this Sabbath we will be reading the second weekly Torah portion, about the first-ever genocidal scheme since Creation, and about the maiden (and final ) voyage of the good ship Noah’s Ark. however, having missed the boat, as is my wont, I’m still thinking about a verse from last week’s reading: “And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” (Genesis 1:27 ).
the key here is “in the image” – be (the prefix “in,” in Hebrew ) + tzelem (“the image” ). this little word, made of the root tzadi-lamed-mem, is most likely derived from an Accadian word, whose primary meaning was “something carved [of].”
“The Creation of Man,” (1956-58).
Photo by: Marc Chagall
this word is of utmost importance in understanding the intricate relations forged over time between the Almighty and his creatures. He (and/or She ) who must be obeyed subsequently makes a big fuss about being the “one and only” Creator of all, insists on being invisible (even Moses can only see the back of the divine entity on Mount Sinai ), and expressly declares and carves in stone the words “Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:3).
the scene described at the beginning of Genesis is truly a seminal moment of mutual creation: after all, a sentient mind has to exist to conjure up the phenomenon of an invisible being creating it. however, the Scripture is explicit on one particular point: While creating “a man,” God was creating a tangible physical artifact that represented, and presumably resembled very closely, the divine self-image. Ergo, since the Bible says “male and female created he them,” I insist on referring to God as both he and she.
Admittedly, what is initially created (as elucidated in Genesis 2:7 ) is an inanimate object, made from the dust of the earth, and God has to perform mouth-to-nose [not-yet-re]suscitation and breathe the holy spirit of life into him. Apparently “the man” (me, you and every other human being ) is how God envisions his and her own shape and form. No wonder, then, that God is later offended to the very core of his or her being when the Israelites take it upon themselves to represent the ostensibly invisible Deity and cavort around a calf. the fact that the latter is made of gold is apparently a very small consolation to the wounded divinity’s ego.
Apart from being invisible, God is supposed to be omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. however, it seems that while creating a human image of him or herself, the Creator showed rather limited imagination. For the human representation of the Almighty soon strays from the prescribed godly path, even eliciting murderous thoughts of revenge in the Creator that take the fluid form of a flood. the human race survived that flood, thank God and his obedient servant Noah.
As the man created by God is the only entity sanctioned officially to represent the divine image upon earth, all other images purporting to represent any deity are, by definition, falsifications. Whenever the word “tzelem” is not used in the context of Creation, the Bible implies that the image in question is not, nor has any chance of being, holy or venerated, and one is bound to smash it.
the Greek version of Genesis translates “tzelem” as “eikon,” which in English became “icon” (the very same that you click on or touch on your screen ); the Latin version opts for “imaginem,” from which is derived “image” and “imagination”; and the German turned it into “bild,” which brings to mind “building.”
Both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds cement the sacrilegious and derogatory connotation of the word “tzelem,” in the context of the five calamities that befell the ancient Israelites on the 17th of Tamuz. One of them involved Apostamos burning a holy scroll and placing “tzelem baheichal” – i.e., an idol – in the Temple. the concept of an idol – that is, an icon or image of a deity that is revered for its own sake or for representing the divine presence – being erected in a building, the Temple, the Holy of Holies, was the worst offense imaginable in the eyes of the ancient followers of the God of the Hebrews.
David Yellin (1864-1941 ), founder and first president of the Hebrew Teachers Association, is credited with using the tzadi-lamed-mem root to create the modern Hebrew equivalent of “photography”: “tzilum.” once, before we all went digital and started to revere icons on our touch-screens, our cameras used to capture the two-dimensional image of reality on a “negative” – or, as the French call it, a “cliche.” Oxford English Dictionary defines the English word “cliche” as “a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.”
so, is the concept that “God created man in his own image” a cliche? In a way, yes; by vice of overuse it does betray a lack of original thought. In my opinion and imagination, though, God’s need to create and project his or her own image stems from a, well, very human need: Indeed, each us seeks to present a certain image of ourselves to our fellow human beings. We may opt for one image to reveal to our nearest and dearest, and another, different one to show to the outside world, according to the circumstances and audience. Of course, the image others perceive may very well differ from the one we had in our mind. that may very well have happened to God in the 27th verse of Genesis 1.
In attempting to bring these existential ruminations to a close, one must mention that B’Tselem is also the name of the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, established in 1989 by a group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists and Knesset members. Yossi Sarid, then a Labor MK, is credited with coming up with that name, as explained on the center’s English website: “B’Tselem in Hebrew literally means ‘in the image of,’ and is also used as a synonym for human dignity. the word is taken from Genesis 1:27 ‘And God created humans in his image. In the image of God did He create him.’ it is in this spirit that the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that ‘All human beings are born equal in dignity and rights.’”
furthermore, in these days following the Gilad Shalit deal struck with Hamas, it is ironic to recall that in 1994, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin lauded the advantages of Israel signing the Oslo Accords, as it would allow Arafat (i.e., the Palestine Liberation O rganization) to fight Hamas “bli bagatz ubli betzelem” (that is, without recourse to the High Court of Justice, or according to human rights standards ). being or acting b’tzelem implies being good, just, right, righteous. but the precise meaning and value of the three-letter word “tzelem” (to say nothing of the three-letter word “God “), is in the imagination of the beholder, created in his or her God’s image.
In Israel Defense Forces lingo “tzelem” has nothing to do with divine or human images, or the activities of the organization that defends human rights in the territories. it is an acronym that stands for “tsiud lochama mevukar” – officially approved arms and munitions.
As Frank Sinatra sings it, in Johnny Burke’s lyrics: “Imagination is crazy / your whole perspective gets hazy.”
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