Episode 98: Rabbi Chaim Eisen & Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein "Does God Need Us?"

JUDAISM DEMYSTIFIED | A Guide for Today's Perplexed: Confronting the Challenges of This Generation

In this highly anticipated episode, we sit down with Rabbi Chaim Eisen and Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein to explore some of the most critical theological questions in Jewish thought. The conversation begins with an in-depth discussion on God's Oneness and Uniqueness, particularly through the lens of the phrase "Ein Od Milvado" ("There is nothing other than Him"), which is often misrepresented nowadays to suggest that all is God and God is all. We then address a recent viral campaign by a popular rabbi claiming that "God needs us." Our guests critically examine the dangers of interpreting Torah in ways that anthropomorphize God. They thereby challenge the controversial (and heretical) position currently popular in some circles that advocates rejecting classic Jewish theology by branding it a supposed attempt to read the Torah through "Greek eyes." The discussion also delves into the neo-Kabbalistic and Hasidic belief in Panentheism—the idea that the universe emerged from God and remains inherently united with His being—and whether this belief crosses into what some traditionalists might consider to be "spiritual polytheism." Rabbi Eisen and Rabbi Adlerstein offer their unique perspectives, presenting different angles on these complex issues. They also tackle the misconception that the human soul is a literal piece of God, and the question of whether the Shekhina represents God's actual presence in the physical realm. Join us for this profound theological reflection on arguably the most fundamental aspect of Judaism: Knowing Hashem (more accurately, what He is not) in order to serve Him properly.

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