Since the fall of Adam, Man’s soul has been naked. God gave him a body in this world so that he could use it to do good deeds, which would sculpt him into God’s image and clothe him in garments of light when he returns.
— The Zohar
Exodus 3:13: Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”
Ex. 3:14: God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”.
From a biblical perspective, the “I” is the subject and “am” is the predicate verb, a sentence with a simple syntax that offers meaning to understanding God as an active, engaged presence. Regardless of one’s religion, the ‘am’ is humanity’s goodness made visible when the human heart responds to need.
There is a Jewish mandate, known as tikkun olam, which translates as ‘to complete or repair the world’, based on the notion that humans are handed an unfinished creation, and it is their task to complete it with good deeds––this work is the very face of God.