of the Divinities?" G-d replied, "whomever wishes to err [regarding idolatrous ideas] will err... Instead let them learn from their Creator Who created all, yet when He came to create man He [humbly] took council with the ministering angels." G-d provided His answer to the heretics in the very next verse (Genesis 1:27): And G-d created [SINGULAR verb] man..."
2) Gentiles may rest and/or set aside time on the Seventh day for serving G-d, but not in the unique way that Jews are commanded. The sanctification of the Seventh day as a Sabbath of restraint from 39 specific activities and their derivatives was given only to the Jews, so a Gentile who copies this is stealing an inheritance that is not his.
3) One of the Thirteen Fundamental Principles of the Jews' Torah faith is that G-d has no form or body. Our Sages explained that every time a bodily part or act is mentioned regarding G-d in the Torah, it is an allegory for spiritual concepts, but written in the language of man.
The author of the holy Tanya, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, was imprisoned by the Czar of Russia under false accusations. During his imprisonment, one of the Ministers of the Czar asked him to explain the verse where G-d asked Adam, "Where are you?" The Rabbi explained that G-d knew where Adam was, and it was a rhetorical question asking Adam, "And now that you disobeyed Me, at what level are you in this world? Where are you holding in your spiritual path?", and that at all times, G-d is asking this question to every person. By asking this question, G-d gave Adam an opportunity to sieze the moment and repent for his error, and be forgiven. But instead Adam acted ungraciously, and tried to put the blame onto G-d for giving him Hava as his wife (who he had previuosly yearned for from G-d).
4) Likewise, G-d also knew where Abel's body was hidden, but He asked Cain to see if Cain would have remorse and confess. Cain should have answered, "You G-d are all-knowing, You know that I killed him [and I regret my act]." But Cain showed no remorse and did not repent, and he did not ask for any forgiveness until he was faced with G-d's pronouncement of his punishment.
5) Jacob did not wrestle with G-d, but rather with Esau's guardian angel. Angels are given physical forms when G-d requires them to go on missions in a human form. When an angel is on a mission from G-d, the Torah calls that angel by one of the names of G-d [Elokim], because the Divine power channeled through that Name is being invested in that angel.
On a cosmic level, this struggle between Jacob and Esau's angel is ongoing until the descendants of Esau become spiritually refined in preparation for the Messianic Era.
See our web page: https://asknoah.org/essay/elevating-creation
Rabbi Yitz