Some thoughts on Adom, Chava, and Cain

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July 15 2013
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“Today is the birthday of the world; today all mankind is judged, whether as children or as servants. If as children, have mercy on us, as a father has mercy on his children. If as servants, our eyes beseech You to be gracious to us and pronounce our sentence clear as light, You Who are revered and holy (Rosh HaShannah Machzor). Rosh HaShannah is the birthday of the world. As Adom HaRishon was created on the sixth day of creation, this time of the year is also the birthday of human civilization. According to Rabbi Eliezar, Adom HaRishon was created on Rosh HaShannah (October 7th, 3761 B.C.E.), with the first day of creation occurring on the 25th of Elul (October 2nd) (Me’Am Loez).


According to Jewish tradition, the initial human created, Adom HaRishon, was not a male, but rather was a combination of a distinct male and of a distinct female. “R’ Yirmiyah ben Elazar said, The Holy One Blessed be He, created two figures in the first human,” one male and one female, joined back to back. Thereafter, Adom HaRishon was separated surgically to form the first complete male (Adom) and the first complete female (Chava) (Berachos, 61a; see ArtScroll, 61a1, note 11). After the operation, HaShem brought Chava to Adom and recited the wedding blessings, as it is written, “HaShem blessed them” (Bereshis 1:28).


Apparently, HaShem maintained a za’char (a remembrance) to this phenomenon of a male/female Adom HaRishon in the developmental progression of the human fetus.  By day 40 of human gestational development, the human fetus has bipotential undifferentiated gonads, Wolffian ducts (tubes) and Mullerian ducts (tubes), and an external anatomy that is characteristic neither of a male nor of a female. The bipotential gonads have the ability to differentiate either into testes or ovaries. The Wolffian ducts are forerunners of the male reproductive system and include the epididymis, seminal vesicles, and vas deferens. The Mullerian ducts are forerunners of the oviducts and uterus. The external anatomy eventually will take on the appearance either of the male or of the female phenotype. Thus, until day 40, the human fetus potentially is male and female, technically, very similar, at least in concept, to Adom HaRishon .


What happens at day 40? If the fetus is destined to be a male, its cells contain an X and a Y chromosome. At the tip of the Y chromosome is the gene, SRY (or, sex-determining region of the Y chromosome), which is activated on day 40 and encodes the protein, testis-determining factor (TDF), triggering the bipotential gonad to differentiate into testes. The testes produce two hormones, testosterone and anti-Mullerian hormone. Testosterone triggers the Wolffian ducts to produce the male reproductive system and anti-Mullerian hormone induces the degeneration of the Mullerian ducts. Some testosterone is converted to dihydroxytestosterone, which triggers the external male phenotype. Thus, the fetus is destined to be a male.


If there is no Y chromosome, the cells of the fetus contain two X chromosomes, and, by default, at about day 60, the fetus begins to develop into a female. Without SRY (i.e., there is no Y chromosome), the bipotential gonad develops into ovaries. Without testosterone, the Wolffian ducts degenerate; and without anti-Mullerian hormone, the Mullerian ducts develop to form the oviducts and uterus. Without dihydroxytestosterone, the external anatomy takes on the female phenotype. Thus, the fetus is destined to be a female.


On day 40 of fetal development, the events leading to maleness are triggered. This may explain the gemora Berachos (60a), in which a Baraisa is brought listing the proper sequence of prayers a potential father directs to HaShem.  For the first three days after intimacy the husband should request that his wife conceives; from the day three to forty, he should pray that the fetus will be a male; from the fortieth day to the third month, he should pray that the fetus develops normally and healthy; from the third to the sixth month he should request that there is no miscarriage; and from the sixth month onward he should pray that the fetus emerges safely. Interestingly, in the ArtScroll edition of Berachos (60a3, note 21) the comment is added that if the couple desires a female, this request should also be made between day 3 and 40.


It is now understandable why the gemora suggested that praying for a male child should terminate at day 40 after conception. After day 40 the gender of the fetus has been biochemically determined and a request for a child of a specific gender is wasteful and useless. By day 40, if the fetus is XY then biochemical events are triggered for maleness; if it is XX, then it is destined to be a female.


