Parashat Bereshit: Genesis 1:1-6:8;
Isaiah 42:5-43:10.
F
or weeks, we blew the shofar,
pounded our chests, repented
and prayed for forgiveness.
Now, coming out of the season of our
judgment, we begin the reading of our
Torah.
Following this lengthy self-reflec-
tion, already within the first chapter
of Genesis (1:26 1:28) we
are reminded again of the
nature of man: "Then God
said, 'Let us make man in
our image, after our like-
ness' ... And God created
man in His image, in the
image of God He created
him; male and female He
created them!'
The season of judgment
may have come to an end,
but the time for contem-
plation must never. The notion that
humankind is created in the Divine
image is laden with depth, impos-
ing on humanity obligations — and
blessings — unique from the rest of
Creation.
Of course, a reader of our sacred
text is struck by the complexity of lan-
guage: Who is the "us" and the "our"
that man's image resembles? What is
the "likeness" that we share? It is these
questions and more with which centu-
ries of rabbis have wrestled.
Their debates come down to
humans being composed of parts both
animal (the body) and heavenly (the
soul). Perhaps, then, in Genesis when
God said, "Let us make man in our
image," God was referring to the ani-
mal kingdom. After all, God's creation
of humanity follows immediately after
the creation of land animals: "Cattle,
creeping things and wild beasts of
every kind."
Like those animals, our physical bod-
ies are sustained by food, water and
shelter. We are born and we die. We
procreate and must work for our suste-
nance. Despite ourselves, we compete,
we war and we seek personal gain.
However, seemingly unlike the ani-
mal kingdom, humans are endowed
with a soul that — if listened to — will
-
enable us to transcend our animal
beings. Were, then, the "us" to which
God was referring to as partners in
Creation actually the heavenly court?
"Indeed," writes the 15th-century
Italian Rabbi Ovadya Sforno, "that
[mankind] be in a small way like the
`heavenly host: insofar as they func-
tion with knowledge and
recognition. However, their
actions (i.e., the angels) are
(performed) without (free-
dom) of choice, and, in this
sense, man is not like them.
"In a limited manner,
man is (also) like God, the
Blessed One, Who acts with
choice. However, God's
choice is always (to do)
good, but man's choice is not
(always) so. In this (area)
the Divine (freedom of choice) is far
superior to man's (freedom of) choice!"
Perhaps, then, the "us" humans
resemble are God and the angels, in
that we have the ability to think on a
higher level and are endowed with free
will.
It is this final point that most suc-
cinctly ties the beginning of our
Torah back to the season of judgment:
Though we are animal in nature, we
must transcend those instincts by
using our ability to discern and make
holy choices.
As the Talmud (BT Sotah 14a)
teaches us, "[Being created in the
image of God] means that you should
imitate the ways of God. Just as God
clothed the naked, so you shall clothe
the naked. Just as God visited the sick,
so you should visit the sick; just as God
buried the dead, so you should bury
the dead; and just as God comforts
the grieving, so you too comfort the
grieving."
In this New Year 5773, may God
grant us the power and wisdom to see
beyond our animal instincts that we
might strive for the betterment of our
people and of mankind. 0
Aaron L. Starr is a rabbi at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
Conversations
• To whom do you think the "us" refers?
• Why might God have made us both "animal" and "heavenly"? How
might humans' role be distinct from the animals? From the angels?
• How, in this New Year, will you strive harder for the betterment of our
people and mankind?
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October 11 • 2012
49