God in the masculine – Ask the Rabbi
Q. Why do we call God a “He”?
A. The Torah speaks of God as “Him” and the prophets call Him the Father of mankind, but this is just a linguistic usage.
He shows both masculine and feminine attributes of love – He is like a father who has compassion on His children (Psalm 103:13) and like a mother who comforts her child (Isaiah 66:13). The Kabbalah speaks in detail of the male and female “aspects” of God.
Some argue that the Biblical use of the masculine in referring to God has caused discrimination against women, but it does not solve the problem of women’s status to feminise the terms we use for God.
