It’s a pretty mind-boggling thought, isn’t it?

Well, in Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, the rabbis grapple with this very idea. They explore what it means when the Torah tells us, "God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31).

Rabbi Yoḥanan offers a striking analogy. He says that when a human king builds a palace, he has to look at the upper floors separately from the lower ones. He can't take it all in at once. But the Holy One, blessed be He, sees everything – the highest heavens and the lowest earth – all in a single, comprehensive view.

Wow.

But Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish takes it even further. He suggests that when the Torah says, "Behold, it was very good," it’s actually referring to olam ha-zeh, this world, the one we inhabit right now. But then, with the addition of the word "and," when it says, "And, behold, it was very good," it's hinting at olam ha-ba, the World to Come. So, according to Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, God isn’t just seeing everything in space; He’s seeing everything in time, too! He's holding this world and the next in His gaze, simultaneously.

Mind. Blown. Again.

Building on this, Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, quoting Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, brings in a verse from Jeremiah (32:17): "Alas! My Lord God, behold, You made the heavens and the earth with Your great power and with Your outstretched arm; there is nothing that is obscured from You." The implication? Once God created everything, nothing has ever been hidden from Him since. Every single thing that has happened, is happening, and will happen, is already known.

Rabbi Ḥagai, citing Rabbi Yitzḥak, brings in a verse from I Chronicles (28:9): "And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the Lord seeks all hearts, and understands all inclinations of thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be accessible to you, but if you forsake Him, He will abandon you forever." The powerful point here is that God knows our thoughts even before we fully form them.

Rabbi Yudan, again in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak, reinforces this: even before a creature is created, God knows its thoughts. It’s as if our very potential is already an open book to the Divine. Rabbi Yudan himself then adds, quoting Psalm 139:4: "Even when there is no speech on my tongue, behold, Lord, You know it all." Even before we utter a word, God knows what we're going to say.

So, what does all of this mean for us? It’s a pretty heavy thought. If God sees everything, knows everything, even before it happens, then what about free will? What about our choices? Are we just puppets in some grand cosmic play?

Maybe, instead of focusing on the potentially overwhelming implications, we can take comfort in the idea that we are seen. Truly seen. Not just our actions, but our intentions, our hopes, our fears. And maybe, just maybe, that kind of profound knowing is a foundation for a deeper, more meaningful relationship with the Divine. Food for thought.