The peak of religious ethical perfection to which Judaism aspires is man as creator. When God created the world, He provided an opportunity for the work of His hands — man — to participate in His creation. The Creator, as it were, impaired reality in order that mortal man could repair its flaws and perfect it. God gave the Book of Creation — that repository of the mysteries of creation — to man, not simply for the sake of theoretical study but in order that man might continue the act of creation.
[Lawrence Kaplan translation]
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. In what ways are continuing the work of creation?
2. This model assumes not the world is finished and broken, but rather that it is unfinished. How does this speak to the common feeling that our actions don't make any real change?
3. What social justice themes emerge from this text?
Time Period: Contemporary (The Yom Kippur War until the present-day)