Pemikiran Yahudi Mazmur 94:8: Akeidat Yitzchak & Guide for the Perplexed

Some early philosophers in denying G-d’s attributes, insist that G-d knows only Himself, that this is the extent of His awareness. They take this position in order to preserve the uniqueness and unity of G-d, but forget that by doing so, far from according Him greatness, they denigrate Him, since His knowledge would be inferior to the lowliest of His creatures, who perceive things all around them. "Does not even the ox know his owner?" is the cry of Isaiah in chapter one. This proves that knowledge, awareness is considered a positive attribute. Its absence then is undoubtedly a shortcoming. How can one attribute shortcomings to the most perfect Being? Others ascribe to G-d only awareness of things immutable, never changing, as well as general principles. They deny that G-d has knowledge of personal experiences that change from day to day. Concerning such foolishness, David says (Psalms 94,8) "consider, you who are devoid of sense among the people! Fools!, when will you smarten up? Do you not realise that He who implants the ear should be able to hear, that He who shapes the eye is able to see?" We, who believe in the truth of the Torah that Moses has handed down to us, believe, of course, that He is omniscient. We can therefore attribute to G-d all faculties such as patience, kindness etc., without in the least diminishing our image of Him as unique, as "ONE." The four lettered name of G-d testifies to His Oneness; all other names indicate attributes that became noticeable as this universe was created. This is why it says in Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 3, "until He created the universe, He and His name existed alone." Details of this concept have been explained in chapter twenty one. Therefore, one must be careful. Remember the words of Isaiah 40,25, "To whom can you compare Me, to whom can I be compared, says the Holy One?" This has G-d saying "How can My specific uniqueness serve as basis for comparison to things which are not unique! The word "tedamyuni"refers to the quality of My existence, whereas the word "ve-eshveh" refers to the quantity of My existence. Since I do not conform to either, how can you compare Me to anything or anyone? Whenever our sages employ attributes used in our language, they do not thereby mean to compare G-d to something or someone whom we know, but they use such attributes to prevent misunderstandings. When G-d is described as "first," the meaning is not that He is first relative to somebody who is "second" or "third," but it is a statement that says NO ONE preceded Him. When we talk about His existence, we are not trying to define this in our terms, but we merely state that He is not missing or absent. This is the meaning of the verse in Exodus 33,23, "when I remove My hand, you will see My rear, but My face will not be visible." "Face" is an expression signifying something that is visible. "Rear" is an expression signifying the negative, the opposite of face. In gaining knowledge about ME, you will know what I AM NOT. As long as man is part of an earthly shell, i.e. alive, all knowledge about the essence of G-d is restricted to such negative definitions. Our perception increases through a process of elimination. By means of a continuous process of elimination, one can establish a semblance of the nature of what one wants to define.

At any rate, we believe in the complete and detailed awareness by G-d of man's deeds, thoughts, hopes etc. Granted that we are unable to fully comprehend the nature of this knowledge of G-d, its existence has been spelled out in the Torah and holy writ so many times that it cannot be doubted. The very attempt to try and understand His mind by using our limited powers of perception is not only foolish, but shows a lack of faith on our part. Abraham was taught this lesson both at his circumcision and on the occasion G-d asked him to offer his son Isaac as a total offering. Both commandments completely defy our way of reasoning. They prove, therefore, that we cannot arrogate to ourselves the right to presume what His will would be. All attempts to define the nature of His knowledge, therefore, are childish. Suppose man decided to sacrifice his dearest possession out of love for G-d, what good is it to G-d, what need does He have for it? Besides, if that person has that much love for G-d, why not present G-d with his own life, surely his dearest possession?! The fact that G-d has gone out of His way to tell us about His awareness of our individual psyches as well as our deeds is to avoid His appearing deficient in any way in our eyes. If G-d says to Abraham after the akeydah, "Now I know that you are G-d-fearing," this shows that Abraham's motives are well known to G-d. If Sarah is accused of harboring certain unworthy thoughts (Genesis 18,13), this clearly shows G-d’s awareness of all that goes on in any individual's mind. The question arises why we need to know of this process of G-d’s knowledge altogether, seeing we do not understand it? There are two answers. Someone ignorant of the state of world affairs is considered both an ignoramus and a fool. G-d says, "How can information be withheld from Me?" The idea is "How can I be considered ignorant?" Ignorance would result in reduced stature. Man, too, by being given certain information is raised in stature, though he may not comprehend how this information is arrived at. We all know that spectacles are apt to improve one's failing vision. Glasses, though an aid to seeing, do not have independent vision themselves. How can any person who needs spectacles in order to improve his vision judge the quality of the eyesight of someone who does not require spectacles? Our study of optics teaches that the image is recorded by our eye upside down, distorted. Only with the aid of our mind are we able to compensate for that distortion. Surely there is a lesson here for us. We must not compare the quality of our "seeing" to His "seeing". In Psalm 94,9, David already mocks those who belittle G-d’s knowledge of the minutia and trivia, by exclaiming ,"Shall the Creator of the eye be unable to see?" When our sages tell us that the Torah uses the idiom of human language to convey concepts that are beyond our imagination, it is this kind of thing they have in mind. This is why Maimonides explains in Moreh 1 Section 52, that all anthropomorphic expressions relating to G-d are to be understood as describing G-d’s activities, not His essential attributes. At the end of the akeydah, when G-d is reported as having gained a new insight, i.e."Now I know that you are G-d-fearing," this creates an erroneous impression. What is meant is that G-d was as aware of the changed state of mind and degree of piety of Abraham after the event as He had been aware of Abraham's previous state of mind and piety.

Of course, it is not necessary that the Creator possess physically the characteristics of the creature He creates, just as the builder of a windmill need not be an expert miller. It suffices that he understands the process so that he can build an efficient windmill. Similarly, the verse "shall the One who creates the sense of hearing not be able to hear?" (Psalms 94,8) This does not mean that G'd has a physical ear, but that He understands the process of hearing.