What Is The Complete Unity and Unlimited Power of God?
The Passover Haggadah text states about the Exodus from Egypt:
The Holy One, blessed be He, did it in His glory by Himself! Thus it is said: “In that night I will pass through the land of Egypt, and I will smite every first-born … I, God.” [Meaning] … I and not an angel; … I and not a seraph; … I and not a messenger; … it is I, and none other!
The mistaken concept of sheetuf (a “partner” with G-d) is the idea that there is an independent creation or being (for example, an angel) that functions independently of G-d. The Jewish people are commanded from the verse (Deuteronomy 6:4), “Hear O Israel, the L-rd our G-d, the Lord is One,” to believe and accept the truth that there is no independent existence other than G-d. Everything “else” is created and truly is only functioning according to G-d’s decree, like an axe that is used in the hands of a woodcutter.
The exception is a human being, who uniquely is given free will, and who is permitted by G-d to function as he likes.
Although Gentiles are not commanded that they must reject the false concept of a sheetuf (a “partner” with G-d), nevertheless, a Gentile has no permission from G-d to worship some existence other than Him, that the person imagines to be a sheetuf. One can imagine a sheetuf simply as a being that is independent from G-d, which contradicts the verse “Hear O Israel, the L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is One.” One can also imagine a sheetuf that has an independent power over physical or spiritual matters, which contradicts the verse, “You shall not have for yourselves any other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). In either case, it is obvious that worshiping any type of sheetuf is idolatrous. It is obvious that thinking that an angel (for example) is independent does not force one to worship it. Therefore, one who worships any sheetuf transgresses the universal prohibition of idolatry. One who thinks or believes that worship of a sheetuf is a worthy conduct, even though he does not actually worship a sheetuf himself, denies a fundamental principle of Torah faith.[1]
Mankind is even forbidden to worship a person, despite the fact that a person has the unique quality among the creations of having free will, which even angels do not have.
By Rabbi Moshe Weiner
Author of Sheva Mitzvot Hashem, The Divine Code, and Seven Gates of Righteous Knowledge
Footnotes:
[1] See Rambam, Laws of Repentance 3:7. Brought by Rabbi Moshe Perets
Rabbi Moshe Perets is the Founder and Executive Director of NoahideAcademy.org, the world’s largest Noahide informational website. He has established the Noahide Academy of Israel website under the non-profit organisation - אור לעמים - Light Unto the Nations since 2016. He accomplished his Rabbinical Studies at the Chabad Yeshiva of Brussels in 2011. He has a medical degree by the University of Louvain in Brussels as well a Masters in Biomedical Research by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has for the past years focused on Psychotherapy and developed a new approach: Deep Soul Therapy. He is a spiritual mentor, teacher, coach, and healer who has helped facilitate profound shifts for hundreds of people around the globe. His teaching activities at the Noahide Academy allowed students from all over the world to live passionate, purposeful lives, connect more intimately with G-d, and reveal the hidden light and power of their souls. Rabbi Moshe Perets lives currently in Israel with his wife and 5 children.
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