Q&A: How God Gives Meaning
How God Gives Meaning
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I have a question about faith / belief, and I’d be glad if the Rabbi could point me to it if he has answered it before. Assuming we have proven the existence of God, how do we get from there to the conclusion that there is meaning to what we do? That is, how does God confer objective meaning on our actions? Is obedience to Him merely a result of gratitude or fear of punishment?
Answer
I didn’t understand the question. If there is a God and He revealed Himself and commanded, then there is an obligation to obey Him. And if He says that things have meaning, or if we have reason to think that He does not command without things having meaning, then they have meaning. I don’t understand what the question means: “How does God confer objective meaning on our actions?”
Discussion on Answer
I don’t understand the question. What do you mean by meaning? The results of my actions? He created the world, so in a certain sense He is the one who determined it. As for morality, see column 457.
I am not the original questioner,
does God determine the meaning or reveal it?