Hashem is here and there and everywhere?

Question

Is Hashem really in front of us, behind us, next to us, etc?

Answer 1

I would have agreed with Mordechai1's answer if he would have given the correct definition of Panentheism, but since he did not give me that impression, I want to spell out what I believe he should be saying in a layman's terms:

One cannot say that Hashem Himself is in a particular spot or direction. Such a belief is quasi-pantheistic in nature because it places Hashem in a limited context, within the Creation. We would call such a belief heretical.

Those who claim this is a genuine Jewish belief are willing to say Hashem is beyond space (transcendent) and within space (immanent) simultaneously and they erroneously conclude therefore that you can point somewhere particular and say Hashem is there.

That He is immanent and transcendent is true, but the problem is that Hashem's immanence by definition cannot be understood as His particular location because then it would contradict His transcendence. So it must be understood as His interaction with His creation through Tzimtzum (contraction), hence the name "Elokim" (which represents the concept of boundaries, discipline, and definition, Din) is always used when discussing His immanence. This is all especially true if one espouses the Habad understanding (and before Habad, the Rashash) of Tzimtzum because Hashem contracted the Light of Ein Sof and not Himself. See http://mi.yodeya.com/questions/709/what-is-the-machlokes-between-the-gra-and-baal-hatanya

However, (Jewish) panentheism places the universe within Hashem (so to speak) and that is why we call Him "HaMakom" (The Place). It does not mean Hashem has physical dimensions but rather that He constantly upholds the concept of space within His will and therefore everything dimensional (including the concept of dimension) exists within His will. The term "HaMakom" can also be understood as deriving from "HaMikayeim" -The One who upholds existence through His will. (Akeidas Yitzchak, Sha'ar 48)

Answer 2

I would like to present a different approach than the ones already been provided. The Rishonim seem to take a pretty unified approach on this issue. The Rambam clearly states in Hilchot Yesodei Hatorah, Chapter 1, Law 11 that God has no Guf or Geviya and as a result none of the properties of Guf apply to God such as Makom. So, I believe the Rambam is saying that since God is not physical (see previous laws for proof of this) one can not attribute any quality/characteristic/property of being physical to God. To say God is in a place is attributing physical properties to God. This would be a violation of the fundamentals of Judaism. Thank you for considering this approach, as it does have significant impact on your view of God and the seriousness of having a correct idea of God.

Answer 3

a moshol would be: if you have a room; a closet and when a person goes in the closet he fills up all the space in the closet. same with Hashem. he fills up the whole universe with his "existence"; therefore he knows everything, everyone, and everywhere. (there is no hiding from him.)

Answer 4

Judaism, as best as I can tell, is panentheistic. It's not that Hashem is everywhere, it's that Hashem IS everywhere. Hence He is sometimes referred to as HaMakom.