TANAKH SOURCES:
(27) And God created humankind in the divine image,
creating it in the image of God—
creating them male and female. (28) God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.” (29) God said, “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food. (30) And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food.” And it was so. (31) And God saw all that had been made, and found it very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
- Do you see similarities in these stories? Differences?
- Why do you think there are different iterations of these creation stories?
GEMARA SOURCES:
לֵוִי אִיקְּלַע לְבֵי רַבִּי בְּהִלּוּלֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בְּרֵיהּ, בָּרֵיךְ חֲמֵשׁ. רַב אַסִּי אִיקְּלַע לְבֵי רַב אָשֵׁי בְּהִלּוּלֵיהּ דְּמָר בְּרֵיהּ, בָּרֵיךְ שֵׁית.
The Gemara relates: Levi happened to come to the house of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi during the wedding celebration of Rabbi Shimon, his son, and recited five of these blessings. Rav Asi happened to come to the house of Rav Ashi during the wedding celebration of Mar, his son, and recited six of these blessings.
What blessings are they disagreeing about? The Sheva Brachot at a Marriage!
2) וְ״יוֹצֵר הָאָדָם״.
2) And the second blessing is: Blessed are You…Creator of mankind.
3) וַ״אֲשֶׁר יָצַר אֶת הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ, בְּצֶלֶם דְּמוּת תַּבְנִיתוֹ, וְהִתְקִין לוֹ מִמֶּנּוּ בִּנְיַן עֲדֵי עַד. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳, יוֹצֵר הָאָדָם״.
3) And the third blessing is: Blessed are You…Who made humanity in His image, in the image of the likeness of His form, and out of His very self formed a building (see Genesis 2:22) for eternity. Blessed are You, Lord, Creator of mankind.
- What do you think about these blessings?
- Why do you think we are invoking Adam and Eve during these blessings?
- Is each blessing saying a distinct point, or are some being repetitive?
The Gemara suggests: Let us say that they disagree about this: One Sage holds: It was one act of creation with which man was created. And one Sage holds: It was two acts of creation with which man was created.
- Opinion #1: 1 act of creation = Adam and Chava created as one being
- -> Therefore, only one blessing about creation necessary
- Opinion #2: 2 acts of creation = Adam created + Chava created
- -> Therefore, two blessings about creation necessary
The Gemara rejects that suggestion: No, everyone agrees that it was only one act of creation. However, one Sage holds: It is according to the initial thought that we proceed. And one Sage holds: It is according to the action that we proceed. Like how Rav Yehuda raises a contradiction: In one verse it is written: “And God created man in His own image” (Genesis 1:27), indicating one act of creation, and in another verse it is written: “Male and female He created them” (Genesis 5:2), indicating two acts. How can this apparent contradiction be resolved? Initially, the thought entered God’s mind to create two, but ultimately only one was actually created.
- All Opinion #1, really debating:
- Genesis 1: God creates man (indicating God will later create woman) - seemingly 2 acts, but ends up being one
- Genesis 5: God creates man and woman together - only 1 act
THE TAKEAWAY - What is the nature of marriage? Of connection?
A sense of cleaving -
(טז) אֶֽל־הָאִשָּׁ֣ה אָמַ֗ר הַרְבָּ֤ה אַרְבֶּה֙ עִצְּבוֹנֵ֣ךְ וְהֵֽרֹנֵ֔ךְ בְּעֶ֖צֶב תֵּֽלְדִ֣י בָנִ֑ים וְאֶל־אִישֵׁךְ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָתֵ֔ךְ וְה֖וּא יִמְשׇׁל־בָּֽךְ׃ {ס}
(16) And to the woman [God] said,
“I will greatly expand
Your hard labor—and your pregnancies;
In hardship shall you bear children.
Yet your urge shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.”
Or a sense of independence -
Rainer Maria Rilke on Marriage, Letters to a Young Poet:
“The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one in which each partner appoints the other to be the guardian of his solitude, and thus they show each other the greatest possible trust. A merging of two people is an impossibility, and where it seems to exist, it is a hemming-in, a mutual consent that robs one party or both parties of their fullest freedom and development. But once the realization is accepted that even between the closest people infinite distances exist, a marvelous living side-by-side can grow up for them, if they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the possibility of always seeing each other as a whole and before an immense sky.”