GEN125 Jewish tradition places strong emphasis on the worth of the individual.  Human worth derives first from being created in God’s image, a concept that the Torah repeats three times in the opening chapters of Genesis to ensure that we take note of it [this verse, Genesis 5:1-2, Genesis 9:6]. As this [third] indicates, the divine image in each of us is not only a philosophical conception but also justifies and explains specific laws. The most obvious, the one in Genesis 9, is that murder is to be banned because human beings have divine worth. Even murderers, though, are created in the divine image, as are others guilty of a capital offense. The Torah, therefore, prescribes that after we execute such people for their crimes, we must honor the divinity of their bodies (and the holiness of the Land of Israel) by burying them quickly Deuteronomy 21:22-23.  The Rabbis [of the Mishnah, Talmud, and Midrash] took this further. That we were created in God’s image is a manifestation of God’s love for us; our awareness of the divine image within us as mark of yet more divine love Genesis 9:6. DORFFDRAG 5-6