There Is a Creator: Finding Strength and Hope Through Faith in Every Life Challenge

The Talmud (Makkot 24a) teaches that the prophet Chavakuk summarized the entire Torah in one verse: “The righteous shall live by his faith.” The commandment of faith in the Creator is not just one mitzvah among many, but it is the foundation of them all. When a person truly knows there is a Creator, they can live the entire Torah and even rise to the level of a righteous person.

Rabbi Moshe Isserles (the Rema) wrote at the beginning of the Shulchan Aruch: “I place God before me always — this is a great principle of the Torah and of the level of the righteous.” The Vilna Gaon added that this awareness is, in fact, the very definition of righteousness: living with constant faith in God.

Faith as the Key to Life’s Hardest Questions

Over the years, I’ve been asked countless questions about life’s struggles related to serious illness, depression, financial stress, finding a life partner, fertility challenges, and more. At first, I was speechless. What could I possibly say to a woman in her fifties, who is weeping because doctors told her she would never have a child of her own and should adopt instead?

Eventually, I realized that there is only one true answer to every question in life: “There is a Creator.”

When we truly understand that there is a Creator who runs this world, who alone holds the power to solve every problem, we are already halfway to the solution. If He can be convinced to help, the problem itself disappears.

I told that woman: “Even if every doctor in the world insists you cannot conceive, I can open the Torah and show them the verse: ‘And God remembered Sarah’ (Bereishit 21:1). There is a Creator, and He can do anything. Not only that — He loves you deeply. Turn to Him, for only He can help.”

Fear, Danger, and the Reality of Divine Protection

Today, the Jewish people face danger. Attacks in the streets leave citizens fearful. Every sound or sudden noise triggers panic. Women especially call me in distress: “What do we do?”

My answer is always the same: “There is a Creator.”

There are no terrorists, no knives, no rockets, and not even police protection in the ultimate sense. There is only the Creator. He is the one who grants power and thought even to those who wish to harm us. If we turn to Him and lean on Him alone, no one in the world can touch us.

When Depression and Emptiness Take Hold

Sometimes a Jew feels so broken that life itself seems meaningless — joyless in family, disconnected from faith, angry at everyone, and preferring to sleep the days away. Eventually, he goes to a psychiatrist, who diagnoses him with hereditary depression and prescribes medication. Hearing that his “genes” are broken, the man feels doomed.

The real answer is still: “There is a Creator.”

The Creator can change genetics in a single moment. What appears to be despair is really a lack of awareness that God can renew everything. True hope, rooted in faith, is the most powerful force in a Jew’s heart. When a person knows with certainty that at any moment God can improve their life, they find peace and strength to go on.

The Test of Illness and Healing

The Torah says: “He shall surely heal” (Shemot 21:19), teaching that God gave doctors permission to heal. Too often however, doctors discourage patients instead of uplifting them.

A Jew who hears a bad prognosis must immediately strengthen their awareness that “There is a Creator.” That knowledge includes the hope that He is the true healer of all life. This is why in the daily Amidah prayer we say: “Healer of the sick of His people Israel.” It doesn’t matter what the illness is, or what statistics say, because God can heal every single one.

The Challenge of Livelihood

Parnassah (making a living) is another deep test. In Birkat Hamazon (Grace after Meals) we declare: “The God who nourishes us and the whole world with His goodness.” This blessing itself holds the answer to all financial struggles: “You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

Even someone drowning in debt must remember that, to God, there is no difference between providing five dollars and five million. If He wills it, He can provide in abundance, even to someone who knows nothing about business or effort.

Indeed, the Torah reminds us that He fed an entire nation of hundreds of thousands in the barren desert with manna — the most exquisite food ever created. As we learn in Devarim (8:3): “He fed you manna so that you would know that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from God’s mouth.”

There is no money in the world, and no bread in the world — only the Creator of the world.