And the answer, in its purest form, is surprisingly simple: God wanted to share the goodness.
That's the core idea we find in Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah, a Kabbalistic text whose name literally means "A Treasury of the Openings of Wisdom." It’s all about understanding the Divine plan, and it starts with the very beginning.
After laying the groundwork for faith in God, the text turns to His works. Why did God even bother creating a world in the first place?
The answer isn't about God needing something from us. Absolutely not. As the text emphasizes, God has no needs. He's not lonely, doesn't require validation, and certainly isn't looking for a cosmic back-scratcher.
So why create?
Because, as Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah tells us, it was for God "to bestow… not for His own need… but in order to benefit His creatures… in accordance with His good desire." Think of it like this: a baker bakes a cake not because they're starving, but because they want to share something delicious with others. It's an act of pure generosity.
But where does this "good desire" come from?
The text cuts right to the chase: "That which is good desires to bestow good." The Supreme Will is the ultimate good. If so, His desire is to bestow good – the ultimate good, because He is the ultimate good, and therefore His desire is to bestow the ultimate good."
It's circular, in a way, but beautifully so. God, being the embodiment of goodness, naturally wants to share that goodness.
This desire to bestow the "ultimate good" is why the world is the way it is. It explains why we have free will, and why there's a system of reward and punishment. These aren't arbitrary rules, but rather the means through which we, as creatures, can actually reach that ultimate good. It's a path, not just a destination. If we were simply programmed robots, incapable of making choices, could we truly experience goodness? Could we appreciate it? Could we earn it? The answer, according to this view, is no.
So, the next time you're pondering the big questions – the meaning of life, the universe, and everything – remember the simple, profound answer offered by Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah: it all started with a desire to share the ultimate good. And that, perhaps, is something to strive for ourselves.