Avos, chapter 3, mishnah 18 (in various editions it appears with a different number) - a particularly important mishnah. "He used to say" refers to Rabbi Akiva, and in it three levels are listed in the relationship between the Holy One and man. We will first read the wording of the mishnah in its three parts, and afterward we will examine each part on its own.
The wording of the mishnah:
"Chaviv adam shenivra betzelem" - human beings hold a special place in the heart of the Holy One, as it were, because they were created in the image of God. "Chibah yeseirah noda'as lo shenivra betzelem" - a greater expression of that affection and that special place: the Holy One informed man (and the wording is singular - every single person received this notification) that he was created in the image. "Shene'emar: ki betzelem Elokim asah es ha'adam" - man, all of humanity, was made in the image of God.
"Chavivin Yisrael shenikre'u banim laMakom" - the Jewish people hold an even more special place in the heart of the Holy One, for they are called His children. "Chibah yeseirah noda'as lahem shenikre'u banim laMakom" - He informed them that they are considered and called His children. "Shene'emar: banim atem laHashem Elokeichem".
"Chavivin Yisrael shenitan lahem kli chemdah" - a further level of distinction: the Holy One gave them His precious instrument, the Torah. "Chibah yeseirah noda'as lahem shenitan lahem kli chemdah shebo nivra ha'olam" - He informed them that He had given them the precious instrument with which He created the world. "Shene'emar: ki lekach tov nasati lachem Torasi al ta'azovu" - "lekach" means a good portion, an acquisition, a gathering.
Introduction: how the three parts come together
The Ruach Chaim unites the three subjects of the mishnah in an interesting way, bringing us back to the beginning of the third chapter, where it says: "Histakel bishloshah devarim ve'i atah ba lidei aveirah":
"Me'ayin basa" - the past: "from a putrid drop".
"Ul'an atah holech" - the present: "to a place of dust, maggot and worm".
"Velifnei mi atah asid liten din vecheshbon" - the future: standing in judgment before the Holy One.
These three things fill a person with dread. Our mishnah comes to counter them and to plant hope, even though all three of them are true:
True, a person's body comes from a putrid drop - but man was created in the image of God.
True, from the day he is born a person is headed toward the grave - but at that very same moment he is bound together with his Father, for "you are children to Hashem your God".
And true, he will one day have to give a full accounting - but the Torah has been placed in his hands, and in it lies the way to stand up to that final judgment and emerge victorious.
"Chaviv adam shenivra betzelem":
The word "chaviv" is difficult to translate. It does not simply mean "beloved"; rather, the object of the affection occupies a special place in the heart: warmth, a unique regard, and a relationship of endearment.
The word "tzelem" is likewise difficult to translate. It certainly does not refer to physical resemblance, for the Holy One has no bodily components and does not resemble anything. The meaning is that there is something conceptual within man, unique to him, in which he resembles his Creator, as it were. As to what that something is, there are two main approaches, and ultimately it seems that they all point to a single idea:
The approach of the Rambam and the philosophers: man possesses the capacity for abstract thought, separate and distinct from the senses. This capacity is unique to him. And since there are sources indicating that angels also think, many add that the uniqueness lies not in abstract thought itself, but in the fact that it makes choice possible: thought is the instrument through which a person chooses to act and to choose the good.
The kabbalistic approach: developed at length at the beginning of Nefesh HaChaim by Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin. Man is a partner with the Holy One, a "tzelem Elokim", for "Elokim" means the Master of all the forces, the sum total of all powers. This Name is stated in the plural, despite the absolute oneness of the Holy One, to hint at the entire array of influences that descend into the world, all of which He controls. And nevertheless man is a tzelem Elokim, for the Holy One handed that control over to his hands, as it were: everything a person thinks, says or does directly affects the manner in which divine abundance descends into this world. It emerges that we hold the ability to influence the way in which the Holy One influences the world, and in this we resemble Him.
"Chibah yeteirah nodaas lo" - an extra measure of love was made known to him:
What is the difference between the act of creating man in the Divine image and informing man that this is so? Why is the informing an expression of an even greater love? Rather than focus on one commentary or another, let us gather the various approaches around a single point, which is the central thesis of the entire Mishnah: the Divine image is the mechanism through which a person is able to relate to Hashem. The idea is not that the resemblance means "we have something in common" with Him, but that the very ability to connect to Him flows from the tzelem: we have the capacity to think about Hashem and come to know Him; we have the capacity to use our free will and make ourselves like Him by fulfilling His will and uniting our will with His; and we have the capacity to affect the world and to channel its flow of blessing, and thereby to be His partners in bringing the world to its perfection.
And informing us of this means that Hashem desires the relationship itself. Picture a wealthy, kindhearted man who receives requests for help every day and signs checks for every worthy cause. He sends a check to the orphanage - clearly he cares about them, since he gave them his money. But he does not ask them to come to his home or to call him: he cares about them in the abstract, not in a personal relationship between him and them.
