JLI: My G-d

Lesson Outline

Lesson One: The Basics Let’s become familiar with G‑d’s basic bio:What is G‑d and where is He? Does G‑d have a gender? And who created G‑d?

Lesson Two: His Nature Let’s learn a bit about how G‑d operates:Does G‑d have feelings? Does He communicate with us? Does He ever act illogically? Why does He have so many names? And why is it that many write “G‑d” with a hyphen?

Lesson Three: His Reasons Let’s discover why G‑d does what he does:Why did G‑d create me—does He need me? And why did He create evil—does He need evil? Can I question G‑d? And why is He described in the Bible as “wrathful” and “jealous”?

Lesson Four: His Expectations Let’s discuss G‑d’s expectations of us:Do I have to believe in G‑d to be Jewish? What if I have doubts about G‑d?
Do I need to fear G‑d? That doesn’t sound very appealing!
Lastly, I’m okay with believing in G‑d, but I’m not religious. Can I still have a relationship with Him?
 

Lesson Five: His Paradoxes Let’s delve into some of the deeper Divine mysteries and enigmas:Can G‑d create a rock that He can’t lift? Does His foreknowledge of events preclude my free choice? Is there anything that G‑d finds difficult to do? And if G‑d has decided to do something, can I change His mind?

Lesson Six: Our Relationship Let’s deepen our understanding of our relationship with G‑d:Why can’t we see G‑d? Because we can’t see Him, can we reconcile His existence with science?
Why is Judaism so obsessed with idolatry—is G‑d jealous?
Last of all: I’m a spiritual person; do I need to follow the Torah’s “system” to have a relationship with G‑d?