וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם נתייחד בעשיית האדם מאמר בעבור גודל מעלתו כי אין טבעו כטבע החיה והבהמה אשר ברא במאמר הקודם לו והפשט הנכון במלת "נַעֲשֶׂה" הוא מפני שכבר הראית לדעת (רמב"ן על בראשית א׳:א׳) כי האלהים בָּרָא יש מאין ביום הראשון לבדו ואחר כך מן היסודות ההם הנבראים יצר ועשה וכאשר נתן במים כח השרוץ לשרוץ נפש חיה והיה המאמר בהם "יִשְׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם" (בראשית א׳:כ׳) והיה המאמר בבהמה "תּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ" (בראשית א׳:כ״ד) אמר באדם "נַעֲשֶׂה" כלומר אני והארץ הנזכרת נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם שתוציא הארץ הגוף מיסודיה כאשר עשתה בבהמה ובחיה כדכתיב (בראשית ב׳:ז׳) וַיִּיצֶר ה' אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן הָאֲדָמָה ויתן הוא יתברך הרוח מפי עליון כדכתיב (שם) וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים ואמר "בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ" כי ידמה לשניהם במתכונת גופו לארץ אשר לוקח ממנה וידמה ברוח לעליונים שאינה גוף ולא תמות ואמר בכתוב השני בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ (בראשית א׳:כ״ז) לספר הפלא אשר נפלא בו משאר הנבראים וזה פשט המקרא הזה מצאתיו לרבי יוסף הקמחי והוא הנראה מכל מה שחשבו בו ופירוש "צֶלֶם" כמו תאר וּצְלֵם אַנְפּוֹהִי אֶשְׁתַּנִּי (דניאל ג יט) וכן אַךְ בְּצֶלֶם יִתְהַלֶּךְ אִישׁ (תהלים לט ז) בָּעִיר צַלְמָם תִּבְזֶה (([תהלים עג כ|שם עג כ]]) תאר מראיתו ו"דמות" הוא דמיון בצורה ובמעשה כי הקרובים בענין יקראו דומים זה לזה והנה האדם דומה לתחתונים ולעליונים בתאר והדר כדכתיב (תהלים ח ו) וְכָבוֹד וְהָדָר תְּעַטְּרֵהוּ והוא מגמת פניו בחכמה ובדעת וכשרון המעשה ובדמות ממש שידמה גופו לעפר ונפשו לעליונים:
AND G-D SAID: ‘LET US MAKE MAN.’ There was a special command dedicated to the making of man because of his great superiority since his nature is unlike that of beasts and cattle which were created with the preceding command.
The correct explanation of na’aseh (let us make) [which is in the plural form when it should have been in the singular] is as follows: It has been shown to you that G-d created something from nothing only on the first day, and afterwards He formed and made things from those created elements. Thus when He gave the waters the power of bringing forth a living soul, the command concerning them was Let the waters swarm. The command concerning cattle was Let the earth bring forth. But in the case of man He said, Let us make, that is, I and the aforementioned earth, let us make man, the earth to bring forth the body from its elements as it did with cattle and beasts, as it is written, And the Eternal G-d formed man of the dust of the ground, and He, blessed be He, to give the spirit from His mouth, the Supreme One, as it is written, And He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And He said, In our image, and after our likeness, as man will then be similar to both. In the capacity of his body, he will be similar to the earth from which he was taken, and in spirit he will be similar to the higher beings, because it [the spirit] is not a body and will not die. In the second verse, He says, In the image of G-d He created him, in order to relate the distinction by which man is distinguished from the rest of created beings. The explanation of this verse I have found ascribed to Rabbi Joseph the Kimchite, and is the most acceptable of all interpretations that have been advanced concerning it.
The meaning of tzelem is as the word to’ar (appearance), as in ‘Vetzelem’ (And the appearance) of his face was changed; similarly, Surely ‘b’tzelem’ (as a mere appearance) man walketh; When Thou arousest Thyself ‘tzalmam’ (their appearance) Thou wilt despise, that is, the appearance of their countenance. And the meaning of the word d’muth is similarity in form and deed, as things that are akin in a certain matter are called similar to each other. Thus man is similar both to the lower and higher beings in appearance and honor, as it is written, And Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, meaning that the goal before him is wisdom, knowledge, and skill of deed. In real likeness his body thus compares to the earth while his soul is similar to the higher beings.