Adom and Chava become the proud parents of a family. Initially, Cain was born with a twin sister and later Abel was born with twin sisters. The gestational time was significantly different from that of today, as these five children were conceived and born on the same day that Adom and Chava were created! Thus, at this point in the history of the world, humanity consisted of seven people. There is a difference of opinion whether Cain and Abel were born before or after Adom and Chava sinned. Regardless, eventually, Cain and Abel have an argument, resulting in Cain murdering Abel, when he was only 50 days old (Me’Am Loez). Now humanity was reduced to six individuals, with Cain’s punishment being banishment with an inner urge to wander. Cain and his wife leave, with Cain fearful that he may be murdered. HaShem gave him a “sign,” either a physical sign on his forehead so that those who meet him might not harm him or a guard/attack dog, guiding Cain where to go and protecting him against predators. Who was Cain afraid of?  Rashi (Bereishis 4:15) noted that Cain was afraid of attack from animals and beasts, as the only other people were his parents and sister-in-laws.


After Adom and Chava sinned by eating a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, Adom separated from Chava for 130 years. Sheth, Adom and Chava’s third son, was born in the year 130 after creation (3631 B.C.E.)  Sheth was 108 years old at the birth of his son, Enosh, in the year, 235. Thus, in the beginning of civilization, the world must have been a very lonely place. Rav Shimon Schwab (1988, 2004) suggested the first humans interacted with prehistoric man, defined as creatures physically resembling human beings, but actually were animals as they lacked a neshamah (a human soul). “Physically, a human is no different from a beast, just as an animal eats, drinks, and passes waste, so does a human. The only difference between a human and a beast is the soul” (Me’Am Loez).


Rav Schwab’s idea of prehistoric man focused on Bereshis 2:19, which stated that since Adom HaRishion was in need of a companion, HaShem created all the animals of the field and all the birds of the heaven and brought them to him. Adom HaRishon gave them names but could not find a mate. Rav Schwab interpreted “all the animals” as “all the rest of the animals” and noted that in Bereshis 2:19, the phrase “animals of the field” was used rather than the phrase “animals of the land,” in Bereshis 1:25.  The phrase, “adnei hasadeh” (“lords of the field”), noted in Kilayim (8:5), has various interpretations, including referring to animals that resemble human beings in their appearance. A related phrase, “avnei hasadeh” (Rashi, “human-like creatures), is noted in Iyov 5:23. Continuing his thoughts on Bereshis 2:19, Rav Schwab suggested that the end of the verse, “birds of the heaven,” referred to angelic creatures which were created for the sake of Adom HaRishion (as in Koheleth 10:2, the phrase, “birds of the heaven,” may refer to angels). Neither the “adnei hasadeh” nor the angelic creatures were suitable companions for Adom HaRishion.


Rav Schwab elaborated on the adnei hasadeh as being identical with “prehistoric man.” These creatures, although they had the outer appearance of human beings, were actually intelligent animals, lacking a human neshamah. They were “capable of cultivating soil, building settlements, fashioning all kinds of artifacts and even drawing pictures inside the caves where they lived (Schwab, 1988). These creatures “walked upright and perhaps even talked like men.”


It is very possible that some of them might even be alive today as uncivilized tribes in the jungles of the Amazon, or other remote areas of the world. These human-like creatures - who do not seem to be able to learn enough to advance out of the Stone Age - may not be descendents of Adom HaRishion; rather, they may be highly developed animals who can be as dangerous as wild beasts” (Schwab, 2004).


 


Perhaps, Cain was afraid of being murdered by the adnei hasadeh.


 


References:


Me’am Loez, Genesis 1, volume 1, 1988, Moznaim Publ. Corp., Brooklyn, NY (translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan).    


Schwab, S., 1988, Selected Readings (see: postscript to chapter 55, How old is the universe?”  C.I.S. Publications, Lakewood, N.J.


Schwab, S., 2004, Rav Schwab on Iyov, Mesorah Publ., Ltd., Brooklyn, NY


 


[See Kilayim, ArtScroll edition, pp. 202-203, for other explanations of adnei hasadeh, which include a ferocious creature attached by an umbilical cord from its navel to the ground, a mountain man, a feral human who grew up in the jungle, and an orangutan].

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