In the beginning of Vayeira, the Lord appears to Abraham in the form of three men. God's ability to morph into various creatures is something that always surprises me. I've got the bias inside of me that God must be a single "Being", and that a Being is one contiguous shape.
God appeared as three men?Can you regard a society (for example, a group of three men) as a "Being"? I'd always assumed that a "Being" had a contiguous shape... (but I know that that's not true...)
The dictionary defines a "being" as something that "exists". And what exists?
The terms "exist" and "being" define each other: existence is defined as "being"; "being" is defined as "existence". But this creates a logical problem. Does EVERYTHING exist?
Apparently any utterance has some sort of meaning, some sort of "existence" in the "world". Even logical impossibilities can exist, because we recognize them as logical impossibilities, and thus, name them as such.
So, anything that exists can also be regarded as a being unto itself. This would have to include EVERYTHING; if you can name it, then it must exist (in some form or other).
(Before I go any further, I should note that I'm well aware of the accomplishments of philosophers of language, who've clarified that nonsense words don't have the same type of existence as "real" words. Rather, logical impossibilities "subsist" in the world -- a sort of nether region where logical anomalies get to hang out without feeling ostracized...)
But this can't be right, can it? Just because you can NAME something, doesn't mean that that that something actually exists. Then what am I talking about? Even nonsense words, or logical impossibilities EXIST. Why? Because they can be named.
Naming, as we learn from the opening words of Genesis, is a creative act. God spoke...and thus created the World. So here's a logical problem (using the logic of the Bible): what if God says something non-sensical? Is that also an Act of Creation? Yes: God can create logical impossibilities (and even paradoxes) simply by thinking of them!
To clarify: God speaks...(even nonsense terms) and thus CREATES!
What about THINKING? Does that constitute a creative act on God's part? Must thought be verbalized (in the Torah) be have a Creative effect?
For me, it's not clear exactly what constitutes a creative act on God's part.
For me, it's not clear exactly what constitutes a creative act on God's part.
If I take my cues from the opening lines of Genesis, then God's speech is the engine of Creation; God speaks, and World, with all of it's creatures, suddenly comes into Being. So, getting back to the opening lines of Vayeira, God appears to Abraham in the form of three men. Does that mean that God said to himself, "I am now three men"? Magic doesn't exist (half true; consider Mose's tricks...), but God's ability to do whatever He wants does. He thus has the power to bring into Being anything He can think up. If he can visualize it, it suddenly exists. If He can speak it, it suddenly exists.
All of this talk about the power of talk has got me thinking: Who was God addressing when he made his statement, "Let There Be Light"? Why did He have to say anything at all? Why can't he create via THOUGHT? Must he "speak"? In the cosmic void, who's He talking to...Himself? Where'd He learn how to talk in the first place?
I think I've just caught a glimpse of God. He looks like...a pair of brackets: an empty dynamic category, waiting for you (or Him) to fill the contents...
All of this talk about the power of talk has got me thinking: Who was God addressing when he made his statement, "Let There Be Light"? Why did He have to say anything at all? Why can't he create via THOUGHT? Must he "speak"? In the cosmic void, who's He talking to...Himself? Where'd He learn how to talk in the first place?
I think I've just caught a glimpse of God. He looks like...a pair of brackets: an empty dynamic category, waiting for you (or Him) to fill the contents...
