Before creating Adam, Hashem said, "Let us make man!" (Bereishit 1:26) Just as a human head of state confers with his cabinet before passing a law, so does Hashem take action only after having taken counsel with his Ministering Angels. When Hashem said, "Let us make man!" He was addressing the Angels to solicit their opinion in the matter.
The angels split up into different factions. Some of them were in favor of the creation of man while others were opposed.
Kindness affirmed, "Let him be created for he will practice kindness." Truth protested, "He should not be created at all, for he will be full of falsehood."
Righteousness maintained, "He should be created, for he will practice righteousness." Peace opposed, "Do not create him, since he will be full of strife!" (Bereishit Rabbah)
The Torah protested, "Master of the Universe! Why do You want to create this man? His lifespan is short; it is full of tribulations. He will certainly sin, and unless You are forbearing, it will be far better for him never to have been created at all!"
Hashem prevailed over the objections of all the angels and of the Torah and voted in favor of the creation of man. His final word was, "I am kind and long-suffering and am ready to create man despite his faults!"
Hashem described man in terms different from all previous creatures. He said, "The human being will be made in Our image after Our likeness. He will possess the intellect necessary to comprehend Creation and serve the Master of the Universe like one of the angels. His mind will distinguish him as a human being.
Man is the most significant product of creation, and it was for his sake that the universe was made. Because he is the most precious and important, man was created at the end of the last day. G-d said, "I want each of you to give him a portion of what you have. This will give Me pleasure, since man will serve Me faithfully. I will then give him My portion, which is the greatest of all, and that is his divine soul."
When a person truly repents, all the angels, stars and planets therefore ask G-d to have mercy on him. They all have a portion in man, and they love him when he is good. Only the
shedim (demons) have no portion in man, so they hate and harm him.
1:27 "G-d created man in His form. In the form of G-d He created him, male and female He created them."
Man's creation demonstrates G-d's infinite wisdom (Sefer Mitzvot Gadol, Positive Commandment #2):
- G-d made him two eyes with which to see the world
- Over them are eyelids that can be closed when he must avoid looking at something improper, such as another man's wife. The yetzer hara tempts him to sin, and the only remedy is to close his eyes. The eyelids also allow a person to sleep and rest so that he will have health and strength to keep the Torah.
- G-d also gave man two ears to hear
- and two nostrils with which he can breathe and enjoy the various fragrances in the world.
- a mouth with with to eat, drink and speak words of Torah.
- G-d also made man thirty-two teeth with which to chew his food, grinding it so that it should be digested and not cause him harm.
- He made him a tongue to move the food through his mouth, as well as to enunciate his speech. Without a tongue, it is impossible to speak.
- He made him a gullet with which to swallow food
- a windpipe, through which he breathes air into his lungs.
- The windpipe also contains the larynx, which produces man's voice.
- He made man a heart, which is the king over all the organs, and which is the seat of the animate soul.
- He made him a stomach, which digests his food and prepares it so that it can be used by the body.
- He made him a liver and gall bladder to aid his digestion.
- He made him intestines to reject the unusable portions of his food after they have been fully digested.
- He made him two kidneys, one on the right, the other on the left, to purify his blood. It is also taught that the kidneys "give advice." (Berachot, Chapter 9) The right kidney gives good advice, while the left one gives bad advice.
- He also made him the spleen, which produces black bile. The spleen also causes a person to be happy, and makes him laugh. (Ibid.)
- He made man the bones of the spine, as well as all the bones that are doubled, and arranged them in a perfect structure.
- He then covered them with flesh to protect them.
- He made him blood vessels to bring blood to all parts of the body.
- G-d made man muscles to hold together his bones and limbs.
- He made him joints in his spine, as well as in his fingers, toes, arms, legs, elbows, knees, ankles, soles and neck. Man can therefore bow and stretch himself, or move on his feet as he desires.
- G-d gave man skin to cover his flesh and bones, protecting his body with a beautiful covering.
- He gave him a skull, which is the king of the limbs.
- Inside it is the brain, which is the seat of the intellect. He provided a fluid around the brain to protect it and shield it from adverse substances in the blood.
