Pt1 The First Man: Talmudic Reflections on Adam's Creation (Sanhedrin 38a-39b)

This is the first part of a two-part series. The outline follows.

Outline

1. Four reasons why Adam was created alone

2. All faces look different in order to prevent identity theft

3. R’ Meir: Differences between people are in order to prevent identity theft and actual theft

4. Four reasons why Adam was created on Friday

5. The dust to make Adam were from the whole world; torso - from Babylonia; head - from Eretz Yisrael; buttocks - from Akra De’agma

6. The highlights of the day Adam was created, hour-by-hour

7. Adam was originally massive; he spoke Aramaic

8. Adam was a heretic; concealed his circumcision; and was a disbeliever

The Passage

Sanhedrin.38a.8-39b.1

Four reasons why Adam was created alone

The Talmud quotes a baraita that provides four possible reasons for why Adam was created alone:¹

1. To counter heretical beliefs (המינים) that there are “multiple authorities in Heaven”, each creating different people.²

2. To prevent the righteous and the wicked from becoming complacent, thinking their righteousness and sinfulness is genetic

3. To avoid family quarrels and claims of superiority, as all humanity descends from a single progenitor.³

4. To limit crime, as a sense of fraternity from sharing a common ancestor should deter robbery and forceful taking.

Despite Adam being created alone, these issues still occur, but they would be worse if more than one person had been created initially.

לפיכך כו': 

תנו רבנן: 

אדם יחידי נברא, 

1. ומפני מה שלא יהו המינים אומרין: הרבה רשויות בשמים 

2. דבר אחר: מפני הצדיקים ומפני הרשעים, שלא יהו הצדיקים אומרים: אנו בני צדיק, ורשעים אומרים: אנו בני רשע

3. דבר אחר: מפני המשפחות, שלא יהו משפחות מתגרות זו בזו, ומה עכשיו, שנברא יחיד, מתגרות, נבראו שנים, על אחת כמה וכמה! 

4. דבר אחר: מפני הגזלנין ומפני החמסנין, ומה עכשיו, שנברא יחידי, גוזלין וחומסין, נבראו שנים, על אחת כמה וכמה!

The mishna teaches: Therefore, Adam the first man was created alone. 

The Sages taught in a baraita: 

Adam was created alone, and for what reason? 

1. So that the heretics will not say: There are many authorities in Heaven, and each created a different person. 

2. Alternatively, Adam was created alone due to the righteous and due to the wicked. It was so that the righteous will not say: We are the children of the righteous, and righteousness is natural for us, so there is no need for us to exert ourselves to be righteous, and so that the wicked will not say: We are the children of the wicked and cannot change our ways.

3. The baraita continues: Alternatively, he was created alone due to the families, so that the families will not quarrel with each other, each one boasting of the heritage of their progenitor. And if now that Adam was created alone, families still quarrel and each family claims superiority, if there were two people created initially, all the more so would they do this. 

4. Alternatively, he was created alone due to the robbers and due to those who take by force that which is not theirs, as the feeling of fraternity among all people, having descended from the same forefather, will limit crime. And if now that Adam was created alone, criminals still rob and take by force that which is not theirs, if there were two people created initially, all the more so would this be the case.

All faces look different in order to prevent identity theft

The Mishna emphasizes the greatness of God by comparing Him to a person who stamps several coins with the same seal, resulting in identical coins. However, unlike a human, God created all people from the same “seal” (i.e. form) of Adam, yet each person is unique. 

The Talmud quotes a baraita that explains that this diversity in faces⁴ prevents identity theft, as no one face is identical to another.

ולהגיד גדולתו כו': 

תנו רבנן: 

להגיד גדולתו של מלך מלכי המלכים, הקדוש ברוך הוא, 

שאדם טובע כמה מטבעות בחותם אחד, וכולן דומין זה לזה, 

אבל הקדוש ברוך הוא, טובע כל אדם בחותמו של אדם הראשון, ואין אחד מהן דומה לחבירו 

שנא'[...]

ומפני מה אין פרצופיהן דומין זה לזה? 

שלא יראה אדם דירה נאה ואשה נאה, ויאמר שלי היא 

שנאמר [...]

The mishna teaches: And this serves to tell of the greatness of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as when a person stamps several coins with one seal, they are all similar to each other. But the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, stamped all people with the seal of Adam the first man, as all are his offspring, and not one of them is similar to another. 

The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 8:5): 

The fact that Adam the first man was created alone serves to declare the greatness of the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, as a person stamps several coins with one seal, and they are all similar to each other. 

But the Holy One, Blessed be He, stamps all people with the seal of Adam the first man, and not one of them is similar to another. 

As it is stated: [...]

The baraita asks: And for what reason are their faces not similar to one another? 

The baraita answers: It is so that a man will not see a beautiful home or a beautiful woman and say: She is mine. If all people looked the same, no one could contradict him. 

As it is stated: [...]

R’ Meir: Differences between people are in order to prevent identity theft and actual theft

In a baraita, R' Meir teaches that people differ from each other in three ways: voice, appearance, and thought. 

The differences in voice⁵ and appearance⁶ are to prevent wife-swapping, while the differences in ways of thinking (דעת) protect against robbers, as uniform ways of thinking would make it easier for criminals to exploit others by knowing where they hide their valuables.

תניא: 

היה רבי מאיר אומר: 

בשלשה דברים אדם משתנה מחבירו: 

1. בקול 

2. במראה 

3. ובדעת 

בקול ובמראה -- משום ערוה 

ובדעת -- מפני הגזלנין והחמסנין

It is taught in a baraita: 

R' Meir would say: 

One person is different from another in three ways: 

1. In voice, 

2. in appearance, 

3. and in thought. 

The differences in voice and appearance are due to a woman forbidden to him, so that people will not exchange spouses one with another. 

And the differences in thought are due to the robbers and those who take by force that which is not theirs, as, if everyone thought in a similar way, criminals could take advantage of others because they would understand where they keep their valuables.

1. Compare Wikipedia, “Monogenism“:

Monogenism or sometimes monogenesis is the theory of human origins which posits a common descent for all human races. The negation of monogenism is polygenism […]

The belief that all humans are descended from Adam is central to traditional Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

2. I.e. polytheism; for another example of Talmudic polemics against polytheism, see my previous series: “Talmudic Apologetics: A Cycle of Dialogues with Roman Pagans Regarding God and Idols (Avodah Zarah 54b-55a) - Pt. 1“ and Pt2.

3. Compare Polygenism - Wikipedia:

Polygenism has historically been heavily used in service of white supremacist ideas and practices, denying a common origin between European and non-European peoples.

4. פרצופיהן - from Greek prosopon.

5. Compare Speaker recognition - Wikipedia:

Speaker recognition is the identification of a person from characteristics of voices. It is used to answer the question "Who is speaking?"

6. מראה - i.e. facial recognition.