Question: Did G-d create a holy world and does He want us to keep it holy or make it a holy place by our deeds?
Answer: Thanks for the great question. When Hashem created the world he created it with the intention in mind that His creations were perfect in that they were not yet spiritually tarnished. It was up to us to take the potential (good and bad) and create our own realities.
Man lowered himself in the Garden of Eden and caused us to have to be punished on this earth for our deeds through death. We control our own spiritual destiny. That is a major concept in Jewish thought called bechira, or free will. God is perfect in every way, and we have the potential to reach spiritual unity with Our Creator. The problem is that as humans, we have desires that sometimes override the inclination to do good. As a result we do not live up to our potential.
In short, God created a place for us to take care of and perfect in a spiritual way. That comes down to the deepest, most inner thoughts and intentions of a person’s being. He did create a “holy” place, but we can make the holy impure or that which is currently disgraceful into something holy.
This is a very deep and difficult concept to portray in a short correspondence.
Be Well,
Rabbi Litt (more…)