The Creation of Chava, the First Woman 1) Genesis אש ית :ב ר Chapter 1 Handy Sidekick or Treasured Gift? 26 And God said: 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.' 27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. 28 And God blessed them; and God said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.' 29 And God said: 'Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed--to you it shall be for food; כו( ו י אמ ר א לה ים נ ע ש ה אד ם ב צ ל מ נ ו כ ד מ ות נ ו ו י ר ד ו ב ד ג ת ה י ם וב ע וף ה ש מ י ם וב ב ה מ ה וב כ ל : ה אר ץ וב כ ל ה ר מ ש ה ר מ ש ע ל ה אר ץ כז( ו י ב ר א א לה ים א ת ה אד ם ב צ ל מ ו ב צ ל ם ( :א לה ים ב ר א א ת ו ז כ ר ונ ק ב ה ב ר א א ת ם כח ) ו י ב ר ך א ת ם א לה ים ו י אמ ר ל ה ם א לה ים ( פ ר ו ור ב ו ומ ל א ו א ת ה אר ץ ו כ ב ש ה ור ד ו ב ד ג ת ה י ם וב ע וף ה ש מ י ם וב כ ל ח י ה ה ר מ ש ת ע ל :ה אר ץ כט ) ו י אמ ר א לה ים ה נ ה נ ת ת י ל כ ם א ת כ ל ( ע ש ב ז ר ע ז ר ע א ש ר ע ל פ נ י כ ל ה אר ץ ו א ת כ ל ה ע ץ א ש ר ב ו פ ר י ע ץ ז ר ע ז ר ע ל כ ם י ה י ה :ל אכ ל ה 2) Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, commentary to Bereishit 1:27 "Male and female He created them." Although all living creatures were created in both sexes, this is only stressed at human beings to lay down the fact that both sexes were created equally directly by God, and in equal likeness to Him. An equality which is also quite specially expressed by the transition from the singular to the plural, "oto" to "otam." The one Adam-creature in the likeness of God is presented in two sexes, which only both together form the complete "Adam." Yael Farkas, TEMS: Womens Beit Midrash, 16/10/2012 1
3) Genesis אש ית :ב ר Chapter 2 7 Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.....15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying: 'Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.' 18 And the LORD God said: 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.' 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them; and whatsoever the man would call every living creature, that was to be the name thereof. 20 And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead thereof. 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from the man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And the man said: 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father ז( ו י יצ ר י י א לה ים א ת ה אד ם ע פ ר מ ן ה א ד מ ה ו י פ ח ב א פ יו נ ש מת ח י ים ו י ה י ה אד ם : ל נ פ ש ח י ה טו ) ו י ק ח י י א לה ים א ת ה אד ם ו י נ ח ה ו ב ג ן ( : ע ד ן ל ע ב ד ה ול ש מ ר ה טז ) ו י צ ו י י א לה ים ע ל ה אד ם ל אמ ר מ כ ל ( : ע ץ ה ג ן אכ ל ת אכ ל יז ) ומ ע ץ ה ד ע ת ט וב ו ר ע לא ת אכ ל מ מ נ ו ( :כ י ב י ום א כ ל ך מ מ נ ו מ ות ת מ ות יח ) ו י אמ ר י י א לה ים לא ט וב ה י ות ה אד ם ( : ל ב ד ו א ע ש ה ל ו ע ז ר כ נ ג ד ו יט ) ו י צ ר י י א לה ים מ ן ה א ד מ ה כ ל ח י ת ( ה ש ד ה ו א ת כ ל ע וף ה ש מ י ם ו י ב א א ל ה אד ם ל ר א ות מ ה י ק ר א ל ו ו כ ל א ש ר י ק ר א ל ו ה אד ם : נ פ ש ח י ה ה וא ש מ ו כ ) ו י ק ר א ה אד ם ש מ ות ל כ ל ה ב ה מ ה ( ול ע וף ה ש מ י ם ול כ ל ח י ת ה ש ד ה ול אד ם לא : מ צ א ע ז ר כ נ ג ד ו כא ) ו י פ ל י י א לה ים ת ר ד מ ה ע ל ה אד ם ( ו י יש ן ו י ק ח אח ת מ צ ל ע ת יו ו י ס ג ר ב ש ר :ת ח ת נ ה כב ) ו י ב ן י י א לה ים א ת ה צ ל ע א ש ר ל ק ח ( : מ ן ה אד ם ל א ש ה ו י ב א ה א ל ה אד ם כג ) ו י אמ ר ה אד ם ז את ה פ ע ם ע צ ם ( מ ע צ מ י וב ש ר מ ב ש ר י ל ז את י ק ר א א ש ה כ י : מ א יש ל ק ח ה ז את כד ) ע ל כ ן י ע ז ב א יש א ת אב יו ו א ת א מ ו ( : ו ד ב ק ב א ש ת ו ו ה י ו ל ב ש ר א ח ד כה ) ו י ה י ו ש נ יה ם ע ר ומ ים ה אד ם ו א ש ת ו ( :ו לא י ת ב ש ש ו Yael Farkas, TEMS: Womens Beit Midrash, 16/10/2012 2
