"In the Likeness and Image"

Annex 1

The effort spanning generations, from deep antiquity to the present day, to elucidate the Holy Scriptures, contemplate upon them, and attribute meanings finds its primordial literary impetus in the unity (or agreement) between humanity and divinity, established by verse 26 of the first chapter of Genesis. However, its importance is not limited to that, for "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" postulates not only the spiritual potential of the human being but also the purpose of God's creation. The statement can be interpreted as imperative-a Command that obliges the assurance of the holy status of human beings as spiritual entities.

The Kingdom of God is envisioned here as seeking the actualization of the spiritual potential of humans, implicitly respecting this Command. The verse can be reformulated as a fundamental thesis: "Man has the status of a spiritual being," which, considering its origin in a Command, is not merely a declarative proposition and is not only normative but demands elevation from potential to actuality.

I attribute this central thesis to the concept of the "Kingdom of God," structuring the Commandments around it to fulfill it through their competition in a Declaration. The choice is personal but not arbitrary because:

- 1) It expresses a general aspiration.

- 2) It corresponds to a plausible interpretation of the statement by Jesus Christ, quoted by John:3: "3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Jesus's answer may be suspected to refer to Genesis:1: "26. Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," in which man receives the potential to reflect the image of God, and when he does, it counts as a second birth.

I emphasize that Jesus does not say that the "birth from above" ensures entry into the Kingdom of God but only its visibility, and therefore, it is about a spiritual "birth," involving both reason and experience.

The idea of a Declaration based on the Commandments, however, is not an originality, as some authors regard the Torah as a "Jewish constitution."

Keeping in mind the absolute character of the incognoscibility of God and the relative nature of the "deification of man" (the Christian purpose), in a progressive process of reflecting Him, the conceptual construction of the "Kingdom of God" can use the tools provided by the disciplines of gnoseology as a cultural act of piety.

Annex 2

Additional Understanding/Binah Yeseirah

The spiritual potential opened by the verse "26. Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Genesis:1) is supported by the immediately following verse "27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them," which, besides taking care not to discriminate between male and female, can receive broader meanings. For example, it could be presumed that there is a femininity of God, under the name "Shekinah" (which is feminine gender).

Kabbalah has developed the concept of the femininity of Shekinah. The term "Shekinah" originates from the Hebrew root שָׁכַן (shakan), meaning "to dwell," "to settle," or "to reside." In the biblical tradition, Shekinah is often associated with tangible manifestations of the divine presence, such as the cloud that covered the Tabernacle or the flame that burned in the burning bush without consuming it, witnessed by Moses. The Tabernacle and, later, the Temple in Jerusalem are considered the places where Shekinah resided in a special manner.

In the ceremony of welcoming the Sabbath, there is a tradition to "welcome" Shekinah, like a bride coming to join the bridegroom. This involves the verse "5. If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married" (Deuteronomy:24). Beyond the direct meaning of the verse, which commands the groom's release from any concern other than making his wife happy, a connection with "Binah Yeseirah" (Additional Understanding) is suggested. The Talmud (in Niddah 45b, reading Yehuda Ha Nasi) attributes this to women: "This teaches us that the Holy One, Blessed be He, gave women greater understanding [binah] than men."

Allocating this worry-free year to be with one's wife is not just an act of love or familial duty but also a profound spiritual opportunity for a man to connect with the divine feminine. In the first year of marriage, Deuteronomy 24:5 exempts the man not only from war but also from war-related labors and, according to the interpretation of some exegetes, exempts him from taxes and levies: "He shall be free," says Bekhor Shor (c. 1145 - cca. 1195). It's a kind of "personal Sabbatical Year." Liberation from daily worries is a condition for spiritual fulfillment. The idea of liberation appears in the first Commandment of the Decalogue and recurs, as a leitmotif, at the end of numerous Commandments of God, indicating their spiritual nature.