There is a lot of hate going around in the world that passes for righteousness. Man hating his fellow man ...thinking of him as less than human, worthy of death. Such is the case of Muslim-born Abdul Rahman, who faced execution in Afghanistan for converting to Christianity. Although no longer in danger, the calls for his execution are still being heard. There is no respect for his humanity by the leaders of this fastest growing religion in the world.
But lack of respect for fellow human beings is not limited to Muslims. How many times have I heard Orthodox Jews referring to non Jews as subhuman, whether they be Arabs or other minorities, or just Non-Jews in general. Subhuman! There was in fact a book written in Hebrew a few years ago that said precisely that and was given approbation by Rav Malkiel Kotler, Rosh HaYeshiva of Lakewood. When the book’s contents were exposed in the secular media, Rav Kotler quickly removed his Haskama and stated that he didn’t realize that the book had stated this, didn’t believe this way himself, and mistakenly gave approbation based on the character of the author, one of the brighter students in his school. Or so he thought. . He apologized. He then followed it up with the statement that the Torah view is that all of mankind is created B’Tzelem Elokim, in the image of God.
I’ve always understood Tzelem Elokim to mean being created in the image of God. Maimonides points out that God is pure Form whereas everything else is a combination of Matter and Form. It is difficult for us to grasp the concept of pure form, so this limits our ability to understand the Nature of God and therefore, how to define “image” of God. So the best we mere mortals can come up with is a finite definition of Tzelem Elokim. We must use finite terms to define a characteristic of the Infinite... a physical description of a metaphysical trait.
By way of understanding the unique way in which Man differs from animals, we can begin to understand God’s creation of Man - B’Tzelem Elokim. What differentiates man from animals is rational thought, the ability to distinguish and discern, deduce and learn, communicate and teach, ...and ultimately build up the world. There is another facet to Tzelem Elokim: the ability to learn the difference between right and wrong; good and evil. To an animal there is no such knowledge or understanding. In giving man the ability to recognize these differences, he is also given Bechirah Chafshis, freedom of choice between good and evil... and to know the difference. In this way Man can earn Divine acceptance by choosing good over evil, and thereby refine his Tzelem Elokim.
As I understand it, this is the essence of the Rav’s great essay, “The Lonely Man of Faith”. Man’s creative capacity (Adam I) comes into play. His mandate from God to control his environment which entails necessary social interaction, combined with the paradoxical Homo Religiosus (Adam II) whose faith, by definition, must ultimately be “alone”, disconnected and otherworldly directed to his personal inwardly convictions, becomes the paradigm for Man’s perfection through the fulfillment of God’s word.
Adam I, the socio-political Man’s goal of control and conquest is, by itself, selfish in nature and counters God’s will. Adam II, Homo Religiosus, by himself, is too otherworldly. He rejects the real world for the ethereal. It is the melding of Adam I with Adam II that creates the potential that every human being has for the ultimate perfection of our Tzelem Elokim, which we are given in unimproved form at birth.
The level of intellect is unimportant. It is not the level of intelligence that we have that makes us B’Tzelem Elokim, One can have Downs Syndrome, and still be B’Tzelem Elokim. It’s not the level of knowledge or deeds measured against someone else are that God judges, but the level of knowledge or deeds measured against one’s own potential.
This divine spark is part and parcel of all of mankind, Jew or non-Jew. It behooves us all to recognize this simple truth and treat all of our fellow human beings with the respect that a creation in the image of God deserves.
