ייִדישער מחשבֿה אויף מלאכי 3:17

There are many people who say that it is good that a person busy himself in this world with divine service alone, fasting by day, arising at night to praise and thank, and he should leave behind all worldly affairs, for the Lord will fulfill his needs for nourishment, healing, and his other needs. Behold, we find great pleasure in divine service as it is said, “… it is pleasant to sing praise (to our Lord),” and joy and happiness like it is said, “serve G-d with happiness.” And (divine service is) stored with the Creator for future reward, like it is said, “And I will be compassionate to them like a man is compassionate toward his son who serves him.” These, may the Lord have compassion on you, all that they told you about the service of our Creator are true and clear, and all the characteristics will not reach Him (will not sufficiently describe Him), as it is said, “great is G-d and very praiseworthy and His greatness cannot be fathomed.” However, the place of their error is the isolation in it (divine service) exclusively, and their saying that a person should not occupy himself in anything else. If one does not occupy himself with nourishment, his body will not persist; and if he will not engage in fertility, there will be no divine service at all, for if everyone from some generation would agree to this and they all died, divine service would die with them. Rather, divine service is for the parents and children and grandchildren, like it is said, “that you may fear G-d your Lord, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, and your son, and your son’s son, all the days of your life….”

Whenever any one of His actions is perceived by us, we ascribe to God that emotion which is the source of the act when performed by ourselves, and call Him by an epithet which is formed from the verb expressing that emotion. We see, e.g., how well He provides for the life of the embryo of living beings; how He endows with certain faculties both the embryo itself and those who have to rear it after its birth, in order that it may be protected from death and destruction, guarded against all harm, and assisted in the performance of all that is required [for its development]. Similar acts, when performed by us, are due to a certain emotion and tenderness called mercy and pity. God is, therefore, said to be merciful: e.g., “Like as a father is merciful to his children, so the Lord is merciful to them that fear Him” (Ps. 103:13); “And I will spare them, as a man spareth (yaḥamol) his own son that serveth him” (Mal. 3:17). Such instances do not imply that God is influenced by a feeling of mercy, but that acts similar to those which a father performs for his son, out of pity, mercy and real affection, emanate from God solely for the benefit of His pious men, and are by no means the result of any impression or change—[produced in God].—When we give something to a person who has no claim upon us, we perform an act of grace; e.g., “Grant them graciously unto us” (Judges 21:22). [The same term is used in reference to God, e.g.] “which God hath graciously given” (Gen. 33:5); “Because God hath dealt graciously with me” (ib. 11). Instances of this kind are numerous. God creates and guides beings who have no claim upon Him to be created and guided by Him; He is therefore called gracious (ḥannun)—His actions towards mankind also include great calamities, which overtake individuals and bring death to them, or affect whole families and even entire regions, spread death, destroy generation after generation, and spare nothing whatsoever. Hence there occur inundations, earthquakes, destructive storms, expeditions of one nation against the other for the sake of destroying it with the sword and blotting out its memory, and many other evils of the same kind. Whenever such evils are caused by us to any person, they originate in great anger, violent jealousy, or a desire for revenge. God is therefore called, because of these acts, “jealous,” “revengeful,” “wrathful,” and “keeping anger” (Nah. 1:2) that is to say, He performs acts similar to those which, when performed by us, originate in certain psychical dispositions, in jealousy, desire for retaliation, revenge, or anger: they are in accordance with the guilt of those who are to be punished, and not the result of any emotion: for He is above all defect! The same is the case with all divine acts: though resembling those acts which emanate from our passions and psychical dispositions, they are not due to anything superadded to His essence.