God Is

There is another significant difference between the God of non-Talmudic Judaism and that of Christianity, which relates in a very personal way to God’s beloved daughters. Women throughout Christian history have been put down, marginalized and disenfranchised by a religion that insists that its principle God consists of three men. It is rather ironic that in light of the fact that we tell our children how important a mother/father family unit is, our own Christian heavenly Parent is a family of males.[1]

We support this very patriarchal viewpoint by quoting a plethora of texts that seem to uplift the male and downplay the female, as far as we can tell by reading our English translation, starting with Genesis 1:27, which we read as saying,

“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

We then read multiple stories of deceptive or promiscuous females throughout the Bible, and condemn God’s “Bride” for being a whoring woman. This women-hate starts to really accelerate by the time we start talking about that other whoring woman, Babylon, which we need to all come out of. (This is an especially masculine and very literal characterization that a woman cannot hope to understand in the same way a man can!)

The marginalization of women reaches full force by the time we reach Paul’s writings. How many godly women have been shushed and shamed by a reading of 1 Timothy 2:12 which states,

“A woman should learn in silence and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or assume authority over a man, she must be quiet.”

1 Corinthians 14:34 seals the deal.

“Woman should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.”

Because they have been raised with this not-so-hidden chauvinistic viewpoint, there exists a deep and aching wound in the heart of God-fearing females. First of all, we internalize that we were an afterthought in Creation, and we remain so now; a necessary evil to be tolerated in order to perpetuate the species. Secondly, we feel like we don’t even have the right to speak up and be heard in some circles because, well, we are obviously not worthy in the minds of many because Saint Paul said so and he’s in the Bible. Thirdly, and this is the hardest one of all to even express and is one that many people have not even considered – we feel deep in our feminine heart that our Creator could not possibly understand us and in some ways may even be biased against us because of the fact that we are women and He isn’t.

It is good to remember that things are not always as they appear. Hebrew is a very basic and simple language. There are far fewer words in the Hebrew because it does not incorporate pronouns and many of the connecting words that we use in English. Imagine how different our language would be without pronouns? As well, imagine how different Scripture would look without pronouns, especially when referring to God?

To illustrate this concept, let’s look at Genesis 1:27 in the Hebrew. Elohim (a plural form of God) bara’ (created) adam (adam in this instance denotes all mankind and not specifically someone’s name) tselem (in the image of, favoring, likeness); tselem Elohim (plural form of God) bara’ (created) zakar (male) neqebah (female) bara’ (created).

“God created mankind in the image of God; in the image of God created male and female, created.”

Contrast this with the traditional English translation that states,

“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

The difference between the two interpretations is important. In the traditional English offering, the female’s creation is an afterthought; the man is discussed first and is obviously the most significant. Furthermore, the number of pronouns included in the English translation that refer to God as “He” leave no doubt in the reader’s mind that “God” is distinctly “male”, with all that that involves. In the Hebrew version, we simply have God creating male and female in God’s own image. Period.

Rather than getting into a huge discourse on gender issues, I just want to simply put in plain words that in Judaism, God is not even looked at as really even having a gender, as the main purpose of gender is for the physical act of procreation. “Genderizing” or assigning a gender to God is a holdover from the ancient peoples who were trying to relate to God in a very patriarchal society. In reality, the Eternal One is spirit and indescribable in composition.

In Judaism, all of the traits of male and female are found in Elohim. The Spirit of God – Ruach – is a feminine word in the Hebrew. “Wisdom” which brought about Creation in the book of Proverbs is feminine, and the “Shekinah” is held by many to be the feminine attributes of God. There are many extra-canonical writings which refer to the Holy Spirit as our Mother, such as the writing in which Jesus states, “Even so did my mother the Holy Spirit, take me by one of my hairs and carry me away to the great mountain Tabor (in Galilee).[2]

Reform Judaism has recently introduced a new prayer book that incorporates more gender neutral or gender-free language for God in an effort to better reflect the totality that is God, as well as to honor the matriarchs of the Jewish faith. Instead of using words such as Father, Lord, and other male-specific terms, the book uses terms such as “Sovereign Ruler”, “Living God” and “Eternal One”. Reform Judaism has also introduced a Scripture translation that is closer to the thought of that reflected in the simple Hebrew and which actually ends up being more gender-neutral. For example, instead of adding in those thousands of masculine pronouns (“He”) to refer to God, when the original writings only state “AHYH”, they have brought it back to a more gender inclusive reflection of the Almighty as being, well, genderless.

How does this make any difference, you wonder? I’ll tell you how. Realizing that we are not children of a single heavenly Dad (or trio of dads, in Christianity’s case) but that we may claim the entire reflection of emotions brought on by having both a mother and a father is significant. It really is the best we can ever imagine; we have a strong, protective heavenly Father but we also are also sheltered under the wings of a protective Mother, as is reflected in the Psalms.[3]

God is – simply – God. Everything. AHEYEH Is. And because AHEYEH Is, I can be, and am significant, no matter which set of reproductive organs I have been provided with or what color my skin is or how my eyes or nose are shaped. God does not see me or judge me by the composition of my body, but by the spirit that makes up who I am. My Creator judges me by the choices I make, the kindness I offer, and the love that I share when I reach out to others. I am significant because God sees my heart.

Those qualities that make me female are also reflected in the great Heart of the Divine, because Almighty God made ME after God’s own image. No longer do I need to feel like a lonely child who longs for the tender, sheltering arms of a Heavenly Mother and is slightly frightened by the grandness and power of my Heavenly Father.  Almighty God is not only my Creator but my Father, my Mother, my Comfort, my Strength, my Shelter, my Protector, my Sword, my Shield, my Inspiration and my Song. God, simply, Is.[4]