According to the bible, the quality that distinguishes man from all other creatures is his endowment with “Tzelem Elokim” (the Image of God).
Beraishit 1:26-7
And God Said: Let us make man in Our Image, in accordance with Our Likeness… And God Created man in His Image, in the Image of God He Created him…
Commentators have suggested any number of possibilities for what “Tzelem Elokim” and “Demutainu”, in effect the essence of spiritual man, connote:
TE = the spiritual aspect of an entity; D = striving to emulate the Divine.TE = the outer appearance of something, outer activities in which one participates; D = inner matters affecting the imagination and the conscience that urge an individual on to sanctify himself and draw closer to HaShem.