How can hashem love us? He has no feelings!!

amother

Apricot

Wed, May 23 2018, 6:37 am

I always tell my child to thank hashem...so my child asked me this question"how can hashem love us? HE is a g-d has no feelings. MY CHILD IS EIGHT YRS OLD. So I need basic simple answers.

I'm clueless how to answer these questions BC we didnt learn about these hashkafa type ideas in school.

Anyone can help me answer/understand

imasinger

Wed, May 23 2018, 6:46 am

Here's what I might say:

"Where did you get the idea that Hashem has no feelings? Why wouldn't the creator of everything be able to feel?"

Once you understand where the statement came from, you can explain why it is incorrect.

It was likely an assumption that feelings are human, and HKBH is not, so must be above all that.

It might also reflect some ideas about what love is that need to be addressed.

Finding out the reason -- and the child's emotions that drive the reasons -- is key to formulating an answer that will be heard.

One good approach is to use guided questions, so that the child thinks it through, rather than just stating anything. "Why do people have feelings? What's good about them? Could people live if they didn't have feelings?"

"What does it mean that we were created in Hashem's image? Does Hashem have a body? So then how might we be like Hashem?"

And see where the conversation goes.

Kids are funny. When my oldest was little, she told me that she knew Hashem liked spaghetti, because I had told her that Hashem was all around us and also inside of us -- and she knew she liked spaghetti.

salt

Wed, May 23 2018, 6:48 am

Hashem also does not need our thanks.
I think when we say Hashem loves us, it means that we relate to Hashem as we relate to someone who loves us. Hashem's behavior towards us is like that of someone who loves us.
Hashem has no characteristics of people. But that's how us humans talk, that's our language, so we say
Hashem watches us
Hashem loves us
We praise Hashem and we thank him and we ask him for things, because that's how we can relate.
Even though Hashem is not a human.

There are many examples where chazal say that the Torah speaks in the language of humans.

דיברה תורה כלשון בני אדם

amother

Apricot

Wed, May 23 2018, 7:00 am

I know why she is asking the question BC we say to her that hashem is not human. She is only eight yrs old so she's thinking basic"" thoughts.

I agree with her and did think what u posted above how its just how we think of love to relate to hashem....but that's too deep for her.

I'm also starting to get confused BC its a great question.

imasoftov

Wed, May 23 2018, 7:04 am

Hilchot Yesodei Hatorah 1:11

Since it is clear that He is Incorporeal, it clearly follows that none of the corporeal changes happen to Him; no joining and no separation, no place and no measure, no ascent and no descent, no right and no left, no face and no back, no sitting and no standing; neither is His being dependent on time to attribute to Him either a beginning, or an end, or number of years; nor is He undergoing any change as there is naught to cause any change in Him; He is neither subject to death nor to life similar to the life of a living body; to Him cannot be attributed either folly or wisdom similar to the wisdom of a wise man; no sleep and no awakening, no anger and no laughter, no joy and no sadness, no silence and no speech similar to human speech; and likewise have the sages declared: "Above there is neither sitting down nor standing up, no backward nor forward"

amother

Aubergine

Wed, May 23 2018, 7:45 am

You have a child who is channeling the Rambam! Amazing!

We speak of Hashem as having feelings because the Torah itself uses those terms. Hashem doesn't have feelings any more than he has an arm. These are figures of speech designed to make Hashem more understandable to the human mind. They reflect Hashem's actions. Hashem acts towards us in a way that humans understand to be loving.

momnaturally

Wed, May 23 2018, 9:53 am

Hashem made us. So he understands us very well. Hashem knows all our thoughts and feelings. He told us that he loves when we thank him. All the feelings/emotions we have he possesses except that he is not limited by it rather it he is the source of it.
We cannot relate to Hashem in his essence because we cannot grasp what that even is.
However Hashem made the Torah and his existence in a more tangible form suitable for this world so that we can have a relationship with him and be able to learn and keep Torah.
All the above is for your understanding not designed to be relayed in that fashion to your curious child.
A good mashal is the following. An adult can't connect to a baby or child on the same plane because of the disparity in maturity and intelligence but they can have a very close relationship based on other factors like quality time love,caring and dependency.
So too Hashem uses the very same feelings he gave us to connect with him so that we can feel his connection too.

