God has been given human characteristics over hundreds of times in the
Torah. Yet, I am told to believe that God is neither human nor does God have
human form. That is why I have chosen to base my D'var on Anthropomorphism and
Anthropopathism of God in the Torah. Anthropomorphism is when someone gives
human characteristics or qualities to God. Anthropopathism is when someone
gives human feelings or emotions to God.
A famous Jewish thinker named Maimonides, who
lived from 1135 to 1204 C.E., felt we needed to put God in human form in order
to understand God. He stated that we should take these mental images and
emotions, not literally, but as ideas. In one of Maimonides writings titled, "A
Guide for the Perplexed", Maimonides wrote about describing God. Maimonides
stated that the prophet who "sees" God is really thinking about God's
attributes. When the Torah reads " and God spoke" it is using figurative
language for
God willed.
According to Maimonides, the "throne" is used to represent God's
dignity. To say that God is sitting in that throne means that God is permanent
and unchanging.
We have learned to accept that we cannot fully
know what God is, but we can know God's influences in the world. One example of
such influence is the birth of a baby. My own example of an influence is a
flower. I don't believe how something like a seed can grow up to be so
beautiful; it has to be the work of God.
The Greeks have tried to explain God. Unlike the
Greeks we, the Jews, realize that explaining God is beyond our understanding,
but we can still feel God's presence in the world.
Anthropomorphism and Anthropopathism are used a
lot in my Parsha, Shelach L'kha, from the book of Numbers. One incident is in
verse 14:14 when God is said to reveal himself eye to eye to the Israelites.
Later, God explained to Moses how to make a proper sacrifice. The sacrifice
reminded me of a human dinner. In 15:6 God says to the Israelites that they
must mix wine with oil to deliver a pleasing order to the Lord. Yet God can't
smell since this is a human trait. But, I feel that they did this to help
express their desire to please God. Another example of Anthropomorphism is in
verse 15:37 when God instructs Moses on how to create a tallit. To be able to
instruct is also a human trait. If we are to say that the commandment to make
and wear a tallit is a divine command (something that comes from God), then the
best way to do this in the bible is to make these words come from God's
mouth.
Does this approach help us feel closer to
God? Or that we know what God
wants? I think it does. Anthropomorphism and Anthropopathism help me
build my Jewish obligations. For
example, in my maftir God commands me to wear a tallit. And today, as an adult, I put one on for the
first time.
