While there is much talk today about the importance of self-esteem and its effect on a person’s attitudes and accomplishments, there is a corollary benefit of understanding the greatness of man: if I am obligated to respect myself because I was created in the image of HASHEM, then so too, I must respect you, because you also were created in that same image. In fact, Ben Azzai teaches us that if a person wants to improve his interpersonal relationships, a concept that will help him even more than “loving one’s neighbor as oneself” is this understanding that “all men are created in the image of HASHEM.” This Shmuz focuses us on the Torah’s view of the true dignity of man and the profound effect that this concept has on our lives.
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