Question: Why does G-d need us to serve Him? What is the actual purpose of creation?

Answer: Your question addresses a complex, yet fundamental, concept in Judaism. R’ Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (aka RaMCHaL) in his work, Derech Hashem (The Way of G-d), deals with this issue. As his has become the standard approach to your question, I will borrow freely from his work in my answer. I encourage you to look at the source first-hand as it is impossible for me to completely convey the depth and richness of his work.

As you implied in your question, it is improper to believe that G-d NEEDS anything from us. This would imply a lacking on His part which is anathema to Jewish thought. G-d is perfect, complete, and absolutely independent. So, why does G-d “need” or want for us to serve him? The answer to this and the answer to your second question are one. Hashem’s purpose in creation was to bestow good. True good exist only in G-d , so for G-d , who is true perfection, to bestow the ultimate good would be to enable His creations to attach themselves to Him to the greatest degree possible. Through closeness to G-d , created things can thereby partake of the ultimate good and fulfill G-d ’s beneficent desire. However, in G-d ’s wisdom, He decreed that for such good to be perfect it must be acquired and not happen by chance. This is comparable to G-d ’s perfection which is an imperative fact and not a product of happenstance. For creatures to acquire for themselves the ultimate good, G-d created a world where they could distinguish and choose between perfection and the absence of perfection and thereby earn or acquire the good for themselves. Since G-d is true Perfection, all perfection must be associated with him, just as a branch is attached to its root. Therefore, when we perfect ourselves, we cleave to G-d . Since G-d is good and perfect, the absence of goodness and perfection is equivalent to the absence of closeness to G-d . As we draw nearer to goodness and perfection, we attach ourselves closer to the Root of Perfection and come closer to fulfilling the purpose of creation—our own acquisition of good.

I hope I was able to shed some light on this complex issue. I strongly encourage you to study the original text and wish you much success in your quest.

Sincerely,
R’ Daniel Fleksher