Man in the Image of God – Holiness of the Body

צלם means an covering or a bodily form. If God wished to appear cased in exterior visible form, representing His compassion, love and justice, He would appear in the figure he gave Man.

No man can be like God, but as אדם he must strive to be similar to God. Man should not allow anything withing himself or about himself that is contradictory to God.

Man’s mission is to become holy – to work oneself up toward the God’s holiness.

Beraishis 1:26, Pages 30-31

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The Torah emphasizes the godlike dignity of the human body. This is a central theme of the Torah.
Man is capable of his godly mission on earth, even with his physicality and all his urges. In fact, Man was specifically designed to grow upward and become holy with his body.

It is a grave error to only see godliness in Man’s mind and spirit, thereby giving the  body free reign to be involved in all sorts of depravity.

A holy body is the foundation for all growth of the spirit. The higher the spiritual and mental greatness, the more demands on keeping the body holy. As such, the first commandment the Jewish people are given is ברית מילה. Israel’s mission is to rebuild a purer Mankind, therefore their very first commandment is to dedicate the body to God.

Many of the mitzvos have this theme, such as laws of sexual relations, eating, ritual purity and cleansing oneself of ritual impurity.

Beraishis 1:27, Pages 32-33

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1. Animals were formed as a natural extension of the physical earth – תוצא הארץ נפש חיה. By the creation of Man, the earth was the matter from which Man was formed but God Himself formed Man – וַיִּיצֶר ה’ אלקים אֶת-הָאָדָם, עָפָר מִן-הָאֲדָמָה. This underscores the special dignity and high stature of even the human body.

2. Just as Man/אדם is to master the earth for the use of service to God, so is Man to master his body, derived from the earth for the service of God.

Beraishis 2:7, Pages 54

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Both inclinations and aspects of Man were created from the very beginning. The God who created Man’s inclination toward the spirit, created Man’s earthly inclinations. The primary way for Man to carry out his mission is in this world, the world of the senses and with his sensuous nature. (See more on this in The Dual Nature of Man)