What is G-d? (Edited)

G-d is the reason the cosmos is here, but even more than that; G-d is the Compassionate Shepherd of the Universe that has no physical body, and beyond that; we claim G-d has taken special interest in His people.

From chabad.org, Psalm 23 tells us, “…The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want... He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.  Even when I walk in the valley of darkness, I will fear no evil for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff-they comfort me.”  

Isaiah, a prophet, tells us of G-d’s love and personal interest in His people (Isaiah 60:21):  “And your people, all of them righteous, shall inherit the land forever, a scion of My planting,the work of My hands in which I will glory.”   He desires for us to do His will; that we wrestle to understand His ways.  He longs for all of us to choose Him; that we to hearken to His Voice.  He desires for us to love Him; everyone of us, from the most pious king to the lowliest worm.

Is Humanity Innately Evil and In Need of the Forgiveness of Jesus?

It is bothersome when Christians focus on how bad they are, such that they proclaim how badly they need Jesus’ forgiveness. This is a mistake because when Hashem created us; He created us “Good.”

Genesis 1:31 (courtesy of www.chabad.org), “And God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good, and it was evening and it was morning, the sixth day.”

That goodness did not fade away. The incident of Adam and Eve in Gan Eden does not mean that since then, humans have been hopelessly evil or wicked. Nowhere does Gd say something so disparaging as to say humanity, His creation, is evil. Quite the contrary as Isaiah teaches (60:21), “And your people, all of them righteous, shall inherit the land forever, a scion of My planting, the work of My hands in which I will glory.”

Focusing on the evils that are possible because Hashem has given us freewill is not even half the story.

Psalm 139 says, “For You created my mind; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will thank You, for I was formed in an awesome and wondrous way.”

We should take pride in ourselves and be thankful that we are Hashem’s creation, and not blaspheme it through constant proclamation of our iniquities. Truly, Hashem made us good, and our goodness out of the womb is a reflection of the wisdom He used to create each of us with when we were formed. Rather than focusing on our iniquities, we should be thankful for all that Hashem has given us.

We Are More than Rocks as Our Souls Give Us Animation

Though the universe is soulful; for example Aaron drew water from rock, what makes the human soul special is that it can operate at higher levels than rocks, and even still at higher levels than other species.  The soul is the part that animates.

For instance; there is the animal soul that makes it such that some of us experience hunger.  A rock will probably never feel hungry, and because of that, what we believe hunger is an inclination to evil.  That makes the souls of beasts higher than that of inanimate objects.

Another level of the soul that I believe even monkeys, and especially mother’s of other higher level species can do is empathy.  Although I can’t say every human is capable of empathy.  It is usually very apparent when a human lacks it.  Though it is difficult for family members, and close people to deal with a human lacks the level of the soul that is a conscience: I feel pity for someone who never experiences empathy.  That is the appropriate response for such a person.