He [Rabbi Akiva] used to say…Beloved are Israel who are called children of Hashem.
Even more affection was expressed by their being informed of this,
as it states (Devarim 14:1): “You are children to the Lord your G-d (Avot 3:17).
After mentioning that all humans are specially created in Hashem’s image, Rebbe Akiva emphasizes (in the continuation of the same Mishnah) that the Jewish people are even more special, for they are Hashem’s children. Though all humans were created with G-dly aspects, we have a unique personal relationship with Him.
This idea is first expressed in the beginning of the book of Shemot in Hashem’s message to Paroh: “Yisrael is my first-born son… If you refuse to release them, I will kill your firstborn” (Shemot 4:22). Hashem’s relationship with us is the philosophical basis for Makkat Bechorot, the plague of the firstborn.
Our Mishnah quotes the verse in Devarim (14:1), which ensures that the Jewish people know about and appreciate this relationship. The Torah explains the mitzvah of “lo titgodedu,” which (taken literally) prohibits gashing skin and creating bald spots with the words: “You are children of Hashem, your G-d.” As Hashem’s children, we must maintain a comely physical appearance (see Rashi 14:1).
This idea has implications for both the relationship with G-d and the relationship with one’s fellow man – bein adam laMakom and bein adam lechavero.
Bein Adam LaMakom: Through Thick and Thin
Like any familial blood relationship, our relationship with Hashem is permanent and immutable. Rebbe Meir quotes many pesukim that prove that either “this way” (when we act properly) or “that way” (when we do not), we are still called (Hashem’s) children (Kiddushin 36a).
This idea is also expressed at the beginning of Sefer Hoshe’a, where Hashem commands Hoshe’a to marry and have children with a harlot (Hoshe’a 1:2). The Gemara (Pesachim 87a) explains the backdrop to this perplexing command. After Hoshe’a responds to Hashem’s complaint about the Jews sinning by suggesting that He exchange them for another people, Hashem seeks to help Hoshe’a appreciate His relationship with the Jewish people by challenging Hoshe’a to separate himself from his own disloyal wife and her children. Hashem’s relationship with us, like the relationship of any parent with his children, is natural and (thus) eternal. No sin – no matter how severe – can sever it (see Maharal, Netzach Yisrael 11).
The Gemara (Shabbat 89b) describes a similar conversation between Hashem and Yitzchak Avinu. At the End of Days, Hashem notifies each of the Avot that “their children” have sinned. After Avraham and Yaakov submit to the Jews’ deserved punishment, Yitzchak responds by using the pasuk in Shemot to “remind” Hashem that the Jews are (still) His children. At that point, the Jews show their appreciation to Yitzchak by identifying him as their Av. Yitzchak directs their attention to Hashem, our eternal Father.
Understandably, Rebbe Akiva, the author of our Mishnah, also emphasized the importance of our son-father relationship with Hashem in additional contexts. He instituted the taanit tefillah of “Avinu Malkeinu” (Taanit 25b) and encouraged us to be happy on Yom Kippur because “our Father in heaven” purifies us (Yoma 85b). Rebbe Akiva taught us that no matter how desperate our situation, as Hashem’s children we can always turn to our Father in heaven to ask for forgiveness and assistance.
Bein Adam Lechavero: Brotherly Love
Our father-child relationship with Hashem has significance on the bein adam lechavero (interpersonal) level as well. The navi Malachi uses it as a basis for unity: If we are all children of Hashem, we should see all Jews as our brothers (Malachi 2:10). Similarly, the Ritva uses this idea to explain the Gemara’s suggestion that “lo titgodidu” (the prohibition we saw the Torah link to our being Hashem’s children) teaches the prohibition of dividing ourselves into distinct subgroups (Yevamot 13b).
Rav Kook (Orot Hatechiya, 20) uses this idea to explain his objection to the secession of Orthodox Jews from formal non-Orthodox-dominated European communities. We are all brothers – children of Hashem. Separating from one another is an affront to the unity of Hashem’s oneness.
The Rambam (Hilchot Matanot Aniyim 10:2) also formulates the bein adam lechavero implications of our relationship with Hashem. He uses it to explain the need for us to support and assist other Jews. If brothers do not care for one another, who else will? We are not just relatives. We are all brothers.
May we appreciate the special relationships we have with Hashem and, through Him, with one another.
