G-d and Man

The law of the "Four Guardians" as a model for the duties and priviliges of life

Granted, Mount Sinai was no Everest. But G-d was coming down all the way from the heavens—couldn’t He have descended another few thousand feet, instead of making an octogenarian sage climb a mountainside?

The Rebbe examines our relationship with G-d from an interesting angle -- the legal angle. Using Torah law as our criterion, what would be G-d's obligations toward us?

Where I come from, the powerful try to control the powerless, and the mighty retain their strength. So if I were G‑d, I’d have kept creation for myself. The Creator of creators, however, is clearly more trusting, and created our world not for power, but i...

In my humble opinion—and apparently, Joel, you concur—this is the most difficult of G‑d’s promises to swallow and act upon. But He really means it, and that’s why He is so disturbed by the lack of trust.

Obviously, the Egyptians did some really bad things, and something had to be done to free the children of Israel. But couldn’t G-d have found a more humane way to deal with the situation?

The celestial benefits are the greatest motivators. Is it not curious that the Torah employs promises that are trivial by comparison as motivation for the performance of the statutes?

What is the greater wonder—G‑d’s ability to perform miracles, or our ability to trust in them?

We can talk at great length about our faith in G‑d and our trust in His absolute wisdom, goodness and beneficence. But do we put our money where our mouths are?

Are you hero or victim? The hero who never cries nor feels the fear, the panic, the regrets that are part and parcel of his condition? The victim who never encounters his bravery nor feels the transcendent power of rising above death, if only for a moment...