Genesis presents two seemingly contradictory accounts of Adam and Eve’s creation. But the Torah does not repeat itself needlessly. Each account reveals a different dimension of human relationships.
1. Two Different Accounts
The first account states:
“G-d created Man in His own image… male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
The verse shifts from singular to plural. Were they created as one or as two?
The second account describes G-d creating Eve from Adam’s side (Genesis 2:21–22). Here, Adam exists first, alone, and Eve comes later.
Why does the Torah tell us both stories?
2. The Limits of What We See
Consider the fishermen who claimed there were no fish smaller than ten inches in their stream. They had never caught one—but their nets had ten-inch holes!
The tools we use to discover truth determine what we are capable of seeing.
Perhaps the two creation accounts are not contradictory, but reveal a deeper truth about human relationships.
3. From One to Two—and Back to One
The Talmudic, Midrashic, and Kabbalistic traditions explain that Adam and Eve were originally one being, containing both masculine and feminine dimensions. G-d then separated them into two individuals.
The first account describes their original unity; the second describes their separation.
Marriage is the journey from separation back toward unity.
Originally, their oneness was natural. After separation, unity became something they had to choose and build.
That is the Torah’s profound message about love: Marriage is not simply bringing two people together. It is learning to create a deep, lasting unity between two distinct individuals—without erasing their differences.
What was once natural must now become a conscious achievement of love.
4. Why Did G-d Create Them as One?
If G-d wanted Adam and Eve to become two distinct individuals, why create them as one and then separate them?
The answer is profound: Marriage is not about losing yourself in another person, but discovering a deeper part of yourself through another person.
According to the Midrash, Adam and Eve were originally one being. Their separation made it possible to rediscover that unity—not by force, but through love and choice.
5. Why Did G-d Separate Them?
If G-d wanted them united, why not leave them joined together? Life would certainly have been easier—no searching for a partner, no unanswered calls, and no escaping to the computer while your wife works in the kitchen!
But being forced together is not the same as choosing to be together.
A couple is fighting when a gunman breaks into their home. He asks the wife her name.
“Elizabeth,” she whispers.
“My mother’s name was Elizabeth,” he says, sparing her life. Then he turns to her husband and demands his name.
“Harry,” the husband stammers, “but they call me Elizabeth!”
Some couples become so entangled that they seem to share even one identity. But closeness alone does not guarantee love.
G-d separated Adam and Eve so their unity could become a choice. They could now recognize each other as independent individuals and freely build a relationship.
Adam declares, “Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”
The Torah concludes: “A man shall… cling to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
True unity is not being together because we have no choice. It is choosing each other, day after day.
Life has three stages: dependence, independence, and interdependence.
The Midrash teaches that Adam and Eve were originally one being, joined back to back, and were later separated. Their original unity was not a choice. Only after their separation could they freely choose to come together again.
That is the difference between dependence and interdependence. True unity is not losing yourself in another person; it is two independent individuals choosing to build a life together.
The Secret of Love
An elderly man visited his wife with Alzheimer’s every morning. One day, the nurse told him, “She doesn’t even recognize you anymore.”
“You’re right,” he replied. “But I still recognize her.”
That is love: not merely what we receive, but what we choose to give.
The Secret of Feminism
For centuries, society prescribed men’s and women’s roles. Feminism challenged those restrictions and gave women greater independence. That freedom was necessary and transformative.
But independence is not the final destination. Freedom means having the choice to build a relationship, raise a family, or pursue another path. The goal is not to return to forced dependence, but to discover the beauty of freely chosen commitment.
Genesis captures this ideal:
“This time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh… Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
The Secret of Secularism
For much of history, religion shaped nearly every aspect of life. The Renaissance and Enlightenment challenged religious authority and ushered in an age of independence from traditional beliefs.
That independence brought progress and freedom. But material success alone cannot answer life’s deepest questions: Why are we here? What gives our lives meaning?
Perhaps secularism, too, represents a necessary second stage—a chance to move beyond inherited beliefs and eventually choose a relationship with G-d consciously and freely, rather than through coercion or habit.
The ultimate goal is neither dependence nor independence, but interdependence: freely choosing relationships that deepen our freedom, give our lives meaning, and connect us to something greater than ourselves.
This is the journey Genesis teaches us—and the challenge of our time.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky