Vaetchanan: "The Lord is G-d in the heavens above and on the earth below; there is no other."

This week, we read the command that explains divine unity: "Know today and take it to heart that the Lord is G-d in the heavens above and on the earth below; there is no other (Deuteronomy 4:39). In Chassidic teachings, this verse is explained as not merely negating the existence of another god, Heaven forbid, but clarifying that there is no existence at all besides God. The Holy One, blessed be He, is the one and only reality in the world—whether in the heavens, on the earth, or in the depths of the universe.

The independent existence of the world and its creatures is an illusion, stemming from our inability to perceive the divine force that sustains all reality. If we could see the truth, we would recognize that everything is G-d and that G-d is everything. Creation has no independent existence since it was created ex nihilo (something from nothing); thus, its existence at every moment depends on the divine force that sustains and fills it. Therefore, the truth is that "there is nothing besides Him."

One might think that only the 'heavens,' the higher spiritual creations, can contain the divine force. Therefore, the Torah adds: "and on the earth below"—that even the lower, physical creations are also filled with the Creator's power. This division also symbolically exists in every individual's life: there is the 'heaven' within a person, which is the divine soul. There is the 'earth,' which is the physical body, a direct vessel for the soul's light. But there is also the 'expanse of the universe"—all of a person's activities throughout the day.

The Seven Noahide Laws are the universal moral code for all people. The very first of these laws is the prohibition against idolatry, which directly requires the recognition of the unity of G-d. This means that a Noahide is expected to acknowledge that "the Lord is G-d in the heavens above and on the earth below; there is no other." The recognition of G-d's unity is central to the spiritual foundation of the Noahide Code. This recognition will be complete in the messianic era, as the world will be full of the divine presence for all humanity. Everything should serve the divine holiness and prepare the entire world, with all its parts, to be a vessel for the revelation of the absolute divine truth, as will be revealed in the complete and ultimate redemption.

Sources: Likutei Sichos, volume 29, The Gate of Unity and Faith, chapter 1.

*This is from a series of articles by Rabbi Bernstein Moshe.