Could a perfect God who lacks for nothing have a motive for creating the world? If He has no needs, what impetus is there for Him to create? 

Ramchal teaches that creation does indeed have a clear and specific purpose: goodness. God is good and therefore does good. Not out of need but out of pure beneficence, God created a world of goodness, which is identical with godliness.

This profound idea is the crux of Ramchal's system of theology and is also the basis of his great ethical work, the Mesillas Yesharim.

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Can we speak of creation's purpose? Can we fathom a perfect God needing something from this world?

Indeed we can understand the objective of creation, says the Avodas HaKodesh. Our worship serves Heaven's needs, actualizing the unity of God. This astonishing and wondrous idea – known not through logic but through tradition – lies at the heart of a complete system of religious theory and can give meaning to everything we do.

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Whyever did God create the world? Can we even give a reason for a perfect God to be motivated to act? This most fundamental question about our existence has occupied many of the greatest Torah thinkers. 

This lecture explores the Rambam's unique and profound opinion about the purpose of everything.

The Rambam asserts that creation has no purpose in the usual sense of a motivating reason to do something. Rather, the purpose is God Himself: His will or His wisdom, which are His essence.

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You can email Rabbi Burton with questions or comments at [email protected]

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