Torah Study Blog

The Bible presents us with two creation stories. The first is from Genesis 1 where, “God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female. He created them” (Genesis 1:27). In this story the creation is done at one time, with the males and females created together and expected to be partners, or mates, with each other.

The second is from Genesis 2 where God created Adam first, followed by a garden with trees, rivers, beasts and birds. Then, when God realized that there was “no fitting helper” (Genesis 2:20) for Adam, God created Eve out of Adam’s rib. In this story, Eve is given a subservient role to Adam.

Our Torah Study group noted that it was interesting that the second version, the one where Eve is subservient, is the story that is most widely accepted by the Bible-reading public. Rabbi Jaech pointed out that our sacred text is full contradictions. For thousands of years, people have read the passages and selected the passages that best suit their needs. As members of a patriarchal society, it only makes sense that the men would have promoted the storyline of Eve-as-subservient-to-Adam.

Linguists have noted an area of possible mistranslation in the Hebrew term translated as “fitting helper” which was given to Eve in the second story. In the English language, sometimes the letter “H” is pronounced at the start of a word, but other times it is silent. For example, it is silent in the words honor and herbal, but heard in the words hot and hill.

Similarly, there is a Hebrew letter, called an ayin, that is sometimes pronounced and sometimes not. But in this case, the different pronunciation actually changes the entire meaning of the word! In Hebrew, the silent ayin gives us a translation of “fitting helper.” A hard ayin, which produces a “G” sound and is used in the Hebrew spelling of Gaza, gives us the word “hero.” So, was Eve a fitting helper, or a hero?

The creation story goes on to say that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and were punished. Adam’s punishment was that he will have get his food through his own sweat as he toils. Eve’s punishment is that, along with

painful childbirth, Adam will become ruler over Eve (Genesis 3:16). If Adam is going to become Eve’s ruler, apparently she was NOT created subservient to him in the first place!

Genesis 2 addresses the change in loyalties that happens to a man when he marries. Until he marries, his first loyalty is to his parents. But, when he marries, the “man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, so that they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

A medieval passage attributed to the 2nd century rabbi, Eliezer, distinguishes the love a man has for his parents from that he has for his wife. The love of a man to his parents includes filial obligations such as providing for the physical needs of aging parents, or showing them deference or respect. The love for a wife is described as “soul cleaving.” It is a love that makes it possible for the couple to become “one flesh” and a true partnership.

Let’s now say that the partnership is no longer working. Deuteronomy 24 is clear that a marriage can be dissolved through a “bill of divorcement” (Deuteronomy 24:1). Divorce in the Jewish world is considered a fact of life. But, in the ancient world, it would be important that a woman have protections, and those protections were spelled out in the ketubah, or marriage contract, that is still part of Jewish wedding ceremonies today.

Marriage in a Christian church, especially a Catholic church, is viewed differently. Catholics consider marriage to be one of the sacraments ordained by God. In the Christian Testament, in the Book of Mark, the pharisees, or the proto-rabbis, tested the knowledge of Jesus. They asked Jesus if Moses allows divorce, and Jesus concurred that Moses does – but he says it is because many people have hard hearts. This is a put-down. Jesus claims that “God made them male and female ... and the two will become one flesh ... Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate” (Mark 10:6-9). The more poetic version in the King James Bible reads, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” While it is poetic, the fact remains that Jesus actually changed the established rules.

But let’s get back to whether the wife is supposed to be a “fitting helper” or a “hero.”

There is a story in the Talmud about a man from Babylonia who married a woman from Israel. Just like the possible mistranslation that opened this lesson, Jews from Babylonia and Jews from Israel had different accents which could lead to major miscommunications. The story goes that the man requested a dinner of cow’s feet but, because of linguistic similarities, she understood that he wanted two lentils, so she cooked them. Then he requested she prepare the neck of a cow, but she understood even more lentils and gave him that. Then he requested two squashes, and she understood two lamps. In frustration, he told her to go break the lamps on the gate, and she understood to break them over the head of the wiseman in the community – which she did! When the wiseman asked what she was doing, he applauded her for diligently following her husband’s orders. Some people might call this wife a “fitting helper.”

In some traditional Jewish communities, there is a recitation of part of Proverbs 31 during the evening services. The portion starts:

What a rare find is a capable wife!

Her worth is far beyond that of rubies. (Proverbs 31:10)
And the passage goes on to say that the husband has confidence in her, and she rises early to work and to increase the wealth of the household. This wife dresses in linen and purple, and her husband sits with the elders of the land, etc.

A better translation for this is, “What a rare find is a rich woman!” She comes with wealth already and works to increase it. The husband has confidence that she will not steal from him, because she is already wealthy. She dresses in linen and purple because she is from the upper class, and now her husband does not have to work to support the family – but he can sit in study with other lucky fellows and pass judgement on the plebeians.

I think most men would find that woman to be a “better match” for themselves. Heck, some might even say that she is a hero!

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misquotes or misunderstandings in what Rabbi Jaech taught us are the responsibility of Tara Keiter