Q&A: He Has No Body and No Physical Form
He Has No Body and No Physical Form
Question
Hello Rabbi,
What is the explanation for the statement that God has no body or physical form?
Is it based on verses from the Torah? Philosophical proof? Occam's razor?
Thank you,
Answer
Many verses in the Torah say the opposite. This is partly logical reasoning and partly tradition.
Maimonides, in Laws of the Foundations of the Torah 1:8, wrote:
It is explicitly stated in the Torah and in the Prophets that the Holy One, blessed be He, is not a body or a corporeal being, as it is said: “For the Lord your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below” — and a body cannot be in two places; and it is said: “You saw no form”; and it is said: “To whom then will you liken Me, that I should be equal?” And if He were a body, He would resemble other bodies.
In any case, in my opinion those who say that Maimonides made this up on his own and that it has no roots in earlier thought are mistaken.
Discussion on Answer
I have no idea, but it seems plausible to me that He is not material. Materiality is a kind of limitation, and it requires a creator who brought it into being. A material object is apparently not a necessary existent and not the cause of itself.
For a full discussion of the topic, including less familiar considerations, see here:
https://www.knowingfaith.co.il/%D7%9E%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%90-%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%9B%D7%99%D7%90%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%92%D7%99%D7%94/%D7%94%D7%92%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%91%D7%9E%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%AA-%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C
If He has no body or physical form, why do people speak about God in the masculine? In all the prayers: “You sanctified,” “You created,” and so on…
And what do you think?
Do you hold that way, and if so, why?