In beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
(א) יְסוֹד הַיְסוֹדוֹת וְעַמּוּד הַחָכְמוֹת לֵידַע שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם מָצוּי רִאשׁוֹן. וְהוּא מַמְצִיא כָּל נִמְצָא. וְכָל הַנִּמְצָאִים מִשָּׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ וּמַה שֶּׁבֵּינֵיהֶם לֹא נִמְצְאוּ אֶלָּא מֵאֲמִתַּת הִמָּצְאוֹ:
(ב) וְאִם יַעֲלֶה עַל הַדַּעַת שֶׁהוּא אֵינוֹ מָצוּי אֵין דָּבָר אַחֵר יָכוֹל לְהִמָּצְאוֹת:
(ג) וְאִם יַעֲלֶה עַל הַדַּעַת שֶׁאֵין כָּל הַנִּמְצָאִים מִלְּבַדּוֹ מְצוּיִים הוּא לְבַדּוֹ יִהְיֶה מָצוּי. וְלֹא יִבָּטֵל הוּא לְבִטּוּלָם. שֶׁכָּל הַנִּמְצָאִים צְרִיכִין לוֹ וְהוּא בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֵינוֹ צָרִיךְ לָהֶם וְלֹא לְאֶחָד מֵהֶם. לְפִיכָךְ אֵין אֲמִתָּתוֹ כַּאֲמִתַּת אֶחָד מֵהֶם:
(1) The foundation of foundations and pillar of wisdoms is to know that there is a Primary Cause and He causes to exist all that exists. And everything that exists from Heaven to Earth and everything in between would not exist except from the truth of His existence.
(2) If it should come upon your mind that He does not exist, then nothing else could exist.
(3) If it should come upon your mind that nothing besides Him exists, He would still exist. And He would not be negated by their non-existence. Everything that exists has need of Him; and He, Blessed be He, has no need of them, not even one of them. Therefore, His existence is not like the existence of any one of them.
(ז) אֱלוֹהַּ זֶה אֶחָד הוּא וְאֵינוֹ שְׁנַיִם וְלֹא יֶתֶר עַל שְׁנַיִם. אֶלָּא אֶחָד. שֶׁאֵין כְּיִחוּדוֹ אֶחָד מִן הָאֲחָדִים הַנִּמְצָאִים בָּעוֹלָם. לֹא אֶחָד כְּמִין שֶׁהוּא כּוֹלֵל אֲחָדִים הַרְבֵּה. וְלֹא אֶחָד כְּגוּף שֶׁהוּא נֶחְלָק לְמַחְלָקוֹת וְלִקְצָווֹת. אֶלָּא יִחוּד שֶׁאֵין יִחוּד אַחֵר כְּמוֹתוֹ בָּעוֹלָם. אִלּוּ הָיוּ אֱלֹהוּת הַרְבֵּה הָיוּ גּוּפִין וּגְוִיּוֹת. מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאֵין הַנִּמְנִים הַשָּׁוִין בִּמְצִיאוּתָן נִפְרָדִין זֶה מִזֶּה אֶלָּא בִּמְאֹרָעִין שֶׁיֶּאֶרְעוּ בַּגּוּפוֹת וְהַגְּוִיּוֹת. וְאִלּוּ הָיָה הַיּוֹצֵר גּוּף וּגְוִיָּה הָיָה לוֹ קֵץ וְתַכְלִית שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לִהְיוֹת גּוּף שֶׁאֵין לוֹ קֵץ. וְכָל שֶׁיֵּשׁ לְגוּפוֹ קֵץ וְתַכְלִית יֵשׁ לְכֹחוֹ קֵץ וָסוֹף. וֵאלֹהֵינוּ בָּרוּךְ שְׁמוֹ הוֹאִיל וְכֹחוֹ אֵין לוֹ קֵץ וְאֵינוֹ פּוֹסֵק שֶׁהֲרֵי הַגַּלְגַּל סוֹבֵב תָּמִיד. אֵין כֹּחוֹ כֹּחַ גּוּף. וְהוֹאִיל וְאֵינוֹ גּוּף לֹא יֶאֶרְעוּ לוֹ מְאֹרְעוֹת הַגּוּפוֹת כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּהֵא נֶחְלָק וְנִפְרָד מֵאַחֵר. לְפִיכָךְ אִי אֶפְשָׁר שֶׁיִּהְיֶה אֶלָּא אֶחָד. וִידִיעַת דָּבָר זֶה מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ו-ד) "ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה' אֶחָד":
(7) God is one. He is not two and not more than two. Rather, He is one and His unity is unlike the unity of anything else that exists in the world. He is not like one genus that includes many other specifics. And He is not like one body that can be divided into parts and extremities. Rather, His unity is such that there is no unity like His in the world. If there were many gods, they would possess bodies and forms, because the things are counted are not equal in there existences, which are separate one from the other, rather in the events that happen to bodies and forms. And if the Creator had a body and a form, he would have an end and a limit, because it is impossible that a body does not have an end. And if a body has end and limit, its strength will also have end and cessation. And our God, blessed be His name, since His strength has no end and nothing to disrupt it - since the sphere revolves continuously (forever) - His strength is not the strength of a body. And since He does not have a body, events do not occur to Him as they occur to bodies, which can be split and divided by something else. Therefore it is impossible that He be anything but one. And the knowledge of this matter is a positive commandment, as it says, "The Lord is our God, the Lord is One" (Deut. 6:4).
