Does the Creator Love Us? 4 Irrefutable Proofs

Here are some points that clearly demonstrate Hashem's love for His creations:

A. Consider this, we are commanded to recite the Shema every day, which includes "And you shall love Hashem, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might". How can one love someone who takes away their soul and possessions? Is it conceivable that a ruler would command the people of his city to give up all their desires for him - "with all your heart", to die for him - "with all your soul", to give all their possessions for him - "with all your might"?! Such a request would seem strange, and perhaps even provoke anger.

So how, then, does the Torah command us to do something that seems impossible, especially for a person who is struggling and lonely? How can one understand such a commandment if not for the certainty that this command from the Creator is beneficial and good for every person to give their soul and possessions to Hashem? After all, if a person is asked to give, it is certain that the Creator, in His great love for humanity, will give them much more in return than what is requested of them.

B. Another consideration is how we are commanded every day to lift our faces, to pray to Hashem, to pour out our hearts before Him and ask for our needs. Would someone turn to his enemy, or even to someone who does not love him or does not know him, to ask for his needs? Surely, one only turns to someone they know and trust desires to do good for them, and it must be that the reality is: Hashem's love for His people is immense and abundant, and only because of this simple premise do we approach Him daily to request our needs.

C. Furthermore, would a person approach someone day after day, several times in the same day, to request their needs?! Wouldn't this be considered burdensome?! Even the most loving father might not tolerate a child who knocks at his door three times a day to ask for his needs. So how did our Sages of blessed memory establish for us to approach the Creator daily with our prayers, three times a day to stand and request for ourselves and our family's health, sustenance, wisdom, etc.? If not for the certainty that the Men of the Great Assembly, some of whom were prophets, understood that the Creator, in His great love for humanity, delights when a person turns to Him daily, even several times a day, and even if it is a repeated request.

D. Let us also consider that the men of the Great Assembly commanded us to thank Hashem and bless Him every day for all that we eat and drink, a blessing before and after. Consider, is this reasonable? For example, a son living with his father, taking a glass of water to drink, turns to his father: Father, I bless you for the water I am taking with your permission... and when he finishes drinking turns again to his father: Father, thank you very much for the water... After a few minutes, the son takes a fruit from the house, and again turns to his father: Father, I bless you for the fruit I am taking with your permission... and when he finishes eating turns again to his father: Father, thank you for the fruit... and so on, repeating this ten or twenty times a day... Would this son be considered normal?! Surely the father would take such a son for treatment...

Yet regarding Hashem, our sages commanded us to bless for every pleasure we derive from the Creator's world - a blessing before and after. At least a hundred blessings a day must a person say for every action done with him, for every eating and drinking, etc. How did they not consider that this might burden the Creator with such insistence coming from us to burden Him at every moment and on every detail?

The answer to this is that we have no conception of the greatness of the love that the Creator has for His people Israel as a whole, and for every Jew individually, and He rejoices and delights in every word we say that demonstrates faith in Hashem. As our sages say in the Gemara (Berakhot 20): "Would that a person could pray all day long". Moreover, for these blessings and thanks, which seem repetitive, the Almighty increases the reward of the one who blesses Hashem greatly, and anyone who blesses Hashem is blessed with all good. Furthermore, anyone who eats and benefits from the world without a blessing is considered to be robbing Hashem. So, how much should we see in this the goodness and love of the Creator for man, since this is His entire purpose in creating man - to bestow goodness upon him.

This article is taken from the book "Living in Faith". To purchase Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Lugasi's book click here.