Avos 3:14-15

Avos 3:14

Rabbi Akiva used to say that man is beloved because he was created in God’s image. An even greater sign of God’s love is that He told mankind that we were created in His image (in Genesis 9:6), “In the image of God, He made man.” We see that Israel is beloved because they are called God’s children. An even greater sign of God’s love is that He told Israel that they are called His children (in Deuteronomy 14:1), “You are the children of Hashem your God.” We see that Israel is beloved because they were given a precious tool (i.e., the Torah). An even greater sign of God’s love is that He told Israel that they were given the tool with which the world was created (in Proverbs 4:2), “I give you a good teaching; do not forsake my Torah."

Avos 3:15

God foresees everything but mankind still has free will. God judges the world with kindness but our judgment still depends on the majority of our deeds.