(3) And one would call to the other, “Holy, holy, holy! The LORD of Hosts! His presence fills all the earth!”
The Emperor said to Rabban Gamaliel: ‘Ye maintain that upon every gathering of ten [Jews] the Shechinah rests: how many Shechinahs are there then?’ Rabban Gamaliel called [Caesar's] servant, and tapped him on the neck, saying, ‘Why does the sun enter into Caesar's house?’ ‘But,’ he exclaimed, ‘the sun shines upon the whole world!’ ‘Then if the sun, which is but one of the countless myriads of the servants of the Holy One, blessed be He, shines on the whole world, how much more the Shechinah of the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself!
(כח) הנסתרות לה' אלהינו אע''פ שאמרתי שאתם נצבים כולכם לפני ה' שלא יוכל אדם להטעותו והוא יפרע מן הבוגד הנה זה יהיה בנסתרות בלבד:
(28) הנסתרות לה' אלוקינו, even though I have said that all of you are standing in the presence of the Lord whom it is impossible to mislead and deceive, so that He will collect His dues from everyone who owes him, G’d collects directly only from those whom it is not possible for His appointed representatives, i.e. a legally constituted judiciary to bring to justice.
הכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים
Everything is in the hand of Heaven except the fear of Heaven;
(ג) "על פני" למה נאמר? שלא ליתן פתחון פה לישראל, לומר: לא נצטווה על עבודה זרה אלא מי שיצא למצרים! לכך נאמר "על פני", לומר: מה אני חי וקיים לעולם ולעולמי עולמים - אף אתה ובנך ובן בנך לא תעבוד עבודה זרה עד סוף כל הדורות:
(3) "before My presence": What is the intent of this? So that no pretext be given to Israel to say that idolatry was forbidden only to those who left Egypt — wherefore it is written "My presence," i.e., Just as I live and endure forever and ever, so, you and your children and your children's children may not serve idols — to the end of all the generations.
(6) So that they may know, from east to west, That there is none but Me. I am the LORD and there is none else, (7) I form light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil — I the LORD do all these things.
(14) Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you did this, More cursed shall you be Than all cattle And all the wild beasts: On your belly shall you crawl And dirt shall you eat All the days of your life. (15) I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your offspring and hers; They shall strike at your head, And you shall strike at their heel.” (16) And to the woman He said, “I will make most severe Your pangs in childbearing; In pain shall you bear children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” (17) To Adam He said, “Because you did as your wife said and ate of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ Cursed be the ground because of you; By toil shall you eat of it All the days of your life:
(טו) רבי ינאי אומר, אין בידינו לא משלות הרשעים ואף לא מיסורי הצדיקים.
(15) Rabbi Yanai says: We don't have the ability to explain the success of the wicked or the suffering of the righteous.