and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. 4) Rashi: Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, Breishit 2:18-24 It is not good for Man to be alone: Lest they [people] say, There are two dominions: the Holy One, blessed be He, is alone among the heavenly beings, and He has no mate, and this one [man] among the earthly creatures, has no mate. A helpmate opposite him: If he is worthy, she will be a helpmate. If he is not worthy, she will be against him, to fight him. And he slept, and He took: So that he should not see the piece of flesh from which she was created, lest she be repulsive to him. [And He] built: [He made her] like a building, broad at the bottom and narrow at the top, so that she can carry a fetus, like a storehouse of wheat, which is broad at the bottom and narrow on top, so that its burden should not weigh on its walls. This time: This teaches us that Adam came to all the animals and the beasts [in search of a mate], but he was not satisfied until he found Eve. יח ) לא טוב היות וגו' - שלא יאמרו שתי : רשויות הן הקב"ה יחיד בעליונים ואין לו זוג, וזה יחיד בתחתונים ואין לו זוג : עזר כנגדו - זכה עזר, לא זכה כנגדו :להלחם ויישן ויקח - שלא יראה חתיכת הבשר שממנו נבראת ותתבזה עליו : כב ) ויבן - כבנין, רחבה מלמטה ( וקצרה מלמעלה לקבל הולד, כאוצר של חטים שהוא רחב מלמטה וקצר מלמעלה, שלא יכביד משאו על קירותיו כג( זאת הפעם - מלמד שבא אדם על כל בהמה וחיה ולא נתקררה דעתו בהם עד : שבא על חוה Yael Farkas, TEMS: Womens Beit Midrash, 16/10/2012 3
Rabbi Eliyahu Shlesinger, Areshet Sefateinu (Summary, Y.F.) <See last page for Hebrew original source>. We find in Parshat Bereishit (2,18), And G-d said, it is not good that Man is alone, I will make for him a helper opposite him <Eizer K Negdo>. Our sages have already noted that the terminology of helpmate against him contains a contradiction, because if she is really a helper, how can she be against him? And if she is against him, then she s not a helper. But here we see a deep idea within the greatness of mercy and kindness of HaShem in matching couples. Rashi comments in the beginning of Genesis, when it says Bereishit Bara Elokim - In the Beginning, G-d created. The name Elokim refers to G-d s attribute of Kindness, whereas later the Torah reiterates (2:4) that on the day the Lord God (HaShem) made earth and heaven. - using the name that implies G-d s attribute of Justice. It doesn t say Bara HaShem at the beginning of the Torah, the for in the beginning it was His intention to create it with the Divine Standard of Justice, but he perceived that the world would not endure; so He preceded it with the Divine Standard of Mercy, then later allying it with the Divine Standard of Justice. HaShem saw that the world couldn t exist with just one attribute, so he balanced kindness with justice. When HaShem brings couples together, it is very important that there be a balance. If both partners have their primary traits as chesed (lovingkindness), then the children will be raised without boundaries. Each person s Ezer K Negdo is supposed to be his counterforce, to ground him and his family. HaShem said, It is not good being that man is alone, because if he was alone {existed as one independent person}, he would rule over his house with only his individual traits, without the counterbalance of the two traits, like chesed and judgement. This is what would be not good, ; the world cannot exist on one trait alone. The best helpmate for man is a spouse who can oppose him, so they can have the perfect balance. We see this concept with Avraham our Forefather. He was known as Ish HaChesed, the ultimate Man of Lovingkindness,, whereas Sarah s primary character traits were that of judgment and strength. She was able to perceive Yishmael s negative influence on Yitzchak and had the strength to tell Avraham to banish him (and Hagar) from their home. It is only through the counterbalance of Avraham and Sarah that they were able to be successful as parents of Yitzchak, and builders of the Jewish people. Yael Farkas, TEMS: Womens Beit Midrash, 16/10/2012 4