The correct explanation of na’aseh (let us make) [which is in the plural form when it should have been in the singular] is as follows: It has been shown to you that G-d created something from nothing only on the first day, and afterwards He formed and made things from those created elements. Thus when He gave the waters the power of bringing forth a living soul, the command concerning them was Let the waters swarm. The command concerning cattle was Let the earth bring forth. But in the case of man He said, Let us make, that is, I and the aforementioned earth, let us make man, the earth to bring forth the body from its elements as it did with cattle and beasts, as it is written, And the Eternal G-d formed man of the dust of the ground, and He, blessed be He, to give the spirit from His mouth, the Supreme One, as it is written, And He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And He said, In our image, and after our likeness, as man will then be similar to both. In the capacity of his body, he will be similar to the earth from which he was taken, and in spirit he will be similar to the higher beings, because it [the spirit] is not a body and will not die. In the second verse, He says, In the image of G-d He created him, in order to relate the distinction by which man is distinguished from the rest of created beings. The explanation of this verse I have found ascribed to Rabbi Joseph the Kimchite, and is the most acceptable of all interpretations that have been advanced concerning it.
The meaning of tzelem is as the word to’ar (appearance), as in ‘Vetzelem’ (And the appearance) of his face was changed; similarly, Surely ‘b’tzelem’ (as a mere appearance) man walketh; When Thou arousest Thyself ‘tzalmam’ (their appearance) Thou wilt despise, that is, the appearance of their countenance. And the meaning of the word d’muth is similarity in form and deed, as things that are akin in a certain matter are called similar to each other. Thus man is similar both to the lower and higher beings in appearance and honor, as it is written, And Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, meaning that the goal before him is wisdom, knowledge, and skill of deed. In real likeness his body thus compares to the earth while his soul is similar to the higher beings.
נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותנו. הרמב״ן כתב בשם רבי דוד קמחי שהקדוש ברוך הוא אמר לארץ נעשה אני ואתה, כי הארץ נתנה יבול חומרה כמו שנתנה לשאר בעלי חיים, והקדוש ברוך הוא נתן בו החלק הרוחני ובצלמנו כדמותנו היינו שידמה לשניהם בגופו לארץ ובנשמתו לעליונים.
"Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness:" Ramban wrote in the name of Rabbi David Kimchi that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the earth, "Let us make, you and Me;" since the earth gave the bounty of its physical material - as it gave to the other animals - and the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the spiritual part; and [so,] "in our image, according to our likeness," means that [man] should be similar to both of them: in his body, to the earth and in his soul, to the celestial ones.
ואמר נעשה כי הוא מקור הענוה לזה דבר בלשון רבים כי כן ידבר יחיד העניו, ולא חש לתת מקום לטעות, כי הקדים לומר ויאמר אלהים שם יחיד ה' הוא האלהים הוא בכבודו ובעצמו כביכול גבל עפרו והפיח בו רוח חיים. עוד ירצה באומרו נעשה בלשון רבים כי מדותיו של הקב"ה רבים הם י"ג מדות רחמים ושם אלהים שהוא מדת הדין הסכימו יחד לברוא אדם.
And He said, "let us make," since He is the source of humility; for this reason, He spoke in the plural form, since this is how a humble individual speaks. And He did not get concerned with giving room for error [that there are other powers besides God which helped in the creation of man], since He preceded [it] by stating, "And God said," [which is in the] singular: the Lord, He is God, He, Himself in His glory - as if it were possible - molded the dirt and blew the spirit of life into it. Its stating "let us make" in the plural form also wants [to teach] that the attributes of God are many; the thirteen attributes of mercy and the name, Elohim, which is the attribute of judgment, agreed together to create man.
עוד ירצה לומר כי ברא האדם בב' צלמים הראשון צלם הניכר בכל אדם ואפילו בבני אדם הרקים מהקדושה אשר לא מבני ישראל המה ועליהם אמר בצלמו פירוש של הנברא, והב' הם בחינת המאושרים עם ישראל נחלת שדי כנגד אלו אמר בצלם אלהים בראו הרי זה בא ללמדנו כי יש בנבראים ב' צלמים צלם הניכר וצלם אלהים רוחני נעלם והבן:
It also wants to tell [us] that He created man with two images: the first is the image that is recognizable in all men, and even in men that are empty of holiness, 'that they are not from the Children of Israel' - about them it states, "in his image," the explanation [of which] is [the image] of the creature; and the second is the level of the happy ones, the people of Israel, the inheritance of My field - corresponding to those, it states, "in the image of God" He created him. Behold, it comes to teach us that there are two images among the creations; the image that is recognizable [that he is a man] and the image of God, [which is] spiritual and hidden; and understand [this].