|
G-d's Greater Love
"...Beloved is man, for he was created in the image [of
G-d]. [Yet] it is even a greater love that this has been made known to him." (Avot
3:14)  | | " The Divine Soul is found only among the Jewish people...." | | |
The two aspects of the Divine Image mentioned in the
Mishna refer to two different types of people. "Beloved is man who was created
in the image" refers to the intellectual soul which is the inheritance of all
mankind. However, "even a greater love" refers to the intellectual soul of the
Jewish people, whose intellectual soul is particularly sensitive to spiritual
matters and can absorb such matters easily.
"Beloved are the people Israel who are called sons of
G-d" refers to the physical bodies of the Jewish people. "Even a greater love..."
refers to the Divine soul.
The Jewish Soul
The Divine Soul is found only among the Jewish people
and has no comparison among the nations of the world. In the merit of the
superiority of their souls the Jewish people are called "children of G-d". Rabbi
Shneur Zalman of Liadi, author of the Tanya, writes in chapter 2 of that book:
The verses, "My son, my first born, Israel" and "You are sons of the Lord your
G-d" mean that just as a child derives from his father's brain, from which his
life was generated, so too, so to speak, the soul of Israel are drawn from the
thought and wisdom of the Holy One, blessed is He.
G-d's candle is man's soul - the souls of Jewish
people are drawn down from their divine source to be enclothed in a physical
body, in order to illuminate this lowly and dark world with Divine Light, to
transform darkness into light.
The Jewish Body
Not only as regards the soul, but also as regards the
body, there is a difference between a Jew and a non-Jew. The body of a Jew also
earns the love of G-d, as our Sages state, "You are called 'Adam' ['man'], and
the nations of the world are not called 'Adam'." This is because the Jewish
people were born in purity.
In Tanya chapter 49, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi
writes that "You chose us from among all the nations and tongues" refers to the
physical body of a Jew, which is comparable to the physical body of the gentiles
in outward appearance. The Holy One, blessed is He, chose the Jewish body to be
a vessel for his soul, so that through the mitzvot a Jew does with his physical
body, he attaches and binds himself to G-d.
Here too the statement "beloved is Israel" is
connected with the second statement, "even a greater love that it was made know
to them" etc. The physical body of the Jewish people is beloved because of their
souls. The Holy One, blessed is He, chose the physical body of a Jew because of
the service which his soul does.
(Selected from the anthology, "Pirkei Avos in
the Light of Chassidus")
Created in the Divine Image
The verse cited by our Mishna demonstrates that man was not only
originally created in
G-d's image, but that he also continued to retain this
image despite various events that had occurred since his creation. For example,
one might assume that when Eve was created (formed from a rib that had been
separated from Adam), man's profile would be permanently altered. Furthermore,
one could maintain that after Adam had partaken of the fruit of the Tree of
Knowledge - which led to certain changes in his physical appearance such as his
wearing clothes - his Divine likeness would also be tarnished. To counter this
misconception, the Mishna says: "...it is indicative of a greater love that it was
made known to him that he was created in [G-d's] image." | | " G-d displayed extraordinary love to us by assuring us that we continue to remain in His image even after sinning...." | | |
G-d displayed extraordinary love to us by assuring us that we
continue to remain in His image even after sinning. Whereas we originally were
created in G-d's likeness, which involved a purely passive role on our part, now
mankind and especially the Jewish People enjoy a far greater challenge - to
return to their original Divine image through the observance of Torah and
mitzvot. By eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam
blurred the distinction between good and bad. Only by partaking of the fruit of
the Tree of Life, Torah and mitzvot, can Adam's descendants reverse their
forefather's tragic error and retrieve their original Divine image.
As King David sings, "G-d's secrets are for those who fear Him,
and His covenant to inform them (Psalms 25:14). "G-d's secrets" - the inner
depths of Torah - were originally given to the first man, living under ideal
conditions in Eden. However, his descendants banned from Paradise are informed
that through G-d's covenant - the Torah - they may regain the same exalted
spiritual level that they once enjoyed in Eden.
(Anthologized and adapted by Rabbi Yosef Stern from the Sfat
Emet in "Pirkei Avos - With Ideas and Insights of the Sfas Emes and
other Chassidic Masters" / Mesorah Publications, ltd.)
For further reading, see the complete index of all of our Pirkei Avot articles.
|
