PARSHA THEMES
Eitan
Mayer
PARASHAT BERESHIT:
“Tzelem Elokim”: Eat Your Vegetables!
Parashat Bereshit recounts not only the creation of humanity and the rest of the world, but also supplies our most basic ideas about the nature and mission of humanity. Humanity is created with special capabilities and commanded to develop and actualize them in specific ways. The whole world is fresh, totally unspoiled; all potentials await fulfillment. The infant world sparkles with innocence and energy, with the wonder of Creation.
But Creation is really not the only theme of our parasha. Creation is only the beginning; it the genesis of the world shares the stage with the genesis and evolution of the relationship between Hashem and humanity.
A BACKGROUND OF
FAILURES:
Since we cannot take a detailed look at every event of the parasha, let’s just make brief mention of one important event we’re not going to look at this time: the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, which forever changes the way people live—and die. Already moving beyond the theme of Creation, we encounter Hashem as commander (“Thou shalt not eat”) and humanity as servant. Without much delay, humanity creates something Hashem had not created: failure. Blighting the beautifully ordered description of the construction of the cosmos, Adam and Eve’s sin is humanity’s first failure and Hashem’s first disappointment (see Bereshit 6:6). This failure changes humanity and changes the world, as the “first family” is ejected from the garden and forced to struggle through life in the more difficult world outside. As this disappointment is the first of many disappointments for Hashem, this failure is the first of many failures for humanity. We sometimes do not realize that many of the stories we read in the first few parshiot of the Torah are not about Creation, but about disappointment and failure and how they change the course of history by changing Hashem’s plan for humanity.
IMAGES OF GOD:
The specific topic we’re going to look at this time is the theme of “tzelem Elokim,” the idea that humankind is created in the image of Hashem. Our close look at this theme, and the conclusions we draw, should help us understand not only the events of our parasha, but also the development of the theme of all of Sefer Bereshit (Genesis).
“Tzelem Elokim” itself simply means an image or form of Hashem. What is this usually understood to mean? In what way are humans God-like? Some interpretations by mefarshim (traditional commentators):
1) Like Hashem, humans have intelligence (Rashi, Rashbam, Radak, Seforno).
2) Like Hashem, humans have free will (Seforno).
3) As Hashem is a “spiritual” Being, humans have a soul (Ibn Ezra, Radak, Ramban, Seforno).
4) As Hashem rules over the universe, humans rule over the lower world (R. Sa’adya Gaon, Hizkuni).
5) Like Hashem, humans have the faculty of judgment (Hizkuni).
6) Like Hashem, humans have an inherent holiness and dignity (a more modern perspective).
MISSION STATEMENT I:
Although it is always important to see how mefarshim define terms which appear in the Torah, we can often gain additional understanding or a different perspective by examining the Torah directly and sensitively to see if the Torah itself defines the term.
The first time we find the term “tzelem Elokim” is just before the first humans are created:
BERESHIT 1:26-27 --
Hashem said, ‘Let us make Man in our image [be-tzalmeinu], in our form; they shall rule over the fish of the sea, the bird of the sky, the animal, and all the land, and all that crawls on the land.’ Hashem created the man in His image; in the image of Hashem [be-tzelem Elokim] He created him; male and female He created them.
What we have next is a short section with a very clear theme: humanity’s mission:
BERESHIT 1:28-30 --
Hashem blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the land and conquer it; rule over the fish of the sea, the bird of the sky, and all animals which crawl on land.’ Hashem said, ‘I have given to you all grasses which produce seeds on the face of the land, and all the trees which produce fruit with seeds—it is for you to eat, and for the animal of the land, for the bird of the sky, and for that which crawls on the land which has a living soul; all the grassy plants are to eat.’ And it was so.
What we have read so far begins with Hashem’s plan to create a being in the image of Hashem and ends with this “mission statement,” communicated to the being which has been created. The mission contains three charges:
1) Emulate Hashem’s creativity by procreating.
2) Emulate Hashem’s mastery of the universe by “conquering” the world and extending mastery over the lower creatures.
3) Emulate Hashem by eating the grasses, fruits, and seeds!
The last element of humanity’s mission seems fundamentally different than the previous two elements (“One of these things is not like the other one . . .”): What does eating vegetation have to do with the lofty destiny of humanity? And since Hashem obviously does not eat vegetables, how does one emulate Hashem by doing so? For now, let us hold this question; we will return to it later to see how it adds to the tzelem Elokim mission.
