HOJT 1:2 Both Man and Nature Have Meaning

1:2  Both man and nature have meaning because they were created by a purposeful Being. It is this Being that we call G-d.

The author does not cite any sources for this statement here. However he writes a similar idea in another work, “The Infinite Light”:

"Both man and nature have purpose because they were created by a purposeful Being. We call this Being G-d."

 To support this statement there the author cites Yad, Yesodey HaTorah 1:1-5 who writes:

1:1 The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of wisdom is to know that there is a Primary Being who brought into being all existence. All the beings of the heavens, the earth, and what is between them came into existence only from the truth of His being.
1:2 If one would imagine that He does not exist, no other being could possibly exist.
1:3 If one would imagine that none of the entities aside from Him exist, He alone would continue to exist, and the nullification of their [existence] would not nullify His existence, because all the [other] entities require Him and He, blessed be He, does not require them nor any one of them. Therefore, the truth of His [being] does not resemble the truth of any of their [beings].
1:4 This is implied by the prophet's statement [Jeremiah 10:10]: "And God, your Lord, is true" - i.e., He alone is true and no other entity possesses truth that compares to His truth. This is what [is meant by] the Torah's statement [Deuteronomy 4:35]: "There is nothing else aside from Him" - i.e., aside from Him, there is no true existence like His.
1:5 This entity is the God of the world and the Lord of the entire earth. He controls the sphere with infinite and unbounded power. This power [continues] without interruption, because the sphere is constantly revolving, and it is impossible for it to revolve without someone causing it to revolve. [That one is] He, blessed be He, who causes it to revolve without a hand or any [other] corporeal dimension.

An important point is that everything in creation, all of nature, has a purpose simply because it was created by G-d. Although not cited by our author a possible source for this could be the Gemara in Shabbos 77b:

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav:

"In all that the Holy One, Blessed is He, created in His world He did not create even one thing needlessly."

Rav Yehuda gives examples explaining the purpose of the slug, the fly, the gnat, the snake and even the spider. Similarly, there is a well known (though hard-to-find) midrash (Midrash Alpha Beta Acheres d'Ben Sira, 9) which states that King David felt he understood the purpose of everything in creation except for a very few things, one of them being the spider. Then on one occasion, while fleeing from King Saul, David ran into a cave. A spider quickly came along and wove a web over the entrance. Saul, seeing an undisturbed web, concluded that no one had entered the cave and went off. David, after realizing what had happened, humbly corrected his misconception.

HOJT 1:1 The Foundation of Judaism

An ongoing examination of the Handbook of Jewish Thought.

1: 1 The foundation of Judaism and the basis of all true religion is the realization that existence is purposeful, and that man has a purpose in life.

The author cites the first chapter of Mesilath Yesharim. There it is written:

Our Sages of blessed memory have taught us that man was created for the sole purpose of rejoicing in G-d and deriving pleasure from the splendor of His Presence; for this is true joy and the greatest pleasure that can be found. 

This idea is further expanded later (see 3:5) however for now we are simply focusing on the point that there is an absolute purpose to existence.

The author also cites Zohar Chadash 70d.

Many important points are brought down by the Zohar there, who is discussing a verse from Shir Hashirim.

1:7 Tell me, Beloved of my soul, how you pasture your fold; and in the heat of the day how she lies. Why should a veil cover my eyes? Rabbi Shimon [bar Yochai] began [his discourse]: "Know this day and take to heart that God is the Lord; in the heavens above and on the earth below, there is nothing else" (Deuteronomy 4:39). Fortunate are those who toil in Torah to understand the wisdom of their Master! They know and gaze at the supernal mysteries. 

The author cites the very same Zohar while discussing this thought in his work The Infinite Light. There he writes:

The most fundamental principal of Judaism is the realization that the universe is purposeful, and that man has a purpose in life. Our sages thus teach us, "A person must have the wisdom . . . to know why he is and why he exists. He must look back at his life, and realize where he is going." 

Also cited is another work of the Ramchal, Kalach Pith’ch Chokhmah where it is written:

The Infinite One’s Yichud” implies that only His will functions (fully) and that no other will functions other than through it. Hence, He alone reigns (supreme) and no other (being’s) will does. The entire structure is erected upon this foundation.

According to Rabbi Yaakov Feldman, the Ramchal makes several critical points in his opening including explaining:

...the place and intention of the kabbalistic system (which will be the thrust of this work), asserting that it is "first and foremost meant to exhibit the truth of the (Jewish) faith". That's to say, what Kabbalah does better than anything else is explain in detail why we believe what we do, and by implication, why we do what we do.

Hence, only after understanding a subjective purpose to existence can we begin to build upon the rest of  the structure, which is what the Ramchal also explains there:

Ramchal then makes the most crucial statement in this work: that the reality of G-d's Yichud "is the foundation of (the Jewish) faith and the core of (all) wisdom.

We’re getting ahead of ourselves here discussing “G-d’s Yichud” or as our author translates it “Unity” (see 2:7). However, the important point is that existence is inherently purposeful. It is important to distinguish this from the atheist argument that man himself can create his own purpose by how he lives his life. We are going to touch more upon this later but in a nutshell that argument is flawed because a finite existence (as understood by the atheist) is inherently meaningless. Hence it is incorrect to claim one creates his own purpose by, say, painting the Mona Lisa, since there will come a time when both the painter and the artwork will cease to exist (according to the atheist’s understanding.)

Before we can even begin to discuss anything at all about Judaism we simply have to realize that we were created for a purpose.

About Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

The following appears as the "about the author" text on many of Rabbi Kaplan's works. It should be noted that Wikipedia asserts he actually produced over 60 books, not 47.

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, 1934-1983

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's meteoric rise as one of the most effective, persuasive, scholarly and prolific exponents of Judaism in the English language came to an abrupt end on January 28, 1983, with his sudden death at the age of 48. Rabbi Kaplan was a multi-faceted, uniquely creative and talented author. The 47 books that were his life's work accounted for a qualitative and quantitative leap in Jewish publishing, making a host of difficult topics and concepts available to the English-reading public.

In the course of a writing career spanning only 12 years, Aryeh Kaplan became known to Jewish youth and adult readers for such books as Waters of Eden-The Mystery of the Mikvah: Sabbath-Day of Eternity: God, Man and Tefillin; Tzitzis-The Thread of Light; The Light Beyond; The Handbook of Jewish Thought; and The Living Torah, a clear, contemporary translation of the Five Books of Moses.

Rabbi Kaplan was born in New York City and was educated in the Torah Voda'as and Mir Yeshivos in Brooklyn. After years of study at Jerusalem's Mir yeshiva, he was ordained by some of Israel's foremost rabbinic authorities. He also earned a Master's degree in physics and was listed in Who's Who in Physics in the Unite States.

Aryeh Kaplan's unusual warmth, sincerity and total dedication to Torah were an inspiration to the thousands he reached personally. the process of bringing Torah to the masses, Rabbi Kaplan revealed much of which was previously hidden. his mind contained libraries of books, waiting to be put into writing. It was the will of the Lord that so much be revealed and no more.