tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35449554.post476242250489162478..comments2023-07-08T05:40:25.922-04:00Comments on Which Way Is Up?: Does God Love You?SJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18085726186055340423noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35449554.post-55422687627121124892008-09-10T23:17:00.000-04:002008-09-10T23:17:00.000-04:00I don't know what kind of relationship Hashem has ...I don't know what kind of relationship Hashem has with us; love is obviously a term for something experienced by humans, not by God, who by definition is WAY beyond what we can know.<BR/><BR/> Hashem does have desires, it seems, because He expresses them as mitzvot in the Torah, and also whatever happens in the world is His desire. How is that related to love? We just can't know.<BR/><BR/>How Northern Lighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15969094667907320393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35449554.post-73257389705096374262008-09-10T16:55:00.000-04:002008-09-10T16:55:00.000-04:00G - You may be right that this question does not m...G - You may be right that this question does not matter practically, in terms of creating an emotional connection with God. However, my question was really more of a philosophical one about the concept itself and whether it has a place in Judaism.<BR/><BR/>And I'm not sure I understand what you're saying about the parent child relationship.<BR/><BR/>Ezzie - Huh? Are you saying that one should notSJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18085726186055340423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35449554.post-82839052812895449102008-09-09T15:17:00.000-04:002008-09-09T15:17:00.000-04:00This seems simply a debate of desire for a feeling...This seems simply a debate of desire for a feeling of connection vs. the practical approach to daily life as a Jew. The latter certainly seems to be the basic way to go; anything more than that would be an "extra" that may fulfill other desires on the part of the person. If in general this is an easy, or at least not difficult, thing to achieve, that's wonderful, and go for it. But if trying for Ezziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12494592434522239195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35449554.post-63213877821314944572008-09-09T13:46:00.000-04:002008-09-09T13:46:00.000-04:00Not so.In this case you are specifically trying to...Not so.<BR/><BR/>In this case you are specifically trying to create an emotionally recipricational (how <I>does</I> one go about registering a word with Webster's?) relationship with God.<BR/><BR/>Why does such a thing matter?<BR/><BR/>If, as you say, "Obviously, we believe that God created the world and the Torah for our benefit" and "Certainly we are obligated to love God" then what's the Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08512231582715592098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35449554.post-58141745621907435142008-09-09T10:48:00.000-04:002008-09-09T10:48:00.000-04:00G - In the same way that all philosophical discuss...G - In the same way that all philosophical discussions matter.SJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18085726186055340423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35449554.post-32316788499661006412008-09-09T09:22:00.000-04:002008-09-09T09:22:00.000-04:00Does it matter?Does it matter?Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08512231582715592098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35449554.post-63348973670677173992008-09-08T23:34:00.000-04:002008-09-08T23:34:00.000-04:00Of course, any attribution of a quality or emotion...Of course, any attribution of a quality or emotion to God must be an anthropomorphism (at least according to Rambam) because to say otherwise would be to deny the ultimate unity of God. So the assumption is that a certain level of such attribution is permitted in order to allow us to relate to Him in terms that we understand.<BR/><BR/>With that said, pesukim that mention Hashem's love for the SJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18085726186055340423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35449554.post-31259094358087865402008-09-08T23:23:00.000-04:002008-09-08T23:23:00.000-04:00I don't believe that one can apply any emotion to ...I don't believe that one can apply any emotion to HaShem, as it implies a certain variability or response to stimulus that we cannot attribute to Him. Be that as it may, there are numerous pesukim that describe His love for Avraham, Yaakov, Shlomo, Klal Yisroel, etc., which the Rambam would probably call an anthropomorphism, so that the rosh hayeshiva in question would appear to be relying on a Josh M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14414532577328945154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35449554.post-89445899152095212682008-09-08T19:51:00.000-04:002008-09-08T19:51:00.000-04:00weltanschauungUh huh. My thoughts exactly.<I>weltanschauung</I><BR/><BR/>Uh huh. My thoughts exactly.Erachethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00660802321998349072noreply@blogger.com