Both Male and Female!

 

Introduction:

 

In the previous two letters, we discussed the tradition that the human being was created at the site of the future Temple in Zion. In the Torah’s description of this great event, the Hebrew term “adam” refers to the human being, both male and female, and the following two verses can serve as examples:

 

1. “So God created the adam in His image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).

 

2. “He created them male and female; He blessed them and called their name ‘adam’ on the day they were created.” (Genesis 5:2)

 

Dear Friends,

 

Regarding the “adam” – human being – created at the site of the future Temple in Zion, the Torah states:

 

“So God created the adam in His image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).

 

“So God created the adam…male and female He created them.” The Midrash cited by the classical commentator, Rashi, explains these words in the following manner: The adam was created as an androgynous being with two sides, male and female; moreover, these two sides were later separated in order to form two separate beings – man and woman (Genesis Rabbah 8:1). The tradition that the first human being was created as an androgynous being is also cited in the Talmud (Brochos 61a, Eruvin 18a).

 

After the human being was taken from the site of the Temple and placed in the Garden of Eden, the Creator separated the two sides, as it is written:

 

“So Hashem God cast a deep sleep upon the adam and he slept; and He took one of his sides and He closed flesh in its place. Then Hashem God fashioned the side that He had taken from the adam into a woman” (Genesis 2:21,22).

 

The Hebrew word for “side” in this verse is tzela. Although Targum Onkelos – the ancient Aramaic translation – translates this word as “rib,” Rashi translates it as ‘side”; moreover, he points out that this term is also used to refer to the side of the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:20).

 

The above teachings reveal that the first human being created at the site of the Temple was both male and female; thus, both men and women have roots in the site of Zion’s Temple.

 

Shalom,

Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen  (See below)

 

A Related Teaching:

 

 At a wedding, when the groom and the bride are joined together in marriage, we are celebrating the loving reunion of the male and female halves of the original human being who was created at the site of the Temple.