You’ve often heard me say that all humans are created in the Divine image. What does that mean? Does the Divine look like us, as a parent resembles their children? But we are also taught that we are not to make any kind of idol, or to worship anything that looks like us or any other created being. The Divine is ineffable – the Source of all, the Life that sustains the Universe. How can we possibly be created in the image of something that has no image?
Jewish tradition over the generations has pondered this question, and come up with many different possible answers. In general, they have tended to ascribe the Divine image to our ability to think and speak, rather than to our bodies.
As an example, consider this quote from the Mishna (Avot 3:14). He [Rabbi Akiva] used to say: Beloved is man for he was created in the image [of God]. Especially beloved is he for it was made known to him that he had been created in the image [of God], as it is said: “for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6).
We don’t know whether animals are aware of their own consciousness – but we humans certainly are, as we know because we can say so. If we are not completely solipsistic, then we assume that other humans have similar consciousness to our own. Sometimes we even call it a soul.
The Kabbalists went into great detail in considering the human soul. The mystic text known as the Zohar divides it into three parts, ascribing higher levels as one merited being closer to the Divine. The highest rung (neshama) was reserved for those who were very learned and righteous, but everyone, even those who were completely this-worldly and not spiritual at all, had the lowest level of soul (nefesh), because of being created in the Divine image. People who were on their way to becoming more learned and righteous could achieve the intermediate level (ruach).
This arcane system is not one that many people ascribe to today, but the important point to take from it is that every human being has that spark of the Divine and is therefore especially beloved. It’s a good one to remember as we deal with everyday irritations, climate disasters and rising fascism. Everyone is created in the image of the Divine. It’s what it means to be human.
