Parashat Breishit, Genesis 1:1-6:8

With all our strengths and weaknesses, each one of us is a one-of-a-kind, priceless creation.

In October 1908 the world changed. The first Model T Fords went into production. In a move rarely seen today, the price of the car eventually dropped over the course of its nineteen year production life, from around $950 to just short of $300. This was thanks to Henry Ford's innovative production technique: he perfected the assembly line. Instead of having a group of workers construct one car on their own; the labor was divided by task. Each worker only assembled one piece of the automobile as it proceeded down the production line. When running at peak efficiency, a Model T Ford could be produced in about ninety minutes. Over fifteen million such vehicles were made during its production life.

Impressive numbers, but perhaps not quite the beginning of mass production. Think of coins, which have been in existence for millennia. These were formed with molds, the image stamped onto each coin. While today this is done by machinery, in ancient times each coin was stamped by hand, which still allowed for the consistency in size, weight and appearance. There is even a Talmudic passage describing this: "If a person strikes many coins from a single mold, they all resemble each other…" (Sanhedrin 37a)

This passage then introduces a comparison between humanity's creative ability and that of the Divine. "If a person strikes many coins from a single mold, they all resemble each other but the Supreme Ruler, the Holy One who is Blessed, fashioned every person in the stamp of the first human, and yet not one of them resembles another." (Sanhedrin 37a)

God's creative endeavors are brought to our attention at the very beginning of the Torah, in Breishit. Many different verbs are used to describe the creative process here. God can create through speech (amar), by creating (bara) objects such as heaven and earth, water creatures, birds, or by making something (asa), such as firmament, sun, moon, land creatures. In regard to humanity things change a bit. Not only are different verbs used, one is even in the plural: And God said, Let us make (na'aseh) man in our image, after our likeness…" And God created (bara) man in His image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26-27) And just to make things more complex, another verb meaning to fashion or form is used in the second creation story in reference to the creation of humanity, telling us that God formed (yatsar) man from the dust of the earth. (Genesis 2:7)

Regarding the use of the plural in Genesis 1:26, some commentators view this as the "royal we." Rashi, among others, notes that God consulted with the "heavenly council" because humanity was to be made in the likeness of the angels. Abravanel interprets the use of the plural as stressing that humanity was created with "great deliberation and wisdom."

As Nachmanides points out, in previous acts of creation, God spoke, created the medium, and then the life-form was brought forth from the medium. For example: And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit,with the seed in it." (Genesis 1:11), or God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." (Genesis 1:20), or God said, "Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: cattle, creeping things, and wild beasts, of every kind." (Genesis 1:24) The process changes with the creation of humanity. It is more complex, humanity is a different order of creation which is defined by the phrase tselem elohim, translated as the "image of God."

The word tselem appears in other languages of the ancient Near East. In Akkadian tsalmu refers to a statue. Often a statue of the ruler was taken to be a representation of the local deity, the human incarnation of the god. Yet as Nahum Sarna points out, the use of tselem in the Torah goes in a different direction:

Without doubt, the terminology employed in Genesis 1:26 is derived from regal vocabulary which serves to elevate the king above the ordinary run of men. In the Bible this idea has become democratized. All human beings are created "in the image of God"; each person bears the stamp of royalty. …While he is not divine, his very existence bears witness to the activity of God in the life of the world. This awareness inevitably entails an awesome responsibility and imposes a code of living that conforms with the consciousness of that fact. (JPS Torah Commentary, Genesis)

Commentators have struggled to explain the concept of tselem. Abravanel related it to tsel "shadow," saying that the human must cling to God in the same way a shadow follows the illuminated form. Others described tselem as being the vessel covering the soul. What all these interpretations are pointing out is that there is something unique and different about tselem elohim.

We revel in our ability to form and create. Today, with cloning, nanotechnology, and other advances, nothing seems to be beyond our ability. Yet we are as close to Henry Ford as he was to the ancient artisan stamping out a coin. The imprint of humanity on what we create is the similarity among the final products. God's imprint is the difference in each individual. Tselem elohim is that which makes each of us unique. Mass production lowers the price of a product. Tselem elohim raises the value of the person. With all our strengths and weaknesses, each one of us is a one-of-a-kind, priceless creation. But that doesn't mean "it's all about me."

Rather, the fact that we are created in God's image and that we are partners in creation places an additional responsibility on us. That is, we have a duty outside ourselves and beyond ourselves. The knowledge that we are created be-tselem elohim "in God's image" is meant to instill in us a sense of humility:

What is man, that you are mindful of him?
And the mortal man, that you have taken note of him?
For you have made him a little less than divine,
and adorned him with glory and majesty;
laying the world at his feet... (Psalm 8:5-7)

The final attribute of being created in God's image is that we have a choice. It is that choice that arises in chapter four of Genesis, in the story of Cain and Abel. The two brothers each bring an offering to God. Though both do this of their own free will, Abel chooses to bring the best of what he has; Cain's offering was the equivalent of pulling something off the assembly line, Abel paid special attention to the items he brought. God does not accept Cain's offering, which fills the young man with fury. He strikes out in anger, killing his brother. When confronted by God, Cain speaks the famous words "…am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9).

What is the connection between this tragedy, coins, and creation? Let's go back to the passage from Tractate Sanhedrin. The context of the piece goes beyond the comparison of human and Divine creative abilities. Sanhedrin 37a is a discussion of testimony brought in capital cases, using Cain's words as an example. It is a reminder of the responsibility a witness has in such matters where there is no restitution. We find here the famous teaching that "humanity was created as a single person to teach us that whenever someone destroys a soul… it is akin to having destroyed an entire world." The passage then compares the ability of the human coinmaker to the Divine creator, further stressing the value of those created in God's image. But it concludes in a very strange manner: "Therefore, each and every person is obliged to say the world was created for my sake." Two priceless items are within our care: the world God created and the image of the Divine placed within us. A blemish on one affects the other, as is shown by Cain's actions.

There are two sides to the divine coin of choice. We can step on that fragile world laid at our feet, or we can cradle it. We can gaze admiringly upon our own adornments or we can look beyond ourselves. We can go through life focusing solely on our little part of the assembly line as Cain did, or follow God's example, sustaining and enhancing a unique creation. Each one of us must choose. Don't flip the coin; treasure God's imprint in the depth of your being, then choose wisely.

Shabbat shalom,
MS