We Are All Made In God’s Image
The International Declaration of Human Rights was ratified by the United Nations on December 10, 1948. This was the first time in human history that a global body agreed that all human beings are deserving of the same basic dignity and freedoms.
But where are the ancient roots of universal human rights? I will argue that this revolutionary principle is first articulated in the Torah: “And God created the human in the Divine image; male and female God created them.” (Genesis 1:27) Therefore, every single human being, regardless of ethnicity or station, bears the imprint of Divinity (or more simply put, is a child of God) and cannot be considered of lesser value than any other human being. This principle becomes enshrined in Judaism. We will study how Judaism develops this concept from antiquity to the present.
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