The Composition of Man

“And G-d said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness…’”

“And G-d created humankind in the divine image, creating it in the image of G-d—…”

On the sixth day of creation G-d turned to His creations, the angels and all things celestial, the land and the animals, and said let’s make man in our image. He expounded and explained that man should rule the animals and the land and all the inhabitants of the earth, sea and sky. The very next pasuk proclaims man was created in the image of G-d. 

What is the meaning of “in our image?” Was man fashioned after, and with, G-d’s previous creations? How do we explain man being created in G-d’s image? How can we attribute an image to an essence which has no image, which we are forbidden to even compare to an image? 

What is an image? 

The Hebrew word for image, tselem, has a root word of tsel, meaning shadow. A shadow is a two dimensional reflection of a three dimensional essence. It is a filtered and flat version of an original. If a mirror image is a clear reflection of a primary source, a shadow is even less so as it lacks even the aesthetic similarities. It's fuzzy and dull, a vague outline, much further removed from its origin. 

We know every word of Torah is absolute truth and so when the Torah says something, there is always an element of reality to it, a practical manifestation in the world. Here is no different. Thus, created man is a composite man, encompassing something from all of G-d’s creations, including man himself. 

From the land we receive our name, Adam, as it denotes the physical matter we are made of. Our raw materials of flesh and bone were fashioned from the gathering of the earth. This is the tangible part of man, the part of man to roam and rule the world, to live in the world of action, to carry out the mitzvot.

With the animals we share two elements. The structure and workings of our bodies resemble that of the animals, as do the lowest level of our souls. The most base part of our spiritual selves, our instinct for self preservation, for taking care of our needs first and foremost, are similar to that of the animals. Our animal souls are the pull of our egos, most concerned with “I.”

We are akin to the angels and celestial beings with our intelligence and our capacity to think and comprehend. We share their attributes and their ability and desire to serve G-d. The parts of us that yearn to be close to G-d, our spirituality, our values, are as the ethereal beings.

But what of G-d? 

The shadow of us and the origin of G-d are intrinsically connected, yet many worlds apart. Between the lowest, physical world we inhabit and the highest world of ein sof, G-d and His realm, are many spiritual worlds. G-d’s light is filtered down through the realms many times until it is infused in, and becomes, the shadow that is us. 

The word image can also be used to compare a part of something. And so, what is this part of Hashem we are compared to? What is the essence, the origin, we’re the shadow of? 

It’s the part of Himself He shares only with us. Everything G-d is that everything else is not, is free will and the ability to create something from nothing. The most fundamental part of G-d, what makes G-d, G-d, is exactly what He infused in man, the pinnacle of His creations.

Angels serve but don’t choose, animals react but don’t think. Man has the unparalleled opportunity to create an original thought, an idea. We have the ability, and responsibility, to choose. We are able to move beyond instinct to use our intellect to build a coherent thought process and then carry out a desired and chosen action. The higher levels of our souls are the engine for this G-dlike attribute. Our souls are the G-dlike attribute, breathed into our very beings directly from G-d.

And yet, what of man? 

When G-d created man He created us incomplete. He gave us the raw materials of the earth, the intellect of the angels and the eternal spark of Himself. And then He held back. With the infusion of the G-dly attributes of choice and free will, G-d created a being who was spiritually incomplete, who had a mission and a purpose, one which was in his control, one he was able to choose to fulfill. He placed within us the ability to finish the task, to complete our own completion, to climb our way to perfection. Hashem begins and we continue.

And so, when we read that G-d created man in our image, it's true. When the Torah says G-d created us in His image, it's also true. We are a fusion of animal, angel and G-d. A fusion of earth, sea and sky. Man is, in fact, a microcosm of the entire created world. In man, there is an element of everything that preceded him, including an element of The Creator Himself. 

How fascinating to understand our origins, to walk through the world knowing who we are! How humbling to appreciate the complexity of man and his many components. May we complete the circle of creation begun by G-d and choose to properly use all the elements that make up the composition of man.