Ask The Rabbi
January 23, 1994, Issue #7

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This edition contains:
1.      Does being created in G-d's image mean G-d is physical?
2.      How to submit questions
3.      "The Search for Truth" by Rabbi Dr. Dovid Gottlieb
4.      Other lists produced by Ohr Somayach

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Mikhael at Mcgill writes:

>Dear Rabbi,
>
>In the Bible we are told that man was created in G-d's image, 
>but in the prayer "Yigdal" we sing: "He has no semblance of a 
>body nor is He corporeal".  Which one is right?

* * * * * * * * * *

Dear Mikhael,

Let's start with the second idea, that G-d is not physical.  
The prayer Yigdal is actually a poetic rendering of Maimonides' 
Thirteen Principles of Faith. In principle number three, 
Maimonides states:

	"The third principle is the negation of any physical 
	characteristics from Him. We are to believe that this 
	above-mentioned one-being is neither a body nor 
	potentially of a body, and cannot be conceived of as 
	having the attributes of a body -- such as movement, 
	resting,...anything mentioned in Scriptures that 
	describes Him in physical terms such as walking, 
	standing,...all of these are metaphors...".
        
That means that when the Bible tells us that G-d took us out of 
Egypt with an outstretched arm, there wasn't really an 
outstretched arm -- rather we sensed G-d's might and 
protection as we watched Him deal with our enemies.  
So, if that's the case, what do we mean when we say that man was 
created in G-d's image?

In the Biblical depiction of creation we read :  
"G-d said -- `Let us make man with our image and likeness.'"  
The Hebrew words used are "Tzelem" and "Dmut."  
Both of these words are carefully scrutinized by the commentaries.  
They all agree that these terms describe a metaphysical similarity.  
Some commentaries point to man's Free Will as the specific likeness.  
The Kabbalists have mapped out a spiritual mechanism for G-d's 
interaction with the physical creation, with Man as the archetype.  
One thing is clear -- even after only a cursory study of what the
commentaries say, it is obvious that *physical* Man does not have
a *physical* counterpart in G-d.
        
	Sources:

	Maimonides, Commentary of the Mishna - Sanhedrin, ch.11
	The Prayer Book, Yigdal Elokim Chai
	The Torah, Genesis, chapter 1, verse 26
	Maimonides, The Guide for the Perplexed, chapter 1
	Maimonides, The Codes, The Laws of Teshuva, ch. 5, law 1        
	Rabbi Chaim Volohzin, Nefesh Hachaim, chapter 1    

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Ohr Somayach Institutions is proud to present:

	THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH
		by Rabbi Dr. Dovid Gottlieb

	o       The Relevance of Religion
	o       Religion: Pragmatism or Truth?
	o       The Historical Verification of the Torah - Parts 1-5

These files are available on the Jerualem1 Gopher under the heading 
"Religious Institutions" and the sub-heading "Ohr Somayach"

CompuServe users can also download these lectures from the CIS Religion 
Forum, Judaism Library (2), under the file name TRUTH.ZIP, and under the 
names TRUTH1.txt through TRUTH8.txt

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