But suppose he calls the orphanage and says to one of the orphans, "I want you to know that my name is such and such, I live in such and such a place, and I am the one who paid for your breakfast" - what is the point of that? Assuming there is no element of pride involved (and with Hashem there certainly is none), the meaning is an invitation: I am telling you where I can be found, who I am and what I am, so that you will know I am there and will be able to relate back to Me.
The same is true Above: Hashem could have created man in the Divine image simply because He is a Benefactor who is entirely good, and out of His desire to give. That would have been a tremendous kindness, but in itself it might not express a desire for a personal relationship - He does good because He is good. But His informing man, "Know that I created you in the Divine image so that there would be something shared between us and so that you would be able to relate to Me," reveals that He wants that relationship.
Various approaches have been offered here, but nearly all of them come back to one general idea: Hashem made a relationship with Him possible for us - that is the first level; and He invites us to respond to Him and relate to Him - that is the added expression within that same level. This level applies to every human being: every person was created in the Divine image, and therefore has the capacity to connect to Hashem, and Hashem desires that relationship with Jew and non-Jew alike.
"Chavivin Yisrael shenikre'u banim laMakom" - beloved are Israel, for they are called children of the Omnipresent:
On the second level the Mishnah adds that the Jewish people are especially beloved, because Hashem relates to us as His children. A person may feel real affection and hold a special place in his heart for his housekeeper or his barber - he smiles at the thought of him, he would not go to anyone else - but that is not the love he feels for his son. The novelty here is that this is not merely a special place in the heart, but a love that is one of a kind: the love of a father for his son.
"Chibah yeteirah nodaas lahem" - Hashem informed us that He thinks of us as His children, "as it says: Banim atem laHashem Elokeichem - you are children of Hashem your God." Once again, this is not merely a request for an abstract relationship, but a desire for the close relationship of a father and son, and about this too He informed us: "Know that I think of you as My children, and I want you to think of Me in return as your Father."
"Chavivin Yisrael shenitan lahem kli chemdah" - beloved are Israel, for they were given a precious vessel:
The third level: Hashem gave us His precious vessel, the Torah. There is no verse that explicitly calls the Torah a "kli chemdah"; the closest is the verse in Tehillim about words of Torah: "hanechemadim mizahav umipaz rav" - they are as precious as pure gold. The point is that the Torah is as valuable as a precious vessel, and that is indeed how we relate to it and think about it.
The Me'am Lo'ez brings a beautiful idea: on Shabbos morning, at the hagbahah, everyone points at the Torah scroll and says "V'zos haTorah asher sam Moshe" - and this is the Torah that Moshe placed. What is the meaning of the custom of pointing? The Me'am Lo'ez explains that the Torah is the precious vessel, the treasured object with which Hashem, as it were, betrothed us at Mount Sinai. It was like a wedding between us and Hashem, and instead of a ring on the finger He gave us the Torah - and therefore we point with a finger, as one whose finger is receiving a ring from Hashem. And why specifically with the pinky? Because it is not proper conduct to point with the index finger.
"Chibah yeseirah noda'as lahem shenitan lahem kli chemdah shebo nivra ha'olam" - He informed us that He gave us His precious instrument, and that the Torah has the power to create worlds. Here too the source does not speak explicitly about the Torah as the instrument with which the world was created, but the Torah is called "lekach," as in the verse in Haazinu: "Yaarof kamatar likchi" ("My teaching shall drop like the rain"). The commentators explain: why is the Torah compared there to rain? Because just as rain falls and causes everything to sprout and live, so the Torah is the source from which everything grows, buds and comes alive - and from here we see that it is the instrument with which the Holy One created the world.
This is the very same idea on a higher level. On the first level, the Holy One desires a relationship with every human being and informed us of this, thereby obligating us. On the second level, He seeks the close relationship of a father and a son. And on the third level - the closest of all - the Holy One brings us, as it were, into the family business: the Holy One is engaged in creating a perfect world, a world that receives His goodness, and He invites us to participate with Him. Just as He used the Torah to create the world, so we keep the Torah, hold fast to it and study it, and learn from it how we too can build and perfect this world.
With this the circle closes and we return to the tzelem Elokim - whether its meaning is abstract thought, intellectual capacity and free choice, or whether its meaning is the ability to affect the world by channeling the flow of Divine bounty - for according to both approaches the idea is one: the Holy One asks us to be His partners in running the world and perfecting it.
In summary: we have before us three levels in the relationship between the Holy One and man: a relationship for the sake of the relationship itself, which applies to every person as he is; the close relationship of a father and a son; and our being brought into the "family business" of perfecting the world. And on each and every level the Holy One is not content with granting us the ability, but informs us that the ability is in our hands and that the potential for a relationship exists, because He desires it: it is His will that we relate to Him, that we think of Him as our Father, and that we see ourselves as His partners in bringing goodness and perfecting the world as He did. And as we saw in the words of the Ruach Chaim in the introduction, through this we will not only merit a relationship with the Holy One, but we will also give value to our lives as we draw closer to the grave, and we will succeed in the final accounting and merit eternal life after a hundred and twenty years.