Divine Presence in the World: Key Ideas of the Creator’s Unity
The concept of Divine Presence shapes how we see reality. Did you know that every stone, sand grain, and water drop holds divine life force? Hasidic wisdom reveals this amazing secret that changes how we view our world. Let’s explore these deep ideas together.
Divine Presence Through Words Creating the World
“Forever, O God, Your word stands firm in the heavens” isn’t just a pretty metaphor. The Baal Shem Tov, who founded Hasidism, taught that the actual letters and words God spoke during creation stay forever within what they created.
God commanded “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters,” and these words didn’t vanish. They clothed themselves within the heavens and keep giving it life every moment. Think of it like computer code that runs constantly to keep an app working.
Continuous Divine Presence Instead of a One-time Act
Here’s a revolutionary idea: God didn’t create the world just once. He creates it every second. If these creative letters left their creations even for a moment to return to their source, everything would instantly vanish into nothingness.
Picture a balloon. When you blow into it, it takes shape. What happens when air escapes? The balloon deflates and loses form. Similarly, God’s creative energy constantly “inflates” our world.
Divine Presence in Stone: Life Force in Common Objects
Rabbi Isaac Luria taught that even lifeless objects like stones, earth, and water contain a soul and spiritual life force. This force comes from the letters of God’s speech that give matter its existence.
Even if the Torah doesn’t directly mention an object’s name, its life force flows from the Ten Divine Utterances through letter combinations. The Hebrew word “even” (stone) forms through letter transformations from the original utterances, flowing down from level to level.
Holy Language
Names of creatures in Hebrew aren’t just labels. They serve as vessels for the life force held in their letters.
Unlike languages created by human agreement, Hebrew is creation’s language. An object’s Hebrew name connects directly to its essence and channels divine energy into it.
Why Understanding Divine Presence Matters
Now we can grasp the deeper meaning of “Know this day and take unto your heart that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is none else.” This isn’t about the absence of other gods. It’s about nothing existing separately from God.
Everything receives life force from the Creator through His speech at every moment. The entire world expresses Divine presence. Nothing exists “by itself,” apart from the Source of life.
Practical Ways
Seeing Divine presence in everything changes our relationship with the world:
- Respect for nature – If stones contain Divine life force, how should we treat our environment?
- Living in the now – God recreates the world each instant, making every moment significant.
- Recognizing connections – If everything flows from one source, all things connect internally.
- Speaking mindfully – If words hold such creative power, shouldn’t we pay attention to how we speak?
These ancient ideas match modern science’s concepts about matter-energy unity and quantum-level transformations. Perhaps Hasidic sages intuitively grasped what science now approaches through complex math.
This article draws from the first chapter of “Tanya – Part 2 – Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah (Chapter 1)” by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, one of the greatest Hasidic thinkers.
Afterword: The text of this article has not been approved by any sage, Torah scholar, or rabbi and is merely a simplified adaptation of the sacred text for general understanding. For comprehension of true wisdom and a deeper understanding of the original text, you should refer to the sources.
This and all other article texts of the Mega-Charity.Org resource express only the personal opinions of the authors who compiled them. They are intended only for general and superficial understanding of the real sources of wisdom. References to which are provided.
