Boris Schapiro

"Zelem Elohim" and the Human Ability to Bond

[German]

When speaking of the myth and reality of the Jewish family, we must remember that God first created man, who during the course of his development matured to a point where he could enter into a contractual relationship with the Creator. Through the further development of this covenant by receiving and practising commandments received from the creator in the reality of life, man became a Jew.

The bond of the family is generally a human one and the ability to bond is a splendid gift that is a significant characteristic of humanity. The Jewish aspect of the family is forming a bond and filling it with love, something that is central to being human. For this reason, part of the Jewish perception of the family includes special attention to defining what a person actually is.

The answers to what a person is vary depending on different Jewish perspectives.

- From the political point of view, humans are beings who form and maintain states and communities which subordinate the decisions of the individual those of the community.

- Taken from a psychological perspective, humans are those who possess reason that is used as a basis to form symbols of the individual and the entire community.

- The philosophical perspective views humans as those who possess dignity and respect the dignity of others.

- From the religious point of view, humans are men AND women created in God’s image.

In the words of the Torah, this principle and the understanding of humanity are called Zelem Elohim [God’s likeness]. “Man” and “woman” in and of themselves cannot be God’s likeness, but images of idols at best. That is why Jewish tradition understands humans and God to have qualities that are intangible, cannot be smelled, or felt, but can nevertheless be experienced.

What is in Zelem Elohim that cannot be perceived by the senses but can still be experienced? It is the characteristic of being an idea and the capability to form bonds. That is what makes for the AND. It symbolises the family, which represents humans and the human world in microcosm. It aspires to love that signifies humanity in practice.

I welcome Bet Debora and congratulate the organisers of this conference. It is an event which draws to mind the central aspect of being and becoming human, the first source of life, upbringing, the shaping of communities and reason, the dignity and blessing of the Jewish, the feminine and the human perspective in the new, the modern and in tradition.

A welcoming address given at the opening of the conference by Dr. Boris Schapiro, a member of the executive committee of the Jewish community in Berlin.