צֶלֶם אֱלֹקִים/Divine Image (Dignity and Potential)

צֶלֶם אֱלֹקִים/Divine Image (Dignity and Potential)

Tzelem Elohim

One of the most famous and often quoted passages from Torah tells us that humankind was created in the image of God – B’tzelem Elohim.  As God has no physical image, we need to look to other aspects of each human being in order to make sense of this idea.  Being created b’tzelem Elohim unifies all of humankind, while at the same time distinguishing each human being from all others.  Just when our awareness of being created in the Divine image might fill us with egotistical urges and an overblown sense of self, we are reminded that each of us is equal in our divine nature, and that our treatment of others is a reflection of our faith and our respect for our role in our society and our universe.  We are powerful, unique, dynamic individuals who are also, at the same time, exactly like everyone else. Looking at a person’s origin, power, and responsibility through this lens impacts our thoughts, our emotions and our actions each and every day.  This is a lens of responsibility, compassion, and self esteem.

Covenant/בְּרִית (Belonging and Commitment)

בְּרִית/Covenant (Belonging and Commitment)

B’rit

The Hebrew word “b’rit” means “covenant.”  A covenantal relationship enables us to partner with others in pursuit of shared vision, to grow, to risk, and to communicate with honesty. Like many relationships typical of business and politics, these relationships are enacted through mutual understanding of specific rights and responsibilities.  But covenental relationships are valued in and of themselves, not just as a means to realize other ends.  Our lives revolve around our inescapable relationships – to our environment, our families, our friends, our colleagues and our world.  Both our personal and professional lives are enriched by binding relationships in which we feel a true sense of security; relationships in which our individuality is honored, our opinions are heard, our needs are considered.

Hit’orerut הִתְעוֹרְרוּת / Awakening (Amazement and Gratitude)

הִתְעוֹרְרוּת/Awakening  (Amazement and Gratitude)

Hit’orerut

Today’s world is centered on intellect, information and technology.  It would appear that the more civilized we become, the less “wonder-full” all of our new learning seems to be.  What we often forget is that although we continually expand our capacity for knowledge and extend our intellectual boundaries, there are questions that cannot be answered by technology or science, and information is not synonymous with revelation, insight, and wisdom.

Spiritual awakening and the ability to sustain a sense of awe in today’s world requires a different type of preparation and orientation than we usually encounter in our daily lives.  This perspective is experienced and then reflected upon – what we glean from our most profound experiences is often difficult, or even impossible to articulate.  While it may be possible to increase the potential for these moments in our lives, they often take us by surprise.  But to what we cannot articulate, we are compelled to respond, through a deep sense of awe, gratitude, and humility.  Although the potential for these “awakenings” exists every day, our lives are filled with emotional and material obstacles and blinders which we need to remove if we are to live in a state of awe and readiness.  Judaism provides the tools that we need to sharpen our skills and maintain this kind of focus.  Ultimately, it is a rich life that is able to, in the words of Abraham Joshua Heschel, “take notice of the wonder, to regain a sense of the mystery that animates all beings, the divine margin in all attainments.”

Masa מַסָּע/Journey (Reflection, Return, and Renewal)

מַסָּעJourney (Reflection, Return, and Renewal)

Masa

Judaism calls upon us to understand that our individual life journeys are both reflected in and illuminated by the larger journeys of our people (and vice versa), and that our success in life depends as much upon the integrity with which we progress as it does upon reaching our goals.  Our Jewish paths are full of paradoxes.  Through our forward movement we seek tshuvah/return.  Our journeys to distant lands serve to take us deeper into our own selves.  Our commitment to the telling and retelling of past stories equips us to face the future.  The Jewish path, both communal and individual, comes with baggage that carries us as much as we carry it.  It also comes with a promise and a vision – our lives are merely a blip on the cosmic radar screen, and yet every step we take is of the utmost importance to those we know and the overall picture.  Our people has been motivated in its journeys by sacred calling, by seemingly chance encounters, by fear, by wonder, by oppression and by the promise of a better life.  And the documentation of these journeys, our Torah, helps us both to make sense of it all and to better gauge our next steps.