Tag: working with others

It can be quite a challenge to be willing to work together with others. For many of us, it can seem less cumbersome and less stressful to just take on another task instead of seeking help from others. I believe this is particularly true when it comes to fostering our spiritual and emotional growth. Yet, if we allow ourselves to find the person or persons who can hold our hand and lift us up in the process, we will find greater success in all of what we venture out to do.

With the fall Jewish holidays over, the Torah reading cycle starts afresh with Bereishit, Genesis. Chapter one tells the story of creation, in which Gd, and Gd alone, for the most part, brings the world into existence. Yet, there is a single exception, for a mere 26 verses into the Torah, we come across a moment of collaboration in the midst of the story. Verse 1:26 states, in describing the creation of humanity:

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים נַֽעֲשֶׂ֥ה אָדָ֛ם בְּצַלְמֵ֖נוּ כִּדְמוּתֵ֑נוּ וְיִרְדּוּ֩ בִדְגַ֨ת הַיָּ֜ם וּבְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֗יִם וּבַבְּהֵמָה֙ וּבְכׇל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וּבְכׇל־הָרֶ֖מֶשׂ הָֽרֹמֵ֥שׂ עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

And God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.”

In a departure from the majority of the verses in chapter one, this verse states that Gd seemingly has consulted with other “beings” in the decision to create the human being. In response to this anomaly, Rashi, the great medieval Jewish biblical commentator, suggests a non-literal, ethical read of the text. He states:

נעשה אדם WE WILL MAKE MAN — Although they did not assist Him in forming him (the man) and although this use of the plural may give the heretics an occasion to rebel (i. e. to argue in favour of their own views), yet the verse does not refrain from teaching proper conduct and the virtue of humbleness, namely, that the greater should consult, and take permission from the smaller; for had it been written, “I shall make man”, we could not, then, have learned that He spoke to His judicial council but to Himself. And as a refutation of the heretics it is written immediately after this verse “And God created the man”, and it is not written “and they created” (Genesis Rabbah 8:9)

Quoting midrashic literature, Rashi suggests that the verse is written in plural form to teach that true humility includes not believing one has to do things by oneself. In looking at this comment, it is a reminder of the adage from Ethics of our Fathers,

יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן פְּרַחְיָה וְנִתַּאי הָאַרְבֵּלִי קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן פְּרַחְיָה אוֹמֵר, עֲשֵׂה לְךָ רַב, וּקְנֵה לְךָ חָבֵר, וֶהֱוֵי דָן אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם לְכַף זְכוּת:

Joshua ben Perahiah and Nittai the Arbelite received [the oral tradition] from them. Joshua ben Perahiah used to say: appoint for yourself a teacher, and acquire for yourself a companion and judge all favorably.

Pirkei Avot 1:6

Life is about making connections and looking to one another for support and help. If Gd could be presumed to have asked for advice, then for sure each of us needs to find people in our lives who will help lift us up. In fact, like the above picture, one of the underlying premises of New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting is to give someone a hand to help lift them up. Being willing to reach out a hand for another to help them up, an act of humility, an act of accepting one’s need for help, is the first step in spiritual growth.

I believe Rashi makes the choice of offering a non-literal read of the use of the plural instead of suggesting the more literal suggestion that the verse is merely using the “royal we” in this particular circumstance. Rashi is tasking the reader to see early on how the Torah can be a moral guide if we pay attention to the subtle nuances and gaps in the text. In this case, we learn this valuable lesson about humility. Of course, western religious literature is full of texts and commentaries that offer us multiple readings of the text to teach us lessons about life. If we pay attention, study the words carefully, and expand our reading to include different and varied approaches to these sacred texts, we are metaphorically putting out our hand to be lifted up spiritually.

As we begin the new Torah reading cycle, may each of us find a true sense of humility in realizing that there are always new opportunities to reach out our hands to be raised higher.

If you are ready to reach out your hand, I am here to help lift you along your journey of spiritual growth: Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com.