Rabbi Abraham Twerski recounts how his parents used to discipline him. They would not say, “You are not good.” They would not even say, “What you did is not good.” Rather, explains Rabbi Twerski, they would say, “What you did is not worthy of you.”

This is the Jewish way. First, you affirm the essential dignity of the human being and only then may one criticize. The Torah is filled with the misdeeds and depredations of Israel and the surrounding nations. But what is the first statement about human beings? That we are all in the image of God. Dignity first.

When in this week’s Torah portion the spies enter the land of Israel, ten of them return believing that the land is beyond their grasp. They have been so beaten down by the experience of slavery and the difficulties of the wilderness that they forget their own worthiness. Only two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, remember the lesson of Sinai: a people that merited standing before God need not cower or believe themselves unfit.

Joshua was originally called Hoshea and his name was changed from Hoshea to Y’hoshua. The addition of a yud, which represents God’s name, was added to the man who would become leader of Israel after Moses. Therefore Joshua only had to recall his own name to recognize that he was in God’s image.

The Rabbis teach us something beautiful and poignant about that “yud.” Where did it come from? Sarah was originally Sarai. God took the yud from her name and replaced it with a heh, which is also a reminder of God. Then God gave the now-extra yud to Joshua. This beautiful midrash also has a serious message: it reminds us that knowledge of the image of God is transferable. Parents can teach it to their children, and we can teach it to one another. Our essential endowment remains, even when we do not recognize it ourselves.

When we do remember it, however, we diminish hate and make the world a better place. Every human being is in the image of God. Dignity first.