In any case, one thing should be clear about tzelem Elokim which may not have been clear before: tzelem Elokim is not a *description* of humanity, it is a *goal* for humanity. We usually think of tzelem Elokim as a description of humanity’s basic nature, which entitles humanity to certain privileges (“We hold these truths to be self-evident . . . .”) and expresses certain capabilities. But the Torah implies that tzelem Elokim is more than simply a description, it is a mission, a command: humanity must *live up to* tzelem Elokim! People are created with the potential to reflect God by achieving the tzelem Elokim missions—procreation, mastery of the world, and, well, eating vegetables(!) -- but each person must *become* a tzelem Elokim by actualizing this potential.
If tzelem Elokim is a mission, of course, it can be achieved or failed. How well humanity fares in achieving this mission is the major subtext of the Torah from the creation of Adam until the selection of Avraham in Parashat Lekh Lekha.
We will now follow the history of the tzelem Elokim idea through the first generations of humanity’s existence to see whether humanity lives up to the mission or not and whether the mission changes over time.
THE FIRST MURDER:
Our first look at how tzelem Elokim plays out in history brings us to the story of the first siblings, Kayyin and Hevel (Cain and Abel). Hevel offers to Hashem a sacrifice of his finest animals; Kayyin offers his finest fruits. Hashem is happy with Hevel’s offering but unsatisfied with Kayyin’s. The Torah reports that Kayyin is deeply upset and angry at being rejected. Shortly thereafter, man creates again, as Kayyin invents murder by killing his brother Hevel, whose offering had been accepted. Kayyin then attempts to hide the evidence but soon learns that Hashem doesn’t miss much:
BERESHIT 4:3-9 --
It happened, after awhile, that Kayyin brought an offering to Hashem from the fruits of the ground. Hevel also brought from the firstborn of his sheep and from their fattest; Hashem turned to Hevel and his offering, but to Kayyin and his offering He did not turn. Kayyin became very angry, and his face fell . . . . It happened, when they were in the field, that Kayyin rose up to Hevel his brother and killed him. Hashem said to Kayyin, ‘Where is Hevel, your brother? . . . Now, you are cursed from the ground . . . you shall be a wanderer and drifter in the land.’
Kayyin’s response to his pun:
BERESHIT 4:13-15 --
Kayyin said to Hashem, ‘My sin is too great to bear! You have driven me today from the face of the land, and I will be hidden from Your face, a wanderer and drifter in the land; anyone who finds me will kill me!’ Hashem said to him, ‘Therefore, anyone who kills Kayyin will suffer seven times’ vengeance.’ And Hashem gave Kayyin a sign so that whoever found him would not kill him .
. . .
MURDER, A FAMILY
TRADITION:
We will now look at the continuation of what we’ve been readabout Kayyin. If you’re not paying very careful attention, it seems like a collection of “random” events—the Torah appears to be reporting “trivia” about Kayyin’s post-punishment life. But there is much more here than there might seem at first. Our observations should shed light on the development of the tzelem Elokim theme.
BERESHIT 4:17-19--
Kayyin ‘knew’ his wife; she conceived and bore Hanokh . . . and to Hanokh was born Eerod; Eerod bore Mehuyael, Mehuyael bore Metushael, Metushael bore Lemekh. Lemekh took two wives, one named Ada and the other named Tzila . . . .
Kayyin has had children, and we hear about his descendants. A nice family story, but what is the Torah trying to tell us?
BERESHIT 4:23-24 --
Lemekh said to his wives, ‘Ada and Tzila, hear my voice; wives of Lemekh, hear my speech; for a man I have killed for my wound, and a child for my injury. For Kayyin will be avenged seven-fold, and Lemekh seventy-seven.’
Apparently—as all of the mefarshim explain—Lemekh has killed someone. As he recounts the murder to his wives, he implies that although he expects to suffer punishment, as his great-grandfather Kayyin suffered for murder, he prays that Hashem will take seventy-fold revenge on anyone who kills him. He explicitly refers to the murder committed by his forebear Kayyin and to the protection extended by Hashem to Kayyin.
What the Torah tells us next is absolutely crucial:
BERESHIT 4:25-5:1-3 --
Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son; she called his name Shet, ‘For Hashem has sent to me another child to replace Hevel, for Kayyin killed him’ . . . This is the book of the descendants of Adam. When Hashem created Adam, in the image of Hashem He made him . . . Adam lived thirty and a hundred years, and bore in his image, like his form, and he called his name ‘Shet.’
Certainly, the order of this story—Kayyin’s murder of Hevel, then Kayyin’s punishment, then Lemekh’s murder, then the birth of another son to Adam and Hava—is not at all random. What connections is the Torah trying to make?
