11: G‑d Has a Mind??

We’ve been talking about how this world exists inside G‑d’s “imagination,” and that our souls are images of Him projected within His dream. But that raises a very real theological question:

If we exist inside G‑d’s imagination… doesn’t that mean G‑d has a mind?

Isn’t that a problem? Doesn’t Judaism teach that G‑d has no form, no body, and no comparison to anything human?

So what does it mean to say G‑d has a “mind”—and that we live within it?

Let’s slow down and unpack this together.

First Things First: What Is G‑d?

This is the deepest question of all. And the answer is… we don’t really know.

G‑d is beyond comprehension. Beyond form. Beyond even the idea of “beyond.”He created us, and He created the very concept of grasping. So we can’t truly grasp Him.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t say anything about G‑d.Chassidus teaches that our journey to understand G‑d starts by asking not “What is G‑d?” but:“What is G‑d not?”

And then from there, we can explore the tools He uses to create and interact with us—the Divine attributes, often called the Sefirot.

So Why Do We Say G‑d Has a Mind?

Let’s start with a simpler question:What is a human mind?

If I asked you to write an essay or create an idea, you’d probably come up with something pretty quickly. But how? What part of you makes that happen?

Your mind.

The human mind is our creative engine. It allows us to generate ideas, organize them, express them, and bring them into the world. Every action, word, or thought starts there.

But are you your mind?

Chassidus says no.

You are not your thoughts. You are not your intelligence. You are the you who uses the mind as a tool. The essence of who you are is deeper than thought—and can’t be defined.

The Zeide Story: Where Is the Real You?

There’s a beautiful story about the Tzemach Tzedek (the third Chabad Rebbe), who was playing with his young grandson.

“Where’s Zeide?” he asked playfully.

The child pointed to his grandfather’s face.“No, that’s Zeide’s face,” he replied.Then the boy pointed to his chest. “No, that’s Zeide’s chest.”After a few more failed attempts, the boy gave up.

But as he was leaving, he called out “Zeide!”—and the Tzemach Tzedek turned toward him.

The boy pointed and said with a smile, “There is Zeide!”

The true person isn’t the body. It’s not even the mind. The real “you” is something deeper—the essence within.

The Divine Mind: A Tool, Not a Limitation

Now let’s bring that understanding back to G‑d.

Just like you are not your mind, G‑d is not His “mind” either. He is infinite. Indescribable. Not limited by any structure or tool.

But G‑d chose to create. And in order to do that, He “constructed” a framework of Divine attributes—called the Sefirot. These are the tools G‑d uses to project Himself into creation.

Among them are Chochmah (wisdom), Binah (understanding), and Daas (knowledge)—which together form what we call the Divine Mind.

This is not G‑d Himself. It’s the way G‑d relates to the world.We can’t connect to His unknowable Essence—but we can connect to the way He thinks, speaks, and acts within creation.

Why It Matters

Your mind is the tool through which you create and express yourself.G‑d’s “mind” is the tool through which He creates reality.

And since we are created in His image, our minds are like micro-models of His.By studying our own inner workings—our thoughts, our imagination, our ability to dream—we begin to understand how G‑d creates the universe.

We can’t understand Who He is, but we can understand how He reveals Himself.

And the more we explore the Divine mind, the more we awaken to the idea that we are not separate from it. We are expressions of it.