Der geteilte Mensch. Einige Gedanken zu Schöpfung, Transformation und Geschlecht in der rabbinischen Tradition

Abstract

TheJewish Rabbinic Tr aditionhas developeddifferent viewsonthe creation of man. One version speaks of the first man as androgynous,having both maleand female parts.Asa consequence,man and woman are described as belonging togetherfrom the beginning, split asunderviolently,yearning for each other.Onthe other side,rabbinic texts speak of the first Adam as -more or less -being male,and of Eve as the result of asurgery.The consequences are far-reaching. Eve as the second in creationi st he modelo fas ubordinated being, Adam amaster and commander. Afterthe fall of man, Eve is depicted as responsible for the death of Adam, punished with, for example,t