Each morning we recite as part of Birkhot HaShachar, the “blessings at dawn,” these words:

ברוך אתה ה אלוהינו מלך העולם שעשני בצלמו.
 
Praised are You, God of the universe, who made me in God’s image.


Each day we wake up with the God-like ability to create, to innovate, to perform deeds of loving and kindness and acts of justice. This is one way of understanding what it means to be made in God’s image.

Rabbi Yitz Greenberg understands these words to mean that every human being is created in God’s image and is thus endowed with uniqueness, equality and infinite value.

Last week the Nivonim boys and girls focused on this blessing with Linda Hoffenberg, our Director of Institutional Advancement and a photography enthusiast. Linda invited the campers to explore what it means to be made in God’s image and to think about every individual as a unique reflection of God. Using multiple mirrors, the campers created reflections of each other, some reflecting back and forth infinitely. 

Together they created these photographic “reflections of God” and personal connections between the Hebrew words צלם + צלום (God’s) image + photography.