Every Jew Believes in the Creator of the World

How fortunate we are, how good is our portion, how pleasant is our lot, and how beautiful is our inheritance, that we have the privilege to live under the wings of the Divine Presence, and with emotion, we walk in the light of "faith".

"Faith" is a vast and profound topic, one of the fundamentals of Judaism, perhaps the principal amongst them. As our sages stated in Masechet Makkot (24a), "Habakkuk [the prophet] came and established them on one, as it is said (Habakkuk 2:4): 'But the righteous shall live by his faith.'" [Note: It is a complete mistake to say, out of innocence: "Each person lives by his own faith"].

If all seas were ink, all reeds pens, the sky and earth parchment, and all people scribes – it wouldn't suffice to write the importance of this foundation. Yet, with the help of the Almighty, we will attempt to understand and distill this topic from the teachings of our holy Torah and our sages.

First, it is essential to explain what "faith" is:

Faith is an essential and soul-engrained trait in a person - simply because he is a "human" composed of a physical body and a spiritual soul. From faith, one draws the strength to face countless trials in life, and without it – a person is lost, despondent, and bereft of hope. Faith is what brought the people of Israel back to their homeland after nearly two thousand bitter years of exile, even though they were physically battered, because they never abandoned their faith [an event unparalleled in human history].

In fact, every person, without exception, develops in their imagination a belief in some powerful entity, considering it as a supreme value - placing it at the top of their priority list, navigating their life path and decisions according to their faith: in moments of joy, noise, and storms, and especially in moments of sadness, grief, and sorrow, and they might be willing to give their life for it.

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Believers in different faiths divide into numerous categories: some believe in a leader with unique charisma, some in a concept or political party, some in their wealth, possession, or status, others in animals or idols and many other kinds of vanities. Therefore, it is not unlikely that in difficult moments, when a person is disappointed in their faith – they may switch to another, ridiculing the former. But all these are essentially different levels of idolatry, since one should only believe in the Creator of the world, blessed be His name.

The father of pure faith in the Creator, the pioneer of divine service with extraordinary strength, is Abraham our Father, of blessed memory. Truly, faith in Hashem is first mentioned in our holy Torah, in the context of Abraham's faith (Genesis 15:6): "And he believed in Hashem, and He counted it to him as righteousness". He was granted a unique title from Hashem (Isaiah 41:8): "Abraham, My friend". And the nations also gave him a unique name: "Abraham the Hebrew", because he stood alone in the world against everyone [as the whole world was on one side – idol worshippers, and Abraham, on the other side – a servant of Hashem]. This title accompanies us, the people of Israel – his descendants, throughout history, to this very day.

Already at the age of three, Abraham our Father, of blessed memory, recognized his Creator, due to his intellectual greatness and acumen, as stated (Nedarim 32a): "Rabbi Ammi son of Abba said: Abraham recognized his Creator at the age of three!" Not only did he maintain his belief in his Creator throughout his life, but he also passed it to his descendants, as written (Genesis 18:19): "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of Hashem, to do righteousness and justice". Despite being tested by the Almighty with ten severe trials – as mentioned in Pirkei Avot (5:3) – that he withstood, the last and hardest being, as known, "The trial of the binding of Isaac", when Abraham was commanded (Genesis 22:2): "And offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will tell you", seemingly contradicting Hashem's prior promise (Genesis 21:12): "For in Isaac shall your seed be called" [meaning: that his descendants would continue through Isaac, and if sacrificed, there would be no continuation] – despite everything, Abraham our Father, the "father of the Hebrew nation", never lost his faith in the Almighty and was ready to slay his son without hesitation. Not only this, but he did it with joy, as expressed in the liturgical poem during Rosh Hashanah prayer: "Tears in the eye, a heart full of joy"; proof of his happiness is that prophecy did not depart from him even during those moments – and prophecy cannot rest upon a prophet unless he is in joy.

Thanks to clinging to his faith, Abraham our Father became the inventor, founder, and developer of absolute faith in the Creator of the world, as he practiced and lived by it – in stark contrast to the men of his generation. Therefore, he is considered "the craftsman of faith and joy"; and in the Jewish people, faith is foundational and integral, inseparable from their essence. Therefore, it can be said: "There is no Jew who does not believe in the Creator of the world; there is a believer in the Creator of the world, even if not Jewish!" [It is noteworthy, for comparison, the superpower of America was not ashamed to inscribe its belief in the Creator on its currency. Moreover, the difference between their faith and ours is as the difference between darkness and light].

