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■ Human Endeavor and the Quest for Eternal Life 58 According to this passage, God endowed human beings with a unique quality . Radak, like other commentators, fittingly proceeds to expound that uniqueness . 1 The plural formulation “Let us make a human being in our image” calls for immediate Citing his father R . Joseph Kim ִhi, explanation . Radak, in turn, offers two solutions . 2 he first proposes that God, addressing the material elements of the earth, summons those elements to join him in making a human being . The newly created human, therefore, consists of both material and God - like aspects . Alternatively, he explains — ) שכלים נפרדים ( that God is speaking to the angels—i . e . , the “Separate Intellects” which resemble the nonmaterial aspect that, in the lower world, sets human beings apart . Either way, the text implies a fundamental duality : beyond their materiality, humans possess a transcendent dimension . Indeed, Radak continues, this dimension makes them so exception...
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