בצלם אלוהים – בין הגוף והנפש

And God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’ And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them; and God said unto them: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.’ And God said: ‘Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed—to you it shall be for food; and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, [I have given] every green herb for food.’ And it was so. And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

The soul of all flesh is the form which God gave unto him, and the high intelligence which is found in the soul of man is the form of the man who is perfectly intelligent. Concerning this form it is said in the Torah: "Let us make man in our form after our image" (Gen. 1.26), as if saying, that he should possess a form which knows and attains the Intelligences which have no body, as angels, which are forms without a body, thereby being like unto them. But this is not spoken of a given form which is recognized by the eyes, as the mouth, the nose, the cheek-bones, or any other description of the body, for such is the name of its shape; neither does it apply to the life of living creatures by which it can eat, drink, reproduce, feel and ponder; but it is concerning the Intelligence which is the form of the soul, for it is about the form of the soul that the Verse speaks—"in our form after our image". Often times this form is called soul and breath of life, and, therefore, it is necessary to take care in naming them, so that man will not err in such, but each and every name one will learn from the subject thereof. The form of this soul is not composed of the elements to be separated and become part of them, and it is not an offshoot of the power of the soul to be dependent upon a soul as well as the soul is dependent upon a body. But this form is from the Lord, from Heaven. Therefore, when the body which is composed of the four elements dissolves and the spirit of life is lost, because it is non-existing save only when in the body, and is dependent upon a body in all its functions, this form will not be cut off, for it is not dependent upon a soul in its functions, but doth know and attain all Intelligences which are independent of matter, and knows the Creator of all, and lives forever and throughout all worlds to be. This is what Solomon in his wisdom said: "And the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit unto God Who gave it." (Ecc. 12.7).

... R’ Yehoshua barNechemyah in the name of R’ Chanina bar Yitshak and the rabbis in the name of R’ Lazar (Elazar), say: He created in him four creations from above /mil’ma`lah and four from below /mil’matah. From above – he stands like the ministering angels / mal’akhey hashareit, and speaks like the ministering angels, and has knowledge in him like the ministering angels, and sees like the ministering angels . . . From below – he eats and drinks like an animal /kab’heimah, bears fruit and multiplies, leaves piles (excretes) and dies like an animal... Said the Holy One: If I create him from the upper ones [alone] he lives and won’t die [in this world]; from the lower ones, he dies [in this world] and won’t live [in the coming world].

How did they admonish witnesses in capital cases? They brought them in and admonished them, [saying], “Perhaps you will say something that is only a supposition or hearsay or secondhand, or even from a trustworthy man. Or perhaps you do not know that we shall check you with examination and inquiry? Know, moreover, that capital cases are not like non-capital cases: in non-capital cases a man may pay money and so make atonement, but in capital cases the witness is answerable for the blood of him [that is wrongfully condemned] and the blood of his descendants [that should have been born to him] to the end of the world.” For so have we found it with Cain that murdered his brother, for it says, “The bloods of your brother cry out” (Gen. 4:10). It doesn’t say, “The blood of your brother”, but rather “The bloods of your brother” meaning his blood and the blood of his descendants. Another saying is, “The bloods of your brother” that his blood was cast over trees and stones. Therefore but a single person was created in the world, to teach that if any man has caused a single life to perish from Israel, he is deemed by Scripture as if he had caused a whole world to perish; and anyone who saves a single soul from Israel, he is deemed by Scripture as if he had saved a whole world. Again [but a single person was created] for the sake of peace among humankind, that one should not say to another, “My father was greater than your father”. Again, [but a single person was created] against the heretics so they should not say, “There are many ruling powers in heaven”. Again [but a single person was created] to proclaim the greatness of the Holy Blessed One; for humans stamp many coins with one seal and they are all like one another; but the King of kings, the Holy Blessed One, has stamped every human with the seal of the first man, yet not one of them are like another. Therefore everyone must say, “For my sake was the world created.” And if perhaps you [witnesses] would say, “Why should we be involved with this trouble”, was it not said, “He, being a witness, whether he has seen or known, [if he does not speak it, then he shall bear his iniquity] (Lev. 5:1). And if perhaps you [witnesses] would say, “Why should we be guilty of the blood of this man?, was it not said, “When the wicked perish there is rejoicing” (Proverbs 11:10).]