We rarely talk about what it means to be made Bezelem Elohim. Let's examine what gifts and responsibilities come with living as God's image.

A core concept in Judaism is that all humans are created in the image of God. We often call upon this concept, bezelem Elohim (literally, "image or likeness of God"), as a reminder that we must treat all people with dignity. But we rarely talk about what it means that we ourselves are God's image in the world and that the way we act has the potential or perhaps inevitability to define Godliness on earth. In this session we will examine the concept of Bezelem Elohim from this perspective- what are the gifts and responsibilities that come with living as God's image.

Taught by Rabbi Megan GoldMarche. She served as the founding rabbi of Base in Chicago, leading the Base communities in Lincoln Park and Andersonville alongside her wife Paige from 2016-2022. Rabbi Megan now serves as the Executive Director of Tribe12 in Philadelphia. Megan grew up in Oak Park where she found her voice as a Jewish leader at her Conservative youth group and Reform summer camp. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in with a B.A. in Psychology and Women’s Studies. Megan then went to work for the Hillel at Yale University where she discovered her passion for working with college students. From that discovery, she realized that—rather than pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology—she wanted to empower young adults to create their own rich Jewish identities by using Jewish tradition as a source of meaning. Megan was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2014. She also received an MA in Jewish Gender and Women’s Studies and a certificate in Pastoral Care and Counseling. She is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship.