צלם means an covering or a bodily form. If God wished to appear cased in exterior visible form, representing His compassion, love and justice, He would appear in the figure he gave Man.
No man can be like God, but as אדם he must strive to be similar to God. Man should not allow anything within himself or about himself that is contradictory to God.
Man’s mission is to become holy – to work oneself up toward God’s holiness.
Beraishis 1:26, Pages 30-31
The Torah emphasizes the godlike dignity of the human body. This is a central theme of the Torah.
Man is capable of his godly mission on earth, even with his physicality and all his urges. In fact, Man was specifically designed to grow upward and become holy with his body.
It is a grave error to only see godliness in Man’s mind and spirit, thereby giving the body free reign to be involved in all sorts of depravity.
A holy body is the foundation for all growth of the spirit. The higher the spiritual and mental greatness, the more demands on keeping the body holy. As such, the first commandment the Jewish people are given is ברית מילה. Israel’s missin is to rebuild a purer Mankind, therefore their very first commandment is to dedicate the body to God.
Many of the mitzvos have this theme, such as laws of sexual relations, eating, ritual purity and cleansing oneself of ritual impurity.
Beraishis 1:27, Pages 32-33
