The Truth of God
There is one God. He created everything and He controls everything; He always did and He always will. This is the truth, and it is the reality whether we believe it or not. Rabbi Akiva tells us that when we look at the complexity of the world, it is obvious that there was a creator who used tremendous wisdom to create the world. It would be foolish to assume that the almost infinite complexity of the world could have happened on its own. When we see a painting with an intricate design it is obvious to us that a painter had designed it and it didn’t come about by accident, or if we see a book with thousands and thousands of words that flow from one to another in an intelligent manner, we know that there was an author who wrote the book and he didn’t random letters. When there are intelligent patterns that exist in this world it is clear that they came about through an intelligent designer.
However, as the Ramban (at the end of Parshas Bo) says that unfortunately almost since the beginning of time there have been many of people who have made many mistakes about all of these matters. Some people believed that the world always existed, others recognize that God created the world but they believe that Hashem doesn’t know about the details of everyday life, others recognize that Hashem knows about everyday life but He doesn’t care about how we behave and He certainly doesn’t communicate with us to tell us how to act, and others recognize that Hashem knows and cares but He only cares about humanity as a whole, but He doesn’t care about each person’s private actions.
The Ramban (at the end of Paershas Bo) points out that there are a number of times that Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu that one of the reasons that He brought the miracles in Mitzraim was to educate the world about Hashem and Hashem’s powers. Hashem brought the plagues “So that you should know that I am Hashem who is controlling everything on Earth” (8,18), “So that you should know that I am the creator of the world and everything in it" (9,29), and “So that you should know that I can do whatever I want in the world “ (9,14). The Ramban explains that usually the presence of Hashem in the world is somewhat hidden. It is easy for people to think that the laws of nature govern the world. Through the miracles, Hashem was teaching the world the truth in an obvious manner that He is really the force behind nature. The laws of nature are merely the vehicle that Hashem uses to government the world. However, Hashem’s hand is always behind it, and Hashem manipulates all of the laws of nature to His specific will in each circumstances.
When Hashem gave us the Torah, He also did it in a clear manner. He spoke to all of the Jewish people together on Mount Sinai. The same way that there were millions of eye witnesses to the miracles in Egypt, there were also millions of witnesses to the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai as well.
The fact that Hashem publicly showed the world that Moshe was his trusted prophet by performing the miracles through him and by speaking to him in front of the entire nation was also Hashem’s way of telling us to trust Moshe about the rest of the Torah as well. Everything that Moshe taught us was truly from Hashem.
Many people approach their religious beliefs on the basis of “blind faith” alone. They believe what they believe based on what feels right or based on what their community tells them to believe. However, religion should be based on facts and evidence. The only religion that can back up every aspect based on facts is the one true religion-Judaism. There is one God, He created the world and He controls every aspect of the world. He gave the Torah on Mount Sinai and He didn’t change it. These are facts and one day the whole world will recognize them.
Have a great Shabbos. Let us take the time to celebrate the great blessing that we have to have been taught the truth and to continue to develop a close relationship with God through following in His ways.