LET IT BE KNOWN

There is a curious three-part mishnah in the third perek, where Rabbi Akiva (at 3:18) teaches:

חָבִיב אָדָם שֶׁנִּבְרָא בְּצֶֽלֶם, חִבָּה יְתֵרָה נוֹדַֽעַת לוֹ שֶׁנִּבְרָא בְּצֶֽלֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: כִּי בְּצֶֽלֶם אֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה אֶת הָאָדָם. חֲבִיבִין יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁנִּקְרְאוּ בָנִים לַמָּקוֹם, חִבָּה יְתֵרָה נוֹדַֽעַת לָהֶם שֶׁנִּקְרְאוּ בָנִים לַמָּקוֹם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: בָּנִים אַתֶּם לַייָ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם. חֲבִיבִין יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁנִּתַּן לָהֶם כְּלִי חֶמְדָּה, חִבָּה יְתֵרָה נוֹדַֽעַת לָהֶם שֶׁנִּתַּן לָהֶם כְּלִי חֶמְדָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: כִּי לֶֽקַח טוֹב נָתַֽתִּי לָכֶם, תּוֹרָתִי אַל תַּעֲזֹֽבוּ

Beloved is man, for he was created in the image [of God]; with greater love it was made known to him that he was created in the image, as it says, "For in the image of God, He made man".

Beloved are Israel, for they are called children of God; with greater love it was made known to them that they are called children of God, as it is stated: "You are children of the Lord your God".

Beloved are Israel, for they were given a precious article; with greater love it was made known to them that they were given a precious article, as it is stated: "I have given you a good purchase—My Torah, do not forsake it".

On the basis that the function of Pirkei Avot as a whole, and the first four perakim in particular, is to spell out lessons of mussar and middot—moral chastisement and ethical instruction—we inevitably have to ask what this mishnah is doing here. God is our creator and our father, as it were, and it is axiomatic that, just as a father loves his children, God loves His children too. But, assuming that we do indeed love our children, does this teaching add anything that can be meaningfully incorporated into our mindsets and, from there, into our behaviour towards others?

The Chasid Yavetz, in his explanation of this mishnah, focuses us on the part of it that is common to all three teachings: the repeated phrase חִבָּה יְתֵרָה נוֹדַֽעַת (“with greater love it was made known”). Whether the subject matter is the creation of man in God’s image, the designation of Israel as God’s children or the gift of them of the Torah, the important consideration here is that God makes it known in each case to the object of His attention. How does He do this? By creating us with the ability to sensitize ourselves to it, to feel the benefit, and to recognize that this benefit is a by-product of God’s great love for us.

Why do we need to know what status or gift we have received from God? According to Lev Avot, one of many commentaries on Avot anthologised in Midrash Shemuel, a status or gift that is conferred on a recipient without their knowledge is like a נֶֽזֶם זָהָב בְּאַף חֲזִיר (“a gold ring in the snout of a pig”, Mishlei 11:22)—it is of an inestimable value of which the recipient is entirely unaware. Because of His great love, however, God breaks the news and allows the recipient to contemplate the meaning and the worth of this divine acquisition.

R’ Chaim Druckman (Avot leBanim) points out that while, for the Chasid Yavetz, this knowledge is something we effectively intuit for ourselves, for Rambam it is information communicated from above, from God Himself. For R’ Druckman it is possible that there is no contradiction since both elements are arguably needed: a divine prod to send us the message, followed by an exercise in internalising the message and making it meaningful in our own lives.

This still begs the question: why is our knowledge of our status and our Torah so important in the first place? Are we not created in God’s image, classified as His children and possessed of His Torah whether we know it or not? There is an obvious real-world answer, one hinted at by the earlier reference to the pig with the gold ring in its snout. We cannot develop or exploit our assets if we don’t know we have them in the first place. We can’t spend money in the bank, or donate it to charity, if we have no idea that it’s there—and the same goes for any talent or aptitude we may have.

God wants us to know He has created us in His image so that we should use His middot as a measuring stick for our own. Equipped with the knowledge that we are His children, we should show Him and our notional siblings a degree of love and respect consonant with His being our father and our fellow Jews being our brothers. And we should learn, guard and keep His Torah because it comes from God, not from ChatGPT.

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