WHY G-D CREATED THE WORLD
Once upon a time, there was only G-d, The Perfect Being.
And G-d, being Good and Benevolent, wanted to bestow this feeling of perfect happiness on others. So He had a plan to create others that can enjoy this infinite, amazing G-d-Pleasure, just like He Himself does. But there was a problem.
The answer: Create beings that have the ability to connect to G-d in such a way that they can actually be part of G-d, but with their own individual identity. Since they are part of G-d, connected to His essence, they will be able to enjoy the G-d pleasure, but only to the extent that they are connected.
So this is what He did:
This blueprint is called the Torah.
The connection with Hashem is called Olam Habbah.
But there was more work to be done. In order to fulfill the Torah, man needed tools. There is a Mitzvah in the Torah of honoring parents. That means man will have to have parents. There is a Mitzvah to fast on Yom Kippur, so man will have to have a need for food. And the food itself would also have to be created.
In order for man to fulfill the Torah, an entire world will have to be created, and man will have to be given a physical body with which to do Mitzvos.
So Hashem created the whole, entire, physical Universe.
And so Hashem gave us the Torah.
(reposted from elsewhere)
Joseph, no more long posts