- Does G-d have Gender?
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- Moshe Ben-Chaim
- Question:
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- I have a hard time understanding why Jews refer to G-D as
"Father" and "King." We know that G-D has no
gender, so can we also refer to G-D as our Mother or our Queen? Can we
refer to G-D as it?
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- Response:
- There is a rule in the way the Torah writes, "deebare Torah
k'lashon bnei adam", "the Torah speaks in the language of
man". This means that the Torah was written in a manner of the
vernacular of man, so that man gains certain concepts even through the
style of the written Torah. We are bidden not to offer additional
styles, so we cannot say that G-d is She or It. The reason G-s is
referred to as male, is that the male is the one who is responsible
for teaching ideas. The female has a different role.
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- It is true that G-d has no gender, however, more respect as a
Teacher is derived by man when He is referred to in the masculine.
Similarly, a king is imbued with more respect than a queen, therefore
the Torah desires to utilize terminologies which generate the most
respect towards G-d. He does not need our respect, rather, it is for
our benefit. As we pay more respect to G-d - utilizing masculine terms
- we will have a deeper appreciation that His words have greater depth
of meaning, and we will strive to uncover the hidden pearls of wisdom.
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- I would suggest you read the beginning chapters of Maimonide's work,
"Guide for the Perplexed". It is a very profound book, and
deals with proper word translations when applied to man, and when
applied to G-d.
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- Moshe Ben-Chaim
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