I'd like to introduce this morning's readings from the Torah with a short story about multi-culturalism in Sacramento, California.
When the three synagogues in Sacramento were firebombed in June of 1999, Mona Alfi, the rabbi of Congregation B'nai Israel, was on vacation. As soon as she learned about what had happened, Rabbi Alfi returned to Sacramento. She arrived just in time for the community solidarity meeting, and she went directly to the stage of the Sacramento Community Theatre, despite having gone for 28 hours without sleep.
The stage was filled with officials, legislators, the city council and clergy from every faith and ethnic background.
"Then the curtain opened," she writes, "and I was even more astonished. The theatre was packed! About 4,500 people were in attendance, including those who crowded into overflow rooms, where they watched on big screens.
"In the crowd were Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and African Americans; Muslims, Catholics and Protestants from many different denominations; Buddhists and more, as well as people who might have called themselves non-believers, but who believed that victims of cowardly attacks in the night should not suffer in isolation.
"It was the most inspiring program I have ever experienced. The outpouring of love and support was overwhelming. Speaker after speaker rose to express their concern, their sorrow and their hope. Each was met with thunderous applause and a standing ovation. Everyone in that theatre that night was standing shoulder to shoulder with the Jews of Sacramento, and saying, each in his or her own way, 'You are not alone...'
"In quiet moments now, I reflect that although people who are filled with hatred may burn down temples and libraries, the human heart, in its capacity to love and to reach out to others in distress, will always endure. As I was taught as a child, love is a more powerful weapon than hate."
What was it that motivated all these people of diverse backgrounds to come forward and stand in solidarity with the Jewish population of Sacramento?
I think that the answer can be found at the very beginning of the Torah in the first section we will read today. The author of the first creation myth had been seeking an answer to the question, "What does it mean to be a human being?" And this is what came to him:
"And Divinity created humankind in its own image; yes, in the very image of Divinity the first human was created; male and female were both created."
The writer was most likely an Israelite priest who lived in Jerusalem some 3000 years ago. In his imagination he was able to transcend his own particular Israelite religious and national identity and come to a recognition of the underlying spiritual unity of the human race. He believed that every person -- male or female, Israelite or Moabite, rich or poor -- each one shared a common Divine legacy. Given the racism, sexism and classism that still prevails in the Middle East and in societies all over the globe, this ancient intuition remains as radical as it was when it was first penned.
In our day we might express this insight in scientific terms: somehow every human carries the identical genetic markers that signify the genus called homo sapiens. Every person shares the common gifts of self-reflexive consciousness, the ability to love, imaginative creativity and the longing for self-transcendence.
In one of his most profound essays my teacher, Abraham Joshua Heschel, makes the point that the word "image" (tzelem) in the biblical passage means symbol. Thus, we might translate the Hebrew as:
And Divinity created humankind as the ultimate symbol; yes, humanity was created as the very symbol of the great mystery; male and female were both created.
There is an ancient midrash that cites Rabbi Joshua ben Levi's interpretation of the word "image," tzelem, in Hebrew. "When a human being walks from one place to another a procession of angels go before her proclaiming, "Make way for the ikon of God!" "Make way for the ikon of God!"
Each of us, then, is a tzelem Elohim -- which means that each one of you sitting in this room, as well as every person out there in the world -- each is a symbol of God -- whatever our particular personal, religious or cultural identities. You and I are microcosms, mirroring the mystery and depth of the universe itself. We are sacred holograms of the cosmos.
So what are the implications of being a symbol of God? Heschel writes, "Reverence for God is shown in our reverence for human beings... Human life is holy, holier even than the Scrolls of the Torah." And this means that there is no way to distinguish between one's attitude toward the Mystery of the universe itself and one's attitude toward those who symbolize that vast Mystery. In either case what is called for is reverence.
The tale of Cain and Abel is the first story of human violence in the Torah. Abel and Cain both offer sacrifices to God; Abel's is accepted and Cain's is rejected. Cain flies into a rage. God reminds Cain that he is an image of God, and that as such he is not bound like an animal to follow his instincts; he possesses the moral power of choice and he can choose to curtail and re-direct his anger. But Cain will not listen; he closes off his heart and murders his brother.
The Mechilta, the earliest commentary written on the book of Exodus states that one who sheds the blood of a human being "it is accounted to him as though he diminished or destroyed the Divine Image." The two brothers were two images of God. But when he allowed his animal instincts to rule him, Cain lost his Divine image. And without the awareness of his own intrinsic holiness, Cain was unable to recognize that his brother Abel was a sacred image of God. For Cain, killing Abel was merely killing an animal.
And so it continues. There has been more human bloodshed in my own lifetime than in all previous history. What will it take for the human race to stop, to say: No! We will no longer destroy the Divine image?
I believe that we must start with ourselves.
Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote: "Biblical piety may be expressed in the form of a supreme imperative: Treat yourself as a symbol of God." Now close your eyes for a moment, and visualize yourself... You are looking at an image of God... How do you treat yourself?... Can you offer yourself the reverence due God?... Now open your eyes... and turn and face one person sitting next to you... Can you offer this person the reverence due God?... And look about you at all the people in this sanctuary... Can you offer them the reverence due God?...