In my Stone edition of the Torah, it reads: 1:26 "And G-d said, 'Let us make Man in Our image, after Our likeness. They shall rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and over the animal, the whole earth, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."
1:27 "So G-d created Man in His image, in the image of G-d He created him: male and female He created them."
This is the classic interpretation, the Orthodox interpretation.
My URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) Torah says it differently: 1:26 "G-d now said, "Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness; and let them hold sway over the fish of the sea and the birds in the sky, over the beasts, over all the earth, over all that creeps upon the earth."
1:27 "So G-d created the human beings in [the divine] image, creating [them] in the image of G-d, creating them male and female."
See the difference? In the classic Torah it states that G-d created "him: male and female He created them." This first "human" was, both male and female in one body. This he-she being wasn't separated until G-d placed them in the Garden of Eden.
And then G-d saw that maybe this wasn't the ideal way for human-kind to begin. He split this he-she into two distinct people, one male and one female. G-d saw that one human could not procreate, could not have a partner to share life with. Indeed, G-d saw that "Man" would be lonely without someone to share life with.
I like that. I like that G-d saw that human-kind needed companionship, that we were never meant to live life alone, without anyone to talk to or share our life with.
In my Women's Commentary Torah (URJ), it is written this way:
1:26 "G-d now said, "Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness..." 1:27 "So G-d created the human beings in [the divine] image, creating [them] in the image of G-d, creating them male and female."
While this may be more appropriate "modern" language, to me it takes away this first he-she — this first human who had all of Mankinds abilities and shortcomings in one form. That for a brief time, both male and female existed together, sharing a body and a mind and a soul.
That may be why I like the term for one's soulmate: B'sheirt (which seems so close to B'reishit, naturally).
While I am a liberal feminist Jewish woman who believes that men and women should have equal rights and equal pay and be equal partners... I also like being a woman, being able to become a wife, being able to become pregnant, (if and when I choose to, thank