5) Pirkei D Rabi Eliezer [HaShem gave Adam the task of naming the animals] so that their names would be known and recognized for their progeny, and this would be their name forever. When G-d decided to make him (man) a partner, he brought the animals before him, and also the female animals, because some (males and females of animals) are called the same name, and some are different, like a bull and a cow, (etc, see Hebrew). When (Adam) saw their partnership with one another, he desired them, but when he saw that there was really no partner for him among them (the animals,) he became depressed and fell asleep. And HaShem placed upon him a deep sleep so that he should not feel the removal of his limb from his body. :, שיהא לכל אחד שם לעצמו, כדי שיהיו. ידועים וניכרים לתולדותיו בשמות אשר יקרא להם, כי יהיה שמו לעולם. והנה הקב"ה כשרצה לעשות לו העזר אז הביאם לפניו, כי היה צריך להביאם לו זוגות לקרוא שם גם לנקבותיהם, כי מהם שקראם בשם אחד, ומהם חלוקים, כשור ופרה, ותיש ועז, וכבש ורחל, וזולתם. וכשראה אותם מזווגים זה עם זה נתאוה להם, וכאשר לא מצא בתוכם עזר לעצמו נעצב ויישן. והאלהים הפיל עליו תרדמה שלא ירגיש בהסרת צלע מגופו בעלי הנפש הקדמת הראב "ד (6 RaDaK: Rabbi David Kimchi When HaShem decided to create all creatures by forming males and females from the ground, He saw Man and his goodness and desires, and he couldn t adequately provide the right Helpmate via this type of creation process, He therefore did not want to create him like all the other creations. Therefore, after mentioning the creation of all the animals and the birds, the Torah says, And to Man, he could not find a Helpmate opposite him ( Eizer K Negdo ), as if to say, if Adam had been created in the same process as the animals, he would never have found his Helpmate. HaShem said (verse 18) It is not good for man to be alone, as if to say that it is not good for a man to be alone like animals, where the כאשר עלה במחשבתו לברוא את כל הנבראים זכר ונקבה מן האדמה, הביט וראה בטובת האדם והנאותיו ולא מצא לו עזר בבריאה הזאת, ועל כן לא רצה לברוא אותו כשאר הנבראים. ועל כן כאשר הזכיר יצירת הבהמה והחיה והעופות, אמר ולאדם לא מצא עזר כנגדו, רצה לומר אילו ברא את האדם כענין יצירת הבהמה לא מצא לו עזר כנגדו. ואמר )שם יח( לא טוב היות האדם לבדו, כלומר אין טוב שיהיה האדם מתבודד כמו הבהמה שאין הנקבה מתיחדת אל הזכר. ולכן אעשה לו עזר כנגדו, אבראנו בענין שתהיה לו עזר כנגדו. עזר, שתהיה משמשתו בכל צרכיו. Yael Farkas, TEMS: Womens Beit Midrash, 16/10/2012 5
female does not remain with the male (as a committed union). Therefore, I (G-d) will make him a Helpmate Opposite Him: I will create them in a way that she will be to him a real Ezer K negdo : she will fulfill him in all his needs. K Negdo (lit.: opposite him), means that she will forever stand by him. Therefore, when woman was created and Man knew that she was taken from him, [the Torah states, v.24], Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, to say that this {partner} will always stand by my side, and I to her, and we will become like one flesh. It is therefore fitting that a man love his wife as his own soul; to honor her and have mercy on her, and to protect her as if he were protected one of his own limbs. She is also required to serve him and honor him and love him like her own soul, because she was taken from him. The Creator thus commanded Man vis-à-vis his wife, (in Exodus 21:10) he shall not diminish her sustenance, her clothing, or her marital relations. In order so that Man recognizes that he has a Creator that rules over him, G-d gave him laws concerning his relationship to his wife, just like He gave him laws governing all the gifts given to man. When He (G-d) gave him a field, He gave him laws governing plowing, planting, and cutting, that he he shouldn t plow with a mixed breed, or interbreed in planting, and to leave over a corner of the field when collecting, etc ]]And also with his vineyard and olive grove He gave laws and also with his clothing, that he should not wear shaatnez (wool and linen כנגדו, שתהיה עומדת אצלו תמיד. ועל כן אמר האדם בראותו אותה וכאשר ידע כי ממנו נלקחה, על כן יעזוב איש את אביו ואת אמו ודבק באשתו )שם כד(, כלומר ראויה זו שתעמוד אצלי תמיד ואני אצלה.