רבי יהודה בן חמו הקדמה לספר הזוהר אותיות ב'- ד' Rabbi Yehuda Ben Hemo - Introduction to the Zohar - 2-4

(1) In order to clarify these [questions] in their entirety, we must initially make some inquires (about the Creator) not in areas that we are forbidden to discuss, in other words about the Creator's essence, which we have no knowledge whatsoever, but in an area where such knowledge is a Mitzvah, that is, concerning His actions. As the Torah commands: "Know the G-d of your forefathers, and worship Him". And it is also written, in "Shir HaYichud": "You [G-d] are known through your actions".

(2) The first inquiry is: How do we envision that G-d created something from nothing, "ex nihilo", that was not included within G-d Himself before He created it. For it is evident to those who investigate this matter, that there is nothing that is not included within G-d. Furthermore it is obvious, that one cannot give something, unless he possesses it himself.

(3) Second inquiry: Even if we acknowledge, that G-d has the power to create "something from nothing", in other words something completely new, not found in G-d Himself; what exactly is that "something" that G-d created from "nothing".

(4) Third inquiry: What the Kabbalists say that the soul of man, is a part of G-d Himself in that there is no difference between the soul and G-d, only that G-d is the whole and the soul is a part [of G-d]. And they compared this to a stone separated from a mountain, that there is no difference between the stone and the mountain, except that the mountain is "all", and the stone is a "part". However, the stone is quarried from the mountain by a tool used for that purpose. But what is the tool that separates the soul from G-d Himself. In other words, at what point is it called soul and not G-d Himself.

(1) Fourth Inquiry: Since the "other side", and the "shells" (evil) are distanced from G-d's holiness an infinite distance, how is it possible that evil emanates from G-d Himself, and not only that, but that G-d also sustains it.

(2) Fifth Inquiry: The matter of resurrection of the dead. Since the body is finite and from the moment of birth, the end result will be death and burial; and furthermore, the Zohar states, that the body must completely rot before the soul can enter Eden, why the need for the resurrection of the dead. Couldn't G-d just delight the soul, without the body? Even more perplexing, concerning the resurrection of the dead, it is written, that G-d will resurrect each body with the defect that it had before death, so that no one should say, this is not the same person that died, and only later will G-d heal that person from their prior defect. Why should G-d take into account what other people say, to the point that He has to resurrect the dead with all their defects, and only later heal them.

(3) Sixth Inquiry: It is stated in the Zohar (Tazriah 40), and also in Tractate Sanhedrin (37a) that all the spiritual worlds, and our physical world with all that it contains, were created for even just one person, since each person is the center of the universe. It is difficult to understand, how a person whose worth appears to be so small as compared to all of reality, how can he be the center of the universe? And especially when we compare man to the spiritual worlds, whose boundaries and pinnacles have no limit. Why would G-d create all these worlds just for one man? What benefit is there to mankind, from all this?

(1) In order to find answers to these questions and inquiries, our strategy must be to look at the end result! In other words, to the goal of creation. For it is not possible to understand anything, if we only observe the manufacturing process without seeing the final product. It is obvious that a manufacturer strives towards a certain goal. For only a deranged person works with no goal in mind.

(2) I know, however, that there are philosophers, those who do not follow the Torah and Mitzvot, who say that G-d did create the world, but he has removed Himself from it, due to the lowly nature of people, since it is not befitting G-d to associate Himself with such frivolous and loathsome behavior. However, they have not thought this through. Because had we created ourselves, we can say that we have bad traits, and we are lowly beings. Once we decide though, that the Creator who is complete, He created us, the good within us, and also our faults; we must then realize that we were created by a high level manufacturer (G-d) who produces only quality products (people), and that every product produced, reflects the caliber of the manufacturer. It is not the fault of an inferior suit, if it was produced by an incompetent tailor, why should the suit be blamed. This is similar to the story (Taanit 20b) about Rabbi Elazar who happened to come across an exceedingly ugly person, and when told by Rabbi Elazar that he is very ugly, answered back: "go and tell the craftsman that made me, how ugly is the vessel that you made".

(3) These "wise" ones say that due to our lowly nature and our worthlessness, it is not befitting of G-d to take care of us, and that He abandoned us. This [assertion] only discloses their lack of insight. Imagine if you came across a person, who would create people who suffer all their lives, and not only that, would forsake them, and not try to help them even a slight amount, how much scorn would you pour on such a person! Is it possible to even imagine this of G-d, the positive force of existence!