Goals:
(כו) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים נַֽעֲשֶׂ֥ה אָדָ֛ם בְּצַלְמֵ֖נוּ כִּדְמוּתֵ֑נוּ וְיִרְדּוּ֩ בִדְגַ֨ת הַיָּ֜ם וּבְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֗יִם וּבַבְּהֵמָה֙ וּבְכָל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וּבְכָל־הָרֶ֖מֶשׂ הָֽרֹמֵ֥שׂ עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (כז) וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם׃ (כח) וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ אֹתָם֮ אֱלֹהִים֒ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר לָהֶ֜ם אֱלֹהִ֗ים פְּר֥וּ וּרְב֛וּ וּמִלְא֥וּ אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ וְכִבְשֻׁ֑הָ וּרְד֞וּ בִּדְגַ֤ת הַיָּם֙ וּבְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּבְכָל־חַיָּ֖ה הָֽרֹמֶ֥שֶׂת עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
(26) And God said: ‘Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’ (27) And God created human beings in God's own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. (28) And God blessed them; and God said unto them: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.’
Rabbi Joshua, the son of Levi, said: at the time that a human being is walking
down the road, a host of angels walks before him, crying out, saying make way
for the created image of God.
Midrash Tehillim
Genesis 2
4.This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth
when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made the earth and
the heavens. 5No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the
field had yet sprung up; for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain on the
earth. There was not a man to till the ground, 6but a mist went up from the
earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7Yahweh God formed
man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life; and man became a living soul. 8Yahweh God planted a garden
eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9Out of
the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the
sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the middle of the garden,
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Myth: Narcissus—Compare the ethical implications of each story.
Contemporary Issue: Homelessness—Does degrading human beings mean that we are degrading the divine image?
Other aspects of Jewish Life:
Taking care of one’s body--"Guard yourself and guard your soul very carefully" (Deuteronomy 4:9-10)--,reciting birkhot hashachar—the morning blessing regarding having been created inGod’s image.
Activity: Looking in the mirror and looking at one another and seeing a
reflection of God.