Doing Something for God   Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim     Briefly, but essential, I want to address the false idea of "doing something for God."   This of course is an impossibility, although this phrase echoes in our ears with great familiarity, as we hear people making this statement in connection with living in line with Torah. Simply put, God existed eternally, long before man. He needs nothing from the matter (man) which He created. He is perfect without flaw, and does not change as the prophet Malachi teaches (Chap 3),"I am God, I do not change". This essential lesson means to teach that He Who is perfect, cannot have change, as that would imply moving from perfect to imperfect. God has no needs, and certainly none which man fulfills.   We cannot do anything for this Only Supreme Being. It is against reason. We follow the Torah for ourselves, "Ubacharta bchaim", "choose life". By following the Torah we can only benefit ourselves. We cannot make God happy, as He has no human emotion. We cannot effect Him.   See Maimonides' Yisodei HaTorah

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