God in Judaism

YHWH ( Hebrew : יְהֹוָה , Modern : Yehovah , Tiberian : Yəhōwāh ) is the one true God of Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob , who created the world, delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt , and gave the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai as described in the Torah . The conception of God in Judaism is strictly monotheistic . Jewish tradition teaches the true aspect of God is ultimately unknowable, it is God's revealed aspect that gave life to Creation, sustains it, and interacts with mankind and the world. The title most often used in the Hebrew Bible for God is Elohim , the generic Hebrew term for "god", El . In Jewish tradition the term Elohim relates to the interaction between God and the universe, as manifest in the physical world, designating the justice of God, and "the One who is the totality of powers, forces and causes in the universe"; while the name YHWH relates to God as God truly is, outside of existence, representing God's compassion, and the direct connection God has with humanity. The name YHWH is known as the Tetragrammaton —literally, “the four letters." Due to the extreme holiness of this name, Jews traditionally do not pronounce it, and instead refer to God as HaShem , literally "the Name". In prayer this name is substituted with Adonai , meaning "my Lord". There is much debate over which vowels this name originally carried. Ancient Hebrew had no written vowels, only consonants. Vowels were supplied by an oral tradition. This name is sometimes vocalized theoretically by scholars as Yahweh or Yehowah . God said to Moshe 'Eheye Asher Eheye' (I will ever be what I now Am): and He said, 'Say to the children of Yisra'el , Eheye (I Am) has sent me to you'. And God said furthermore to Moshe, 'This you shall say to the children of Yisra'el, YHWH (the self-existent One), God of your fathers, God of Avraham , of Yiẓḥaq , of Ya'aqov , has sent me to you: this is My name for ever, and this is my mention to all generations. Exodus 3:14–15, God spoke all these words, saying: 'I am HaShem your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Exodus 20:1–3, "You shall have no other gods before me.' You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I HaShem your God am a jealous God..." Exodus 20:2–6, . 'HaShem, HaShem, mighty, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and great in kindness and truth. Guarding kindness for thousands [of generations], forgiving injustice, rebellion and wrongdoing, yet not completely clearing [of wrongdoing]...' Exodus 34:6–7, Know this day, and consider in your heart, that HaShem He is God in the heaven above, and on the earth below; there is none else. You shall love HaShem your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your resources.

Experiences Practices Belief Esotericism Faith Fideism Gnosis Hermeticism Metaphysics Mysticism Prayer Revelation Worship Related topics Euthyphro dilemma God complex God gene Theology Ontology Problem of evil ( theodicy ) Religion philosophy texts Portrayals of God in popular media Religion portal v t e of God The conception of God in Judaism is strictly monotheistic . God is an absolute one, indivisible and incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. Jewish tradition teaches that the true aspect of God is incomprehensible and unknowable, and that it is only God's revealed aspect that brought the universe into existence, and interacts with mankind and the world. In Judaism , the one God of Israel is the God of Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob , who is the guide of the world, delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt , and gave them the 613 Mitzvot at Mount Sinai as described in the Torah . The God of Israel has a proper name, written YHWH ( Hebrew : יְהֹוָה , Modern : Yehovah , Tiberian : Yəhōwāh ) in the Hebrew Bible . The name YHWH is a combination of the future, present, and past tense of the verb "howa" ( ) meaning "to be" and translated literally means "The self-existent One". A further explanation of the name was given to Moses when YHWH stated Eheye Asher Eheye ( ) "I will be that I will be", the name relates to God as God truly is, God's revealed essence, which transcends the universe. It also represents God's compassion towards the world. In Jewish tradition another name of God is Elohim , relating to the interaction between God and the universe, God as manifest in the physical world, it designates the justice of God, and means "the One who is the totality of powers, forces and causes in the universe".