Lemekh the murderer is a descendant of Kayyin, the first murderer. Not only is Lemekh a direct descendant of Kayyin, he even makes explicit reference to his great-grandfather’s murderous behavior and hopes that he will benefit from the same protection as (or greater protection than) Kayyin received, despite the punishment he expects. What the Torah may be hinting is that Kayyin and his family do not sufficiently value human life. Kayyin kills his brother Hevel in frustration and jealousy; Lemekh kills an unnamed person in retaliation for a “wound and injury.” For Kayyin, murder is an acceptable solution to problems or frustrations, and he passes his values on to his children. Lemekh’s murder and his reference to Kayyin’s similar crime manifest the moral failure of this family. One generation’s failure to understand the value of human life plants murder in the heart of the next generation.
BEGINNING FROM THE
BEGINNING AGAIN:
The Torah next tells us that Adam and Hava have another child “because Kayyin killed Hevel.” Actually, Adam and Hava are replacing not only Hevel, but both of their sons—Hevel, because he is dead, and Kayyin, because his murder and his descendants’ similar action shows that his behavior was not a freak incident, but a deficiency in values. By having another child, Adam and Hava begin again, attempting to produce an individual who really understands the mission of humanity as achieving the status of tzelem Elokim. By murdering his brother, Kayyin fails this mission (as we will explain). Lemekh’s action shows that Kayyin has not learned from his mistake and has not successfully taught his children to respect human life.
This is why the Torah begins the story of humanity’s creation “anew” with the birth of Shet, telling the story as if Adam and Hava had had no children until now:
BERESHIT 5:1-3--
This is the book of the descendants of Adam. When Hashem created Adam, in the image of Hashem He made him . . . Adam lived thirty and a hundred years, and bore IN HIS IMAGE, LIKE HIS FORM, and he called his name ‘Shet.’
The Torah is trying to communicate that humanity is starting over, beginning from scratch. The first attempt, the one which produced a murderer and his victim, has come to a tragic close with another murder (Lemekh’s). Adam and Hava realize that they must start anew, and the Torah makes this explicit by placing the literary structure of a “beginning” at the birth of Shet. The real “descendants” of Adam are only those who maintain “his image . . . his form”, the image and form of tzelem Elokim.
But how has Kayyin failed as a tzelem Elokim? Has he not excelled as a conqueror of the earth, a tiller of the ground who brings fruits to Hashem as an offering? Has he not “been fruitful and multiplied,” producing descendants to fill the earth? Have his descendants not exercised creativity like that of the Creator, inventing tools and instruments? True, Kayyin has murdered, and true, his great-grandson Lemekh has as well, but how is this a failure as a tzelem Elokim?
MISSION II:
To answer this question, we must look to next week’s parasha, where we again (and for the last time) find the term “tzelem Elokim.” As the generations pass, humanity sinks deep into evil, filling Hashem’s young world with corruption. Disappointed again, Hashem floods the world and drowns His creatures—all except Noah and those aboard the ark with him. As the Flood ends and Noah and his family emerge from the ark to establish the world once again, Hashem delivers a message to Noah and his family at this point of renewal: a “new” mission statement for humanity. Comparing it to the first mission statement (1:28-30), which was addressed to Adam and Hava, shows that the two statements are very similar. But there are a few very important differences.
BERESHIT 9:1-2 --
Hashem blessed Noah and his children and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land. Fear of you and fright of you shall be upon all the beasts of the field, and all the birds of the sky, with whatever the ground crawls, and all the fish of the sea; in your hands they are given.
So far, nothing seems new—humanity once again is blessed/commanded to procreate and is informed that the animals of the world are given to humanity to rule. But as Hashem continues, the picture of humanity’s responsibilities and privileges changes radically:
BERESHIT 9:3-4 --
All crawling things which live, they are for you to eat, as the grassy plants; I have given to you everything. But flesh with the soul—blood—do not eat.
Although previously, humanity had been given permission to eat only vegetable matter, now Hashem permits humans to eat animals as well, as long as they do not eat the “soul”—the blood. But is that all? Can it be that the main difference between the first mission and the second mission is vegetarianism versus omnivorism? When humanity failed as vegetarians and filled the world with corruption and evil, Hashem decided to fix everything by allowing the eating of meat? Certainly not. As we read on, the picture becomes clearer:
BERESHIT 9:3-6 --
All crawling things which live, they are for you to eat, like the grassy plants; I have given to you everything, EXCEPT the flesh with the soul—blood—you shall not eat; and EXCEPT that your blood, for your souls, will I demand; from the hand of any beast I will demand it, and from the hand of Man; from the hand of EACH MAN’S BROTHER will I demand the soul of Man. He who spills the blood of Man, by Man will his blood be spilled, for *IN THE IMAGE OF GOD HE MADEMAN.*
The animals are promised that Hashem will punish them for killing people, and humanity is warned that people will be punished by execution for killing other people—since people are created be-tzelem Elokim.