One of the most exemplary and steadfast believers in Hashem for generations is Moses our Teacher, may his memory be blessed, about whom the Almighty testified (Numbers 12:7): "He is faithful in all My house". He merited to receive the Torah from Sinai (Pirkei Avot 1:1), and he said before his passing to the people of Israel, when reproaching them, to strengthen belief in Hashem among them (Deuteronomy 32:3-4): (3) "For I will proclaim the name of Hashem; ascribe greatness to our God: (4) The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are judgment; a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is He:" – to eradicate any shadow of doubt from the hearts of the Israelites about the just governance of the Creator and to establish absolute faith in Him.

Indeed, the people of Israel have always had a rooted faith in Hashem, proven throughout history in numerous and famous events. Even if they sinned – they invariably returned to their faith, sacrificing for it. Numerous and well-known are the acts of sacrifice for our faith, such as the Maccabees, Hannah and her seven sons, the Ten Martyrs, Rabbi Amnon of Mainz, the martyrs of the Inquisition, and the righteous convert – Count Potocki, and many others in every generation, who in their deaths, through unparalleled dedication, reached the level of "Sanctification of the Divine Name". However, in death, one can only sanctify the Divine Name once, but when one's entire life is guided by faith in Hashem, they sanctify the Divine Name every moment, countless times. Not to mention, they earn life in the world to come.

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It is known and widely acknowledged that after death, the first question the soul is asked in the heavenly court, as brought forth in the Talmud (Shabbat 31a), is: "Have you conducted your business with faith?". The main intention of this question is, beyond honest dealings, to ascertain if faith was the guiding light for the examined soul; as there is a difference between one who acts rightly out of faith in Hashem and one who does so for other reasons; even if one studied Torah for external motives – their Torah learning is no more valuable than the study of sciences [therefore, concerning setting fixed times for learning Torah, it is asked as the second question].

In addition to the future reward prepared for the righteous, believers merit to witness Hashem's providence upon them in every moment, leading to openly miraculous events. One of the famous righteous and devout figures among the Tannaim is Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, of blessed memory, with numerous stories about him in the Talmud. One story (Ta'anit 25a) tells that on one Friday, during twilight (after the sun had set), he saw his daughter in distress. When he inquired, she revealed she had mistakenly put vinegar in the Shabbat lamps instead of oil (after the sun had set, it is prohibited to rectify and relight, resulting in a dark home). The righteous man comforted her, saying: "He Who said to oil that it should burn [Hashem] will say to vinegar that it should burn." The Gemara recounts a miracle within a miracle, as it continued burning until the end of Shabbat, with the leftover used for the Havdalah candle.

The power of faith is tremendous and beyond description in words. The stronger a person's faith in the Creator, the greater their confidence and joy. However, the increase in faith is reliant on one's humility towards the Creator: the greater one's faith in their Creator and self-negation towards Him, the more their confidence and happiness increase. Thus, did our patriarchs act. They trained themselves to believe with absolute faith in the Creator, saying about everything, as did Nachum Ish Gamzu (Ta'anit 21a): "This too is for the good", or as did Rabbi Akiva (Berachot 60b): "All that the Merciful One does is for the good" [meaning: everything that Hashem does is for the good], and hence they merited miracles, sanctifying the Divine Name through their actions, remembered for good for generations.

Faith gives birth to trust, trust to joy, and joy is the foundation and remedy for the ailments of the soul and body. It is hinted at: "Joy" numerically in small gematria equals twenty, and "Illness" numerically in small gematria also equals twenty.

Faith reinforces the observance of Hashem's commandments and elevates its quality.

In the mercy of Hashem, the people of Israel are currently experiencing a resurgence of faith in their Creator, unmatched for thousands of years. The longing for the near redemption is growing and intensifying among the diverse layers of the Jewish people, along with the anticipation for the realization of the fundamentals of faith: The building of the Holy Temple and the arrival of our righteous Messiah – strengthening and unifying Israel under the wings of the Divine Presence. May it be the will that we swiftly witness the return of Hashem to Zion, amen and amen!