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Does G-d "need" you?

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Rabbi Josh Zebberman avatar
Rabbi Josh Zebberman

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okay friends the big question the big debate on the internet between RAB manes fredman and RAB Ys mrai RAB does God need us or is that heresy R manman takes the position that God needs us he created us for a purpose and it's us who has a responsibility to fulfill that purpose r y RAB y m and others take the position that God is perfect God is wholesome there's nothing we can possibly give God because that would make him imperfect and to say that God needs us would be heresy start with the name of this month which has a status officially the name of this month is a but it actually has the name and according to writes that you know a get a divorce document has to have the name of the month in it in order for it to be Kasher if it has the name of that's Kasher you should say if it just said and it didn't say even though is not the formal part of the name it's still a ker yet that's how integral the name is to this month here's the interesting thing though what is the comforting of a is a difficult month it's the month in which the bikash the first and second had been destroyed and it is a very difficult month for the Jewish people it's a month where we need extra Comfort but here's the interesting thing it's not called of the father of Comforts it's called of comfort for our father it's actually a month in which we provide comfort for our father for God what God Is Not a Human Being God doesn't have human emotions God is not limited by that how could we give something he doesn't have well he's able to choose that that's a choice that God makes in fact you have a and it says that every time we say we answer to the with all of our intention and all of our power Hashem actually regrets gas he regrets the Exile he regrets the destruction of the B and the whole situation that got us into this diaspora and he says wo is to this father who had exiled their children we have the ability to influence God now the only difference is God Is Not Human he's not dependent on our influence he chooses to want or to need that influence depending on how you choose the word need but let me share with you another example actually in this week's par par the Jewish people are about to go out to war against the midianites who had brutally attacked us and Hashem tells MOA go to tell the Jewish people that you're going to take revenge you're going to take revenge on behalf of the Jewish people against the midianites Moshe goes and repeats that to the Jewish people but he changes the language a little bit he says Nikas hasem we're going to take Vengeance for God so God tells Moshe tell the Jewish people we're taking revenge on behalf of the Jewish people mosha tells the Jewish people we're taking revenge on behalf of God the mid also cited in Rashi says that based on this what do we understand that when you're defending the Jewish people you're actually defending God because we as Jewish people have an influence on God again it's not God being codependent on us um inherently that would be heresy perhaps but this is a choice that God makes and there's nothing wrong with embracing that choice and giving God what he so desires that relationship I'll give you another example this week's para Paras where it talks about setting up ER setting up the the Cities of Refuge and it says don't defile this land right God is giving us this land as a gift don't defile it don't make it impure don't make it TM I dwell in it don't defile this land that I dwell because I God dwell amongst the Jewish people don't defile the land oh why God you're in heaven we're here what do you care no I dwell amongst you and again the SRE also quoted in Rashi says that when we Exile ourselves and when we're defiled God is defiled when we go into gullis when we go into Exile God goes with us but when we return God returns with us we have an impact on God we have an impact on God's desires again not a codependent impact an inherit impact an impact that God chose to have there's nothing wrong with embracing what God wants which is that relationship I'll share with you one more example there's the famous in the story of Kam that led to the atrocities of Tish of the destruction of the Bas mikdash and when bar I'm not going to go through the whole story now I'll put out a separate video for that but when Bara um was trying to basically mess around with the Jewish people and get us in trouble with the Roman Emperor the big question was what do we do with baram some had the thought to kill him some had the thought to take his unacceptable Corban Just For Peace sake for the Romans and zakar the gar quotes zakar saying uh if we do that what's going to happen people are going to think that you get killed for bringing the wrong corbon it's not true and there was a little bit of indecisiveness if you will or rash says there a little bit of too much patience should have just made the decision discuss what exactly is going on here says it was the humility of that had destroyed that had destroyed the B mikash and concerning this the B says that there's one trait during Gus that's going to really mess us up and it's misplaced humility and he says you know what misplaced humility means believing that your actions don't actually matter to God they just matter to you Mitzvah just make you good a good person they do by the way right says that God gave us mitz to make us better people and that is a true reality but to believe that they have zero impact on God obviously we can't change God God is unchanging it but God chose to need these you could call it a want whatever it is but to not believe that is misplaced humility and it's going to damper our Sim damper our joint damper this relationship it's very important to understand the weight of our actions and how Hashem chooses that Cosmic and Global impact that's my story and I'm sticking to it