The concept of God in the Jewish faith Experiences Practices Belief Esotericism Faith Fideism Gnosis Hermeticism Metaphysics Mysticism Prayer Revelation Worship Related topics Euthyphro dilemma God complex God gene Theology Ontology Problem of evil ( theodicy ) Religion philosophy texts Portrayals of God in popular media Religion portal v t e In Judaism , God has been conceived in a variety of ways. Traditionally, Judaism holds that YHWH , the God of Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob and the national god of the Israelites , delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt , and gave them the Law of Moses at biblical Mount Sinai as described in the Torah . According to the rationalist stream of Judaism articulated by Maimonides , which later came to dominate much of official traditional Jewish thought, God is understood as the absolute one , indivisible, and incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. Traditional interpretations of Judaism generally emphasize that God is personal yet also transcendent , while some modern interpretations of Judaism emphasize that God is a force or ideal. The names of God used most often in the Hebrew Bible are the Tetragrammaton ( YHWH Hebrew: ) and Elohim . Other names of God in traditional Judaism include El Shaddai and Shekhinah .

Jewish conception of God This article is about the Jewish conception of God. The Tetragrammaton (YHWH), the main Hebrew name of God inscribed on the page of a Sephardic manuscript of the Hebrew Bible (1385) Experiences Practices Belief Esotericism Faith Fideism Gnosis Hermeticism Metaphysics Mysticism Prayer Revelation Worship Related topics Euthyphro dilemma God complex God gene Theology Ontology Problem of evil ( theodicy ) Religion philosophy texts Portrayals of God in popular media Religion portal v t e In Judaism , God has been conceived in a variety of ways. Traditionally, Judaism holds that Yahweh —that is, the god of Abraham , Isaac and Jacob , and the national god of the Israelites —delivered them from slavery in Egypt , and gave them the Law of Moses at Mount Sinai as described in the Torah . Jews traditionally believe in a monotheistic conception of God (" God is one "), characterized by both transcendence (independence from, and separation from, the material universe) and immanence (active involvement in the material universe). God is seen as unique and perfect, free from all faults, and is believed to be omnipotent , omnipresent , omniscient , and infinite in all attributes, with no partner or equal, serving as the sole creator of everything in existence. In Judaism, God is never portrayed in any image . The Torah specifically forbade ascribing partners to share his singular sovereignty, as he is considered to be the absolute one without a second, indivisible, and incomparable being, who is similar to nothing and nothing is comparable to him. Thus, God is unlike anything in or of the world as to be beyond all forms of human thought and expression. The names of God used most often in the Hebrew Bible are the Tetragrammaton ( Hebrew : יהוה , romanized : YHWH ) and Elohim . Other names of God in traditional Judaism include Adonai, El-Elyon , El Shaddai , and Shekhinah . According to the rationalistic Jewish theology articulated by the Medieval Jewish philosopher and jurist Moses Maimonides , which later came to dominate much of official and traditional Jewish thought, God is understood as the absolute one, indivisible, and incomparable being who is the creator deity —the cause and preserver of all existence. Maimonides affirmed Avicenna 's conception of God as the Supreme Being, both omnipresent and incorporeal , necessarily existing for the creation of the universe while rejecting Aristotle's conception of God as the unmoved mover , along with several of the latter's views such as denial of God as creator and affirmation of the eternity of the world . Traditional interpretations of Judaism generally emphasize that God is personal yet also transcendent and able to intervene in the world, while some modern interpretations of Judaism emphasize that God is an impersonal force or ideal rather than a supernatural being concerned with the universe. The "God of Israel" in History and Tradition . In Berlin, Adele (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion (2nd ed.). Introduction to the Bible . " "Yahweh is One": The Translation of the Shema" . Studies in the Pentateuch . Maimonidean and Neo-Maimonidean Perspectives" . In Kittle, Simon; Gasser, Georg (eds.). The Divine Nature: Personal and A-Personal Perspectives (1st ed.). Signs and Society . 4 (1). Jewish Thought and Philosophy (1st ed.).