My dear readers, last time we started anew to read the Torah, and as we begin again from the very beginning, we will move slowly and carefully through the first book — unearthing the hidden treasures buried in these foundational chapters. Each time we return to Genesis, new depths reveal themselves, and today we explore one of the most astonishing passages of all: the creation of man.
The opening chapter of Genesis is a carefully structured ascent. As we read through the first six days, we sense movement, purpose, and direction. Days One through Three shape the world; Days Four through Six fill it. Light is set in the heavens, the seas and skies teem with life, the land brings forth animals — and then, at the very climax, comes the creation of man. Everything that has happened so far must now be seen through this lens. In Jewish understanding, only with the creation of humanity does the entire universe become truly meaningful.
That is why Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is traditionally celebrated not on the anniversary of the first day of creation, but on the sixth — the day Adam and Eve were created. According to the sages, it is humanity’s emergence that allows God to be proclaimed as King. Creation becomes complete only when human beings appear, capable of relationship, responsibility, and moral choice.
The Scriptures themselves marvel at this astonishing creature. The Psalmist looks up at the heavens — the moon, the stars, the sweeping grandeur of the cosmos — and asks: “What is man, that You are mindful of him?” And yet, this man is the “crown” of God’s work: “You have crowned him with glory and honor… You have put all things under his feet.” The biblical narrative does not hide the grandeur and dignity with which God intended human life to be lived.
A Break in the Pattern
Throughout the first chapter, a pattern repeats: God speaks, creation responds, God sees that it is good, and the day closes. But on the sixth day something unexpected happens. After the animals are created, the day does not close. Instead, God pauses. Something more is about to happen. And then we hear words that break all previous patterns: “Let us make man…”
This is the first time in the Bible that God speaks in the first person. Instead of “Let there be,” we hear deliberation, even contemplation. God’s words reveal that the being about to be created is different from everything that came before. This creature requires intention, resolve, and a kind of divine counsel.
Who is God speaking to? Jewish tradition offers several explanations: a royal plural, or a conversation with the angelic court. Christian theology has traditionally seen here the first glimmer of God’s multi-personal nature. But there is a third, exquisite interpretation from the world of Jewish sage-teaching: God is speaking to you.
“Let us make a human being,” He says — meaning: “If you allow Me into your life, if you agree, then together — you and I — we will make the human being you are meant to become.” This reading captures beautifully the partnership God desires: He forms us, but we must also participate in our own becoming.
Adam: A Name Filled With Secrets
Much of the depth of these early chapters is hidden in the Hebrew. The name Adam is almost always misunderstood in translation. In English, Adam appears only in Genesis chapter 2, but in Hebrew the word adam first appears in Genesis 1:26 — “Let us make adam.” Why? Because in Hebrew, adam can mean either the first man, or humankind as a whole. Genesis 1 speaks of humanity collectively; Genesis 2 moves between the collective and the individual. This interplay adds layers of meaning that are impossible to capture in translation.
But the name Adam holds even more secrets.
Two Hebrew words are embedded within it.
The first is dam — blood. Throughout the Torah, blood symbolizes life: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” The “bloody” element within Adam’s very name reminds us from the beginning that the human being is a creature of flesh and blood — mortal, vulnerable, earthly.
The second word is adamah — ground or earth. In English, the connection between “man” and “earth” is lost. In Hebrew, it is unmistakable. Adam and adamah are linguistically bound like masculine and feminine counterparts. The earth is cursed because of Adam, not merely as punishment, but as a sign of their intrinsic connection. The same Hebrew word-play persists throughout Genesis: Adam is shaped from the adamah, works the adamah, and returns to the adamah.
But why, asked Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague (the “Maharal”), is only man named after the earth? Animals were also formed from the ground. His answer is one of the most profound insights in Jewish anthropology: animals emerge nearly complete, while both man and land require cultivation. The earth must be tilled, planted, tended, and shaped. And so must the human being. God creates neither man nor land in their final form. Both must be worked, developed, refined, and led toward fruitfulness.
The New Testament echoes this same truth: “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit.” Just as the soil must produce visible fruit, so must the human life. Fruitfulness is not guaranteed; it is the result of ongoing formation. Without it, Adam’s “bloody” and “earthly” aspects — his impulses, his vulnerabilities, his lower nature — can easily take control. Genesis 4 tragically reveals this danger when God declares: “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.” Dam and adamah collide in the first act of violence.
“In the Image of God”
Few phrases in Scripture have inspired more reflection than Genesis 1:27: “God created man in His image.” Since Judaism insists that God has no physical form, the resemblance cannot be physical. And yet, after the Flood, God grounds the sacredness of human life precisely in this idea: to shed a person’s blood is to violate the image of God.
Hebrew again offers a window of understanding. The word for “image,” tzelem, is related to tzel, shadow. A shadow is not an exact replica of the object that casts it, but it bears unmistakable resemblance. In the Scriptures, life “in the shadow of God” signifies closeness, protection, and likeness. Bezalel — the artist filled with God’s Spirit to craft the Tabernacle — literally bears this meaning in his name: “in the shadow of God.”
Thus, humanity is not God, nor a replica of God, but a shadow of God — capable of reflecting His character in love, mercy, justice, creativity, and moral choice. We become truly human not by asserting our independence, but by learning to resemble the One whose shadow we bear.
Male and Female in One Being
We all know the story of Genesis 2: Adam is formed first, placed in the Garden, and later the woman is fashioned from his rib. But Genesis 1 tells the story differently — and in some ways, more surprisingly.
Genesis 1:26 uses the singular “let us make adam,” yet immediately adds: “and they shall rule.” Who are “they”? The answer appears in the next verse: “male and female He created them.” Genesis 5 confirms it: “He created them male and female, and blessed them, and called their name adam.”
Some of the most ancient Jewish teachings conclude that the first human was not yet two people, but one being with two sides — male and female combined. The Midrash even says explicitly that Adam was created as an androgynous, dual-natured being. Only later, in Genesis 2, does God divide this single two-gendered creature into two separate persons. Why? Because for the first time in all creation, God declares something to be “not good.” The original state of undivided humanity was not yet the ideal. Two distinct persons were needed, capable of partnership, companionship, and relational unity.
And thus, when a man and woman marry, the Torah’s phrase “they shall become one flesh” is not poetic metaphor. It is a return — a restoration of God’s original design before the two halves were separated. Marriage is the re-unification of what was once whole.
If you like the insights on this blog, you might enjoy my books “Unlocking the Scriptures” and “In the Beginning”, you can find them here: books. As always, I would be happy to provide more information (also, a teacher’s discount for new students) regarding our wonderful courses (juliab@eteachergroup.com)
