Alshech (Bereishis 2:24): It would appear that the
lesson we learn from the verse “ to this one is called woman – that it applies
specifically to Adam and Eve who was actually taken from his body but not to
future couples that would be born from them. That is why the Torah states next
“Therefore a man should leave … and cleave to his wife”. In other words that
this relationship applies all couples of men and women that would ever exist that they should
leave….That is because Adam contained
all the souls that would eventually come into the world in potential as is
noted in Shemos Rabbah (40:3) and Avos deRabbi Nosson (31:3) regarding the
verse Job (38:4) “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Similarly
Eve Adam’s wife contained the souls of all women who would ever exist. In other
words Adam and Eve included all the souls of Mankind and thus all the couples.
As a result of this, the unity that existed between Adam and Eve exists in all
future couples. Because they all had
their souls together from the very beginning and they are only lacking
becoming one flesh . this is the lesson
to be learned. You should also note that the reason G-d created Eve from Adam
and not from dirt was in order that the man should leave his parents and cleave
to his wife which would not be true if she was made from dirt. That is because
they would not have the natural attachment as we mentioned before.
Alternatively we can say that Adam prior to having Eve taken from him had
potentially all the souls of males that would ever exist and all the souls of
women were contained in the rib. And according to the view that man was created
with two faces, women’s souls were contained within the female face. Either way
Adam and Eve were connected to all future couples by being one body Secondly
the souls of the males were related to the yud. which is nature of man and that
is why the word ish (man) is spelled with a letter “yud” . In contrast Women
and the feminine nature is hey which is why the word women (isha) is spelled
with a letter “hey”. To get to the point, it is possible to give her a name
based on the body that she was taken from or based on the soul. From the aspect of the body she could have
been called adamah (dirt) because she was taken from Adam. But that is
impossible because she was not from the dirt but rather she was derived from
Adam’s bone and flesh, Therefore she was
given the name because of the soul. That is because the souls of the
males and females were together in the first creation, and then the female
aspect was made into a new entity. So it is better to call her isha (woman) to
indicate she had been taken from the ish (man)
thus indicating both aspects. The predominance of the male souls and
that they constitute a couple that is
why the verse contines with “therefore a man should leave” because the soul of
all men is united with her soul in man. Regarding her he will desire her that
is because desire comes from the soul and not from the body. Or Alternatively
it can be said “This time … that is to say don’t be surprised that a male can come from a female because now there is unity in that she is
bone of my bone … However from the aspect of the female and not from the male she is not from the male essence because it doesn’t say that she was made from
the man but that she was taken from the man. That is he had certain potentials
relevant to her in him from which she was taken. Consequently she was not made from his male essence but rather
from the feminine essence that he contained. Thus she was not from the male but
only from his bone and flesh. But the
meaning of that she was taken from the male means from the properties of the
rib. Or we can say “This time “ alone is
needed to indicate that bone of my bone and flesh from my flesh makes a
relationship with Adam and she was not
made from dirt but from him. All this relationship requires is the reality that
she is bone of his bone. Otherwise why state “And to this one he called woman
because she was taken from the man” It was because all future couples were
present in me and in all couples the souls of the man and woman are bound
together. It is because of that fact that with all couples the man should leave
his parents. But if someone says he doesn’t want to leave his
parents. He only needs to be told what it says in Nida (31a) that the
father and the mother make the body of their child while G-d makes the soul. So if he is claiming that only in the case of
Adam and Eve that the man should cleave to the woman but all future cases why should they leave their parents and
cleave to a stranger (an unrelated woman)?
To this the reply is that the facts are the opposite so that he should
leave his parents because of what we have already explained. The proof is that
cleaving to his wife is not in order that they
to produce a soul but rather to produce one flesh. In other words, a man and his wife produce the body while G-d makes the soul. Thus the three are partners in producing
children. Therefore how is it conceivable that their son should cleave to them the parents and not with his true mate who is
related by her soul, that was united in Adam before Eve was taken from him as we explained. This relationship is
alluded by the fact that men search for a wife while women don’t search for a
husband. Because woman was taken from Adam
and thus she is something he lost.and he needs to search for her and
then cleave to her. Thus she was always his wife but he temporarily lost her,
Alternatively from the aspect she constitutes his lost property, that from the
first couple and for ever after, we have the concept of bashert (the daughter
of ploni is destined to him) and she was lost to him sometime after he was born
and therefore he needs to search and find her
