Why Philosophy Cannot Define Hashem

Many give too much credit to philosophy, others are afraid to engage with it, but very few know of its fundamental mistake: the naive human attempt by philosophers to explain what Hashem is.

The Torah dismissed all of philosophy in one statement, saying: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says Hashem. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8).

In the first commandment of the Ten Commandments, we were warned not to try to imagine and depict Hashem in any form familiar to us: "I am Hashem your God... You shall not make for yourself an image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth..." (Exodus 20:2-5).

When Moses asks for the name of Hashem, He tells him: "And Hashem said to Moses: 'I am that I am'" (Exodus 3:14). This verse has many interpretations (deep discussions concerning the salvation of Israel, the attribute of justice and mercy), but at first glance, according to its literal meaning, it seems to say that Hashem cannot be described by any human description. "I am that I am," as if to say: "I am who I am. I am who I have always been. No name can describe my essence."

At its core, every 'name' is intended to represent in some way the subject of the name - to whom one is addressing, to describe, to present or to point to. A 'name' creates a definition, an identity, or at least establishes a known "domain" - I point my finger to the bearer of the name. However, Hashem cannot be compared to anything else in reality, and one cannot point to Him because He has no defined domain (neither a specific place nor time), so there is no name that can represent Him. He is simply "He". The holy one, blessed be He. The place.

"I am that I am" sounds like a statement about what cannot be described, when the only thing one can say about Him is that He exists, always was and will be: past, present, and future.

"I am" describes a trait of eternal existence. "I am that I am" can be interpreted as: "I will be forever as I have always been." Hashem is unchangeable, not dependent on any moment in time. There is a statement here about His essence - which is essence. The 'Kli Yakar' interpreted the verse this way: "And some say, that the statement I am that I am is the rationale for the name I am, for I am called by the name as I exist and will exist at all times, in the past, present, and future, thus He said this is my name forever, meaning this name indicates that I am eternal, from world to world my existence is the same, and this is my remembrance to all generations."

The Greek philosophers thought they understood Hashem through mathematics. They called Him "Logos" (reason) and described Him as a supreme power or "cause" that shapes the world and gives it its harmonious form like a law of nature. "Form" often described the invisible deity guiding the universe and shaping its materials in Greek writings.

The Greek philosophers mistakenly interpreted Hashem as a kind of spiritual natural force defining the logic of the world; they thought the world (matter) and Hashem (form) existed in some mathematical harmony of matter and spirit.

Maimonides fought this false philosophy; he dedicated all of Part A in "Guide for the Perplexed" to this end, distancing any human definition from the Divine (his teaching is known as "the negation of attributes").

Philosophers confined Hashem within the realm of human logic and mistakenly thought they grasped it. For this reason, they also thought the world was eternal (existing eternally without a beginning in time), as they could not conceive the supernatural possibility of a *spiritual* Hashem creating a *material* reality ex nihilo. Since they thought they understood Hashem with their intellect, they "decided" what Hashem can and cannot do in His world...

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They made a grave mistake when they gave too much credit to their intellect. Philosophers erred not only in conclusions about the ability and will of Hashem, but also in material conclusions about the nature of the world. Only in the last hundred years was it discovered that the universe is expanding, galaxies are moving away from each other, proving that all physical reality began in time, created ex nihilo as the first verse in the Torah states: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Philosophers were mistaken, time and again reality has proven to be greater than any imagination or "intellect."

Throughout the generations, scholars have opposed philosophy for this exact reason, due to the attempt to reduce the Divine to intellectual definitions. They said that the philosophers' pride was in making their intellect paramount, and that the Greek philosophers ignored superior spiritual feelings that cannot be logically measured, like love and prayer, enabled by a deep emotional connection between the spiritual soul and its creator, a feeling ignored by the philosophers because they could not define it with their dry logic.

To this day, I encounter intellectuals who try to interpret Hashem as intellect. They do not realize that the attempt to define Hashem as a "mental force," or "mathematics," or "logic" of the universe is also a form of physical embodiment and humanization of the Divine. It must be admitted that even the greatest philosopher is only human and cannot comprehend his Hashem with his limited human intellect.

See more in my article "Is God Like a Computer or an Emotionless Law of Nature?"

Does Hashem have desires?

https://www.hidabroot.org/article/218147

https://www.hidabroot.org/article/216676

Jews connect to Hashem in their hearts, not just their minds: "And you shall know this day, and consider it in your heart, that Hashem, He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath; there is none else" (Deuteronomy 4:39).

After knowledge comes the faith of the heart, which is an experience of abstract concepts beyond logic, like love and mercy, "the desire to do good," concepts that material logic cannot explain, but a Jew can feel through his heart and soul - the love of Hashem and His spiritual closeness.

Of course, it is necessary to know how to combine mind and heart. Those who make the heart primary may be drawn to an extreme, losing their intellect. The Gentile monks esteemed their emotions so much that they abandoned rational contemplation and study, belittled them, and lost their intellect in meditation and fasts.

On one hand, one cannot escape the mind achieving rational knowledge of the Divine reality ("And you shall know this day"), but on the other hand, we see that the mind alone is insufficient to define the love of Hashem and the sense of His being that touches our soul ("And consider it in your heart"). The proper combination of the two is the wisdom of Judaism.

The truth must be said, that Hashem is greater than the mind, and greater than emotions, and any human concept we can describe. However, the fact that we are limited does not mean we are blind. Just as Hashem gave us eyes to see the world, so too He gave us the eyes of the mind and eyes of the heart, allowing us to grasp a small yet true recognition of His reality.

Nonetheless, we must not forget our short-sightedness. We must remember to acknowledge the limitation of our mind and also the limitation of our heart. Many philosophers erred when they tried to delve too deeply into interpretations of the Divine reality with their limited intellect, and others erred when they devoted themselves too much to abolishing the intellect.

The mind cannot enter the realm of the heart, nor vice versa, but together they achieve a knowledge of the Divine reality that is higher than all.

Therefore, I would say, that simply acknowledging the One Who is greater than everything and not contained by any definition, is the closest thing to "understanding" the reality of Hashem. That is what we should aspire to: "One thing I ask from Hashem, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of Hashem all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of Hashem, and to inquire in His temple" (Psalms 27:4)