amother

Papaya

Wed, May 23 2018, 10:10 am

amother wrote:

To say to an 8 year old:

Hashem doesn't have feelings, you are right. But don't you see how much good Hashem does for us? He gave you this body, your family, your school, your friends. He does so many nice things for you. We don't really understand Hashem so well, because he is so big and great, but the things he does for us in our world means love. Mommy does nice things for you because she loves you too.

momnaturally

Wed, May 23 2018, 10:23 am

When explaining to a child I would not be so deep. I would say simply that" Hashem told us he loves us and loves when we thank and love him. "
We may not really understand what that means but we have the license to understand it as simple as that is and for an eight year old that can be quite simple. All the esoteric concepts can get in the way of relating to Hashem. They are not suitable to be taught to someone if they cannot reconcile these concepts and being able to connect to Hashem. That comes with age and intelligence.

Woman of Valor

Wed, May 23 2018, 4:21 pm

Hashem gave us feelings in part so that we can have an inkling of what it means that He loves us. It's not feelings the way a human has feelings. But yes, of course He loves us.

penguin

Wed, May 23 2018, 5:24 pm

אהבתי אתכם אמר ה' (מלאכי א, ב)

Rabbi YY Jacobson - Does G-D Really Love Me?

I'm not saying this answers your child, but maybe if you listen to it you'll get some insights that will help.

chicco

Wed, May 23 2018, 5:55 pm

We have feelings, Hashem has responses. Part of being made in Hashem's image means being modeled after Him. We are supposed to emulate Hashem. Hashem has the appropriate responses to things. We have feelings so that we can respond to things. Unfortunately, unlike G-d, our feelings are not always the ones we are supposed to have. Hashem's corresponding responses are. For example anger. We know that Hashem gets angry. Is it like our anger? No, because ours is an expression of frustration and our personal nigiyos. Hashem's anger is in response to something against truth. Hashem doesn't change and we do. Therefore our feelings are not always an expression of truth. Hashem's responses to things are real and unchanging and appropriate. He absolutely does love us, but you can't compare that love to ours. Hashem's "feelings" are those things in their truest sense. They are very real, just not comparable to ours.

penguin

Wed, May 23 2018, 6:11 pm

I think maybe part of the answer is that whatever the Torah says about Hashem (charon af, etc) is about Hashem making a small manifestation of His middos to us. It's only our perception in our terms, AKA dibra Torah b'loshon bnai odom.

Yet the psukim say explicitly that Hashem loves us, meaning He wants us to perceive that He loves us in the way we understand love. This does not in any way diminish His unchanging nature which is far above anything we can understand.

Water Stones

Wed, May 23 2018, 7:46 pm

I read some thing when I was 12 years old said Hashem cant love because then he'd have to hate, too. So he doesn't hate or love, just some other thing to care about us in his plan.
It bother me and worried me. But then I feel his love for me, even if my imagination, but I think it's real. He loves us. I can't explain.

imasoftov

Sun, May 27 2018, 8:14 am

chicco wrote:

Hashem does hate. Tehillim is full of quotes of things Hashem hates.

Tanach also mentions God's hands, fingers, nose, and so on, but Hashem does not have a body, and we also don't take those as literal statements.

zgp

Sun, May 27 2018, 8:57 am

teaching gifted kids I have heard this question (or variations on it) many times.
The answer which I found works is:
True love is when you feel that the other person is a part of you and is as important to you as you yourself.
Since we all have a neshama which is a tzelem Elokim, we all have a part of Hashem inside us therefore we are all important to Hashem because we are part of Him and He cares about us because we are a part of Him.

amother

Apricot

Sun, May 27 2018, 11:54 am

zgp wrote:

This is great. All answers are great but I think this is something he can relate to.