והיינו לבשר אחד ועל כן ראוי האדם לאהוב את אשתו כנפשו ולכבדה ולרחם עליה ולשמרה כאשר ישמור אחד מאבריו. וכן היא חייבת לעבדו ולכבדו ולאהוב אותו כנפשה כי ממנו נלקחה. ועל כן צוה הבורא את האדם על אשתו לאמר )שמות כא,.י( שארה כסותה ועונתה לא יגרע ולמען ידע האדם כי יש לו בורא המושל עליו, שם לו חוק בהתחברו אל האשה כאשר שם את חוקיו על כל מתנות האדם. כי אם נתן לו שדה, צוה עליו חוקים בחרישה ובזריעה ובקצירה, שלא יחרוש בכלאים, ולא יזרע כלאים, ובקצרו אותו לא יכלה פאת שדהו,]] ובעת קצירו השבולת הנושרת מתוך ידו יניח אותה לעניים והוא הלקט, ובאספו העמרים אם ישכח עומר לא ישוב לקחתו, ואחר כלותו מלאכת תבואתו בעת הגורן ירים ממנה תרומה ומעשרות, ובעת לושו את בצקו ירים חלתה ממנה, ובעת אכלו את לחמו יברך את בוראו לפניו ולאחריו. וכן בכרמו ובזיתו שם מאלה החקים, ואחרים מלבד אלה, הפרט והעוללות שבכרם. וכן על לבושו, שם גורלו וצוה עליו שלא ילבש כלאים, ואם יש לו כסות בת ארבעה כנפים יעשה לה ציצית. ואם יש לו בהמה, שלא ירביענה כלאים. ופטר חמור יפדה בשה. ובכור הבהמה הטהורה יתן לכהן. ואם Yael Farkas, TEMS: Womens Beit Midrash, 16/10/2012 6
sewn together) (Many more examples..) [[ and for ((the gift of)) all the days of man s existence, he has a statute to observe the Shabbos and Holidays. Also, upon the woman, whom He gave him as an helpmate, He placed statutes and laws and with them, tests him, and (Gd) commanded him to separate from her at specified times, at the time when she is a Nidda and at the time of her childbirth נטע כל עץ לא ירכיבנו כלאים. ואם נטע עץ מאכל ישמר ממנו ערלה ורבעי. ואף על גופו שם לו חק למול את בשר ערלתו [[ ו. ועל ימי הבלו שם לו חק לשמור את השבתות ואת המועדים. גם על האשה אשר נתן עמו לעזרו שם לו חק ומשפט ושם נסהו, ויצו עליו להבדל ממנה בעתים ידועים בעת.נדתה ובעת לידתה, 7) Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, commentary to Bereishit 2:22 With woman, the material for her body was not taken from the earth as it was with man. God formed one side of Man into Woman: Man, as it were, was divided, and the one part formed into Woman... built out, arranged as Woman. So that what was previously one creature was now two, and thereby the complete equality of women forever attested. Our Sages also ascribe all the special characteristics of the female voice, the female character and temperament, as well as the earlier spiritual and mental maturity of women, as being connected with this formation of Woman out of the already feeling, sensitive living body of Man, in contrast to Man, whose body was created out of earth. 8) Rashi, 2:25 25) but they were not ashamed: for they did not know the way of modesty, to distinguish between good and evil (Gen. Rabbah) (Targum Yerushalmi), and even though knowledge was granted him to call [all the creatures] names, he was not imbued with the evil inclination until he ate of the tree, and the evil inclination entered into him, and he knew the difference between good and evil כה( ולא יתבוששו - שלא היו יודעים דרך צניעות להבחין בין טוב לרע, ואף על פי שנתנה בו דעה לקרות שמות, לא נתן בו יצר הרע עד אכלו מן העץ ונכנס בו יצר הרע וידע מה בין טוב לרע Yael Farkas, TEMS: Womens Beit Midrash, 16/10/2012 7
**Appendix ( Hebrew Source #5) R Eliyahu Shlesinger (taken from a source sheet by Shira Smiles, Naaleh.com)......... Yael Farkas, TEMS: Womens Beit Midrash, 16/10/2012 8