(26) And God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.” (27) And God created humankind in the divine image,
creating it in the image of God—
creating them male and female. (28) God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.” (29) God said, “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food. (30) And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food.” And it was so. (31) And God saw all that had been made, and found it very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
(א) וירא אלהים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד. אע״פ שכבר הזכיר כי טוב ביצירת כל יום ויום מ״מ חזר כאן ואמר והנה טוב אחר יצירת האדם, להורות שכל הנבראים הקודמים לא נבראו כי אם בעבור האדם
(1) And God saw all that He had made and behold, it was very good: Even though [the Torah] already mentioned "that it was good" in the creation of each and every day, nonetheless, here it repeated it and said, "behold, it was very good" after the creation of man, to teach that all of the creations were not created but for the sake of man.
(1) וירא אלוקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד, “and G’d saw all that He had done and it was very good. According to the plain meaning of the text, the words “very good” include everything that G’d had done during the entire six days. Although during those six days or stages He had characterized the end of each day as having produced results which were “good,” now that He saw the completed project it qualified for the description “very good.” ... You must remember that every component of the universe is dependent on its continued existence on another component.
The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 8:7): Adam the first man was created on Shabbat eve at the close of the six days of Creation. And for what reason was this so? ... [S]o that if a person becomes haughty, God can say to him: The mosquito preceded you in the acts of Creation, as you were created last.
(1) “See the work of God, for who can mend what He has warped?” (Ecclesiastes 7:13)”
When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He took him and showed him all the trees in the Garden of Eden, and He said to him: ‘See My creations, how beautiful and exemplary they are. Everything I created, I created for you. Make certain that you do not ruin and destroy My world, as if you destroy it, there will be no one to mend it after you.
There was another incident involving one gentile who came before Shammai and said to Shammai: Convert me on condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I am standing on one foot. Shammai pushed him away with the builder’s cubit in his hand. (Note: This was a common measuring stick and Shammai was a builder by trade.) The same gentile came before Hillel. He converted him and said to him: That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation. Go study.
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself Lev. 19:18.”. Rebbi Aqiba says, that is a great principle in the Torah. Ben Azzai says, “this is the book of the descent of man Gen. 5:1, ” is a more important principle
Reb Nahman Kossover was a friend of the Ba‘al Shem Tov who believed that the proper way to remain close to God was to constantly contemplate the four-letter name Y-H-W-H, to see the letters of God’s name ever before him. He was a preacher, and when he looked out at his audience, he was able to see God’s name in every face. But then times changed; the preacher was forced to become a merchant in order to survive. In the marketplace, with the rapid pace of all the buying and selling, he found it harder to always concentrate on the name of God. So he hired a special assistant to follow him wherever he went, whose only job was to be a reminder. Whenever he looked at his assistant’s face, he would remember the name of God.
(יד) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, חָבִיב אָדָם שֶׁנִּבְרָא בְצֶלֶם. חִבָּה יְתֵרָה נוֹדַעַת לוֹ שֶׁנִּבְרָא בְצֶלֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית ט) כִּי בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה אֶת הָאָדָם.
(14) [Rabbi Akiva] used to say: Beloved is man for he was created in the image [of God]. Especially beloved is he for it was made known to him that he had been created in the image [of God], as it is said: “for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6).