THOU SHALT NOT KILL:
What is the theme of this new mission?
Originally, humanity had been charged with the mission of reflecting Hashem’s characteristics. That mission included three different elements:
1) Creativity: humanity was to emulate Hashem as Creator by having children. This mandate of creativity may have also included creativity in gen, not merely procreation, but it focused most specifically on procreation.
2) Conquering: humanity was to emulate Hashem as Ruler of Creation by extending control over nature, and over the animals in particular.
3) Eating vegetative matter. The point of this command was not that eating vegetables somehow is an essential part of imitatio Dei (emulating Hashem), but that eating vegetables means *not* killing for food.
This third element—not killing for food—was an oblique way of expressing the prohibition of murder. If even animals could not be killed for the ‘constructive’ purpose of eating, humans certainly could not be killed. Kayyin either never understood this element of the mission or found himself unable to meet its demands. But as a murderer, he renounced his status as tzelem Elokim, for the third element of the mission of tzelem Elokim is to emulate Hashem as a moral being. And the most basic expression of morality is the prohibition of murder.
Eventually, even Shet’s descendants fall prey to the same weakness, filling the world with evil and violence, and Hashem decides that the entire world must be destroyed. The fact that immorality is the area of their failure is hinted not only by the Torah’s explicit formulations (“For the world is full of violence before them,” 6:11 and 6:13), but also by the way the Torah formulates the new mission commanded to Noah and his family as they re-establish the world after the Flood:
BERESHIT 9:5 --
. . . from the hand of each man’s *brother,* will I demand the soul of Man . . . .
This is clearly a hint to the first murder, that of Hevel by his brother, and a hint as well that the failure of those destroyed by the Flood was in interpersonal morality, since this mission is delivered to those about to re-found the world on better foundations.
This new mission, which makes the prohibition of murder explicit, is a more clear version of the first mission, which merely hinted at the prohibition. But it is much more than a repetition/elaboration. It also expresses implicit disappointment in humanity: before, humanity had been forbidden to kill even animals; now, animals may be killed for food. Hashem recognizes that humanity cannot maintain the very high moral standards originally set, and so He compromises, permitting killing of some creatures (animals) for some purposes (food). But the prohibition of eating the blood of these animals seeks to limit humanity’s permission to kill; blood represents the life-force, the “soul” (the blood-soul equation is one the Torah makes explicit several times later on), and humanity must respect the sanctity of life and recognize its Maker by not consuming the symbol of that life-force. In other words, humanity has permission to take life for food, but this permission comes along with a blood-prohibition, a reminder that even life that can be taken for some purposes is sacred and must be respected.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT:
Next, this new mission asserts that animals and people will be punished for killing people. The penalty for murder is death. Why? The Torah itself supplies the reason: because man is created be-tzelem Elokim. Usually, we understand this to mean that since humans are created in the image of Hashem, it is a particularly terrible thing to destroy human life. This crime is of such enormity that an animal or person who murders a person must be punished with death.
But perhaps the reason there is a death penalty for humans who kill is not only because the *victim* is created in Hashem’s image, and destroying an image of Hashem is a terrible act, but also because the *murderer* is created in Hashem’s image! Murder merits the death penalty because it destroys two tzelem Elokims: the victim and the perpetrator. The murderer was charged with the mission of tzelem Elokim, emulating Hashem in excercising moral judgment, but he has failed and renounced that mission. And the mission is not an “optional” one—it is the entire purpose of humanity’s existence, the whole reason people were created, as Hashem makes clear in discussing His plans to create humanity. The punishment for rejecting this mission of tzelem Elokim is therefore death, because Hashem grants Hashem-like potential to humans only on condition that they attempt to reflect His qualities. Humanity does not have two options, one being accepting the mission and the other being rejecting it and becoming an animal. A person who rejects the mission of emulating Hashem cannot continue to exist and profane the image of Hashem.
Tzelem Elokim mandates our becoming creators and conquerors, but it also mandates our behaving morally. It means that we have the potential, unlike animals, to create, to rule, and to be moral. But it does not guarantee that we will develop that potential. Tzelem Elokim is something we can *become,* not something into which we are born.
Shabbat shalom,
Eitan