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People are created in the Divine image,
and so we are all expected to imitate the attributes of the Divine.
Please share with the group what aspect of this text resonates with you. Why did you decide to join the discussion group for this theme?
ואמר רבי חמא ברבי חנינא מאי דכתיב (דברים יג, ה) אחרי ה' אלהיכם תלכו וכי אפשר לו לאדם להלך אחר שכינה..אלא להלך אחר מדותיו של הקב"ה מה הוא מלביש ערומים דכתיב (בראשית ג, כא) ויעש ה' אלהים לאדם ולאשתו כתנות עור וילבישם אף אתה הלבש ערומים הקב"ה ביקר חולים דכתיב (בראשית יח, א) וירא אליו ה' באלוני ממרא אף אתה בקר חולים הקב"ה ניחם אבלים דכתיב (בראשית כה, יא) ויהי אחרי מות אברהם ויברך אלהים את יצחק בנו אף אתה נחם אבלים הקב"ה קבר מתים דכתיב (דברים לד, ו) ויקבר אותו בגיא אף אתה קבור מתים... דרש ר' שמלאי תורה תחלתה גמילות חסדים וסופה גמילות חסדים תחילתה גמילות חסדים דכתיב ויעש ה' אלהים לאדם ולאשתו כתנות עור וילבישם וסופה גמילות חסדים דכתיב ויקבר אותו בגיא
And Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “After the Lord your God shall you walk, and Him shall you fear, and His commandments shall you keep, and unto His voice shall you hearken, and Him shall you serve, and unto Him shall you cleave” (Deuteronomy 13:5)? But is it actually possible for a person to follow the Divine Presence? ...Rather, the meaning is that one should follow the attributes of the Holy One, Blessed be He. He provides several examples. Just as He clothes the naked, as it is written: “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21), so too, should you clothe the naked. Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, visits the sick, as it is written with regard to God’s appearing to Abraham following his circumcision: “And the Lord appeared unto him by the terebinths of Mamre” (Genesis 18:1), so too, should you visit the sick. Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, consoles mourners, as it is written: “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son” (Genesis 25:11), so too, should you console mourners. Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, buried the dead, as it is written: “And he was buried in the valley in the land of Moab” (Deuteronomy 34:6), so too, should you bury the dead...Rabbi Samlai taught: With regard to the Torah, its beginning is an act of kindness and its end is an act of kindness. Its beginning is an act of kindness, as it is written: “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). And its end is an act of kindness, as it is written: “And he was buried in the valley in the land of Moab” (Deuteronomy 34:6).
This selection from the Talmud describes how all of us can be more like the Divine.
1) What else would you put on this list? Are there other actions that you can connect with attributes that you consider Divine?
2) How might this idea of imitating the Divine in the ways we treat other people be put into practice in our own lives and in our communities? Share practices that you have, or ideas that you would like to see implemented communally.
In explaining this commandment the sages taught thus: Even as God is called gracious, be thou gracious; even as God is called merciful, be thou merciful; even as God is called holy, be thou holy. In this way the prophets attributed to God all such terms as long-suffering, abundant in benificence, just and right, perfect, mighty and powerful and others like these, to proclaim that they are good and straight paths, and that people are obligated to lead themselves in them, and to be like unto God in proportion to God's power.
Maimonides, the great medieval Jewish philosopher, focuses on the attributes of the Divine that we can imitate, rather than specific actions.
1) What actions might we take - beyond those described in the Talmud - to imitate these attributes?
2) At the end of this section, Maimonides expresses the idea that we can only express these attributes in proportion with our own powers, which are less than God's. We know that human action can nonetheless change the world. What changes could you imagine if people were to adopt any or all of these attributes?
The Paris Architect, by Charles Belfoure
p. 230
"But didn't the Jews kill Christ, Father?"
"That's debatable, my son. But even if they did, I'd like to help them."
..."Why risk your life for a bunch of Christ killer?"
"You don't understand, Colonel, that we're all brothers on this earth."
"Brothers?" Schlegal (the Nazi) let out a great laugh. "What a load of bullshit."
He had nothing but contempt for the old priest or any gentile who tried to hide Jews....
The planet would be a far better place if all the Jews just disappeared. And in Paris, he and the Gestapo were trying their hardest to make that happen.
"How many children have you helped to escape into Spain, Father?"
"I'm proud to say that it numbers in the hundreds by now."
In this novel, set in Paris in the 1940s, the priest sees the Jews as "brothers," no matter what they might have done.
1) How might we view others - Jews and non-Jews - if we believe that everyone is created in the Divine images? What actions - large or small - might we feel are necessary if we take this belief seriously?
If you follow rabbi hama's directives- such that they become second nature- it will lead you to a higher asperational level to live the values of the rambam.
If you do these 3-4 things - you become more atuned to do them regularly.
Developing an autopilot to live with deep values.
our development grows with age and development of ethical behavior.