- He placed hair on his head to protect it from cold, since the skull is not covered with flesh.
- He also gave the male a beard to provide him with a majestic appearance, and to distinguish between man and woman.
- He made man hands with which to work. With these hands he can hold a book and study Torah, and can also earn his livelihood.
- He made him feet, the pillars of the body, with which he can walk wherever he pleases.
- He also made man a navel, through which he receives nourishment when he is in the womb. As long as he is in the womb, the embryo is nourished by what his mother eats and drinks. He does not pass anything from his body, since this would poison his mother. When he is born, that which has been closed is opened, and that which has been opened is closed. If not for this, he could not survive for even a moment. While a person is in the womb, a lamp shines over his head, and he sees from one end of the universe to the other. As long as he lives, he will never have better times than these. He is taught all the Torah and bound with an oath, "Be righteous, do not be wicked. Even if all the world tells you that you are righteous, consider yourself wicked." With this thought, one will always be concerned and repent. Bit if a person considers himself perfect, he can become so immersed in sin that it will be virtually impossible for him to change his ways.
- G-d gave man five fingers on each hand. The first is called the godel (thumb); the second is the etzba; the third is the ammah; the fourth is the kemitzah; and the fifth, the little finger, is called zeret (pinky). (Bachya on Tzav; Shevilei Emunah 4) Each of these fingers is created to fulfill a specific function. They are just like all the other parts of the body, which serve a necessary function. No part was created in vain. The five fingers parallel the five senses: taste, smell, touch, sight and hearing. The fingers are pointed so that if a person hears forbidden speech or vain oaths, he can place his fingers in his ears and not hear them. (Ketuvot, Chapter 1)
Adam Originally Included Both Male and Female
Adam was the epitome of all creation, the handiwork of G‑d Himself. He included all holiness and all the souls of Israel. The entire side of holiness was connected to him and included in him. Also, Adam originally included both male and female, since he was created with the two [connected] bodies. Everything in the world must contain the concept of both male and female. It is thus written, "And He took one of his sides"; this means that the side and concept of femininity was taken from Adam. (Chabad)
Interestingly enough, Adam was not split down the middle; rather, Chavah was created from an internal organ: his rib (
*see note below). By mentioning the rib, the Torah is teaching us a principle in understanding the nature of masculine and feminine strengths, namely that feminine manifestation and strength is more internal, while the masculine focus and expression is more external. (Chabad)
*NOTE: According to the opinion of Rashi and many other medieval commentators, “woman” was created from one side of Adam tzela, not from his rib. Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 8:1; Vayikra Rabbah 14:1); the Gemara (Berachot 61a) and the Zohar (Bereishit 34b-35a; Shemot 55a; 231a)] According to the Zohar, the two top “yuds” that make up the Hebrew letter tzaddi represent this “double-faced” creature originally created by G-d. Sources debate whether the two beings faced the same direction or opposite directions; this argument forms the basis of the debate between Rabbi Yosef Karo and the Arizal regarding how to properly write a tzaddi. (See Rabbi Hershel Schachter, MiPninei HaRav (2001), 267.)
In Bereishit Rabbah (17:6), Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Nachman understands tzela as “side,” and Rashi and Ibn Ezra (Bereishit 2:21) adopt this approach as well. Rashi, following in the footsteps of the Midrash, supports his claim by pointing out that tzela is used in other places in Tanach to mean “side” as well (Terumah 26:20, 26-27). Rambam also accepts “side” as the correct translation (Guide to the Perplexed 2:30). Ralbag (Bereishit 2:21) accepts it and suggests that while Adam “slept,” G-d miraculously created a type of “placenta” attached to Adam’s side through which He created Chavah.
The text seems to support the translation as “side” because in the description of the creation of woman, there is no mention of a soul being infused into Chavah’s body. In the initial creation, (the double-sided) Adam was fashioned from dirt and G-d infused him with a “living soul” (2:7). This omission in the second creation story suggests that woman was created from something that already contained the breath of life and that a new infusion was unnecessary.
Moreover, in the first creation story, the text constantly shifts, using both the singular and plural forms in reference to the “man” G-d created. Furthermore, the story includes a blessing to “them” to be fruitful and multiply (1:28). Both the use of plural and the blessing itself would indicate that there was a female (half) in existence at the time. Also, in the first creation story, the text uses the term “created” when detailing the making of man (“va’yivrah”) (1:27), while in the second story, Chavah is not created ex nihilo and thus the text refers to her as being “built” “va’yiven”) (2:22). All of these arguments support the view that Chavah was taken from Adam’s side, as opposed to his rib. A final proof for this point of view is that nowhere else in Tanach is tzela used to mean “rib;” it is instead used exclusively as a side, usually in relation to a building. (Adam's "Rib" - Orthodox Union)
The Torah also describes the process of Chavah's creation using the word vayiven, "G-d built." This word shares the same Hebrew root as binah, meaning "insight" or understanding. This suggests, as it says in the Talmud, that women were created with an extra dose of wisdom and understanding. Binah is much greater than "women's intuition" – it means the ability to enter something and understand it from the inside – what has been called "inner reasoning." Men tend to have more of what is called da'at, an understanding which comes from the outside, a type of understanding which tends to be more connected to facts and figures.
Men and women are fully equal but different – and that difference is good. With their own unique talents and natures they can give to one another and help each other along the road of life. G-d, in His infinite wisdom, created humans as two distinct genders in order to enable them to complement and fulfill each other.
Man has 248 limbs. (Oalot 1:8) They are as follows:
- 30 bones in the sole of the foot, six in each toe = 60
- 10 in each ankle = 20
- 2 in the lower part of each leg = 4
- 5 in each knee = 10
- 1 in each thigh = 2
- 6 in the hips
- 11 pairs of ribs = 22
- 30 in each hand, six in each finger = 60
- 2 in each forearm = 4
- 2 in each elbow = 4
- 1 in each upper arm = 2
- 4 in each shoulder = 8
- 18 vertebra in the spine
- 9 bones in the head
- 8 in the neck
- 6 in the chest
- 5 at the orifices
Paralleling these 248 limbs are 248 commandments in the Torah. (Pesikta, quoted in reshit Chachmah, Shaar HaYirah 10. Cf. Zohar, Vayishlach) Each limb announces, "Observe a commandment with me, so that I will live long." There are also 365 prohibitions in the Torah, paralleling the 365 days of the solar year. Each day, from sunrise to sunset, a heavenly voice announces to man, "Take it upon yourself not to sin on this day, so as not to tilt the world to the side of liability. The world is in a state od equilibrium between good and evil. Even a minor sin can upset this equilibrium toward the side of evil and cause great damage.
Like man, the earth is also divided into 248 parts (Rabbi Shmuel ben Avraham Laneido, Kli Chemdah, Venice, 1596), with a head, eyes, mouth and other limbs. It also has 365 arteries. Every time a person observes a commandment, he sustains one of his limbs, as well as a part of the world. It is for this reason that man is called a microcosm. (Avot DeRabbi Natan) He is a miniature universe, having in him everything that exists in the world.
One must realize that everything under the orbit of the moon was created for the sake of man and for no other reason. (Rambam, Introduction to Mishnayot Zerayim) Some animals, such as cattle and sheep, were created to be used as food. Others were created as beasts of burden, to carry man's belongings, and allow him to reach faraway places. Trees and plants also have their functions.
If it appears that there are things that do not provide any benefit to man, this is only because of our ignorance. We see evidence of the usefulness of all of G-d's creations in all the uses for herbs and roots that are constantly being discovered, and which were not known earlier. It is impossible for man to know the properties of every single plant.
G-d made all the products of creation so that man would be able to keep the Torah and its commandments. If a person gives no thought to the Olam Haba (World to Come), but spends all his time eating and drinking, he is no better than an animal. The wise follow the good ways of Judaism, and eat and drink only to derive strength with which to keep the Torah.
Rabbi Moshe (Maimonides) wrote that if a person contemplates how man is made, he realizes that one must serve G-d without any thought of reward. (Sefer HaMitzvot) One should do so merely because of the great kindness that G-d has done for us in creating us so perfectly.
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Source: Me'am Lo'ez; Chabad; Orthodox Union - OU. ORG)
