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Why is knowing God exists—without any command to serve Him—the entire purpose of creation? Rabbi Zweig builds on the Rambam (רמב"ם) and Rabbeinu Bachaye to show that true belief in God means recognizing we are not the center of the universe. This one philosophical truth transforms everything: it eliminates self-centeredness, changes how we judge others, and enables genuine love of neighbor through self-restraint rather than expansive giving.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a striking teaching from Rabbeinu Bachaye: the entire purpose of man's creation is to believe in the existence of a primordial Creator who preceded and will succeed all existence. The Rambam (רמב"ם) says similarly that the foundation of all wisdom is knowing there is a "first being" upon whom all reality depends, while He depends on nothing. The question is glaring: why is this philosophical knowledge the whole purpose of creation? It doesn't command us to serve God, emulate Him, or perform mitzvos—just to know He exists. How can abstract philosophy be the ultimate human purpose? The deeper problem emerges when we consider Hillel's famous teaching to the convert: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor—that is the entire Torah (תורה)." And the Gemara (גמרא) in Makkos reduces all 613 mitzvos to one principle from Chavakuk: "The righteous shall live by his faith." So which is it—belief in God's existence, or love of neighbor? These seem like entirely different foundations.
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Rambam Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah, Rabbeinu Bachaye on Bereishis, Pirkei Avos (Hillel), Makkos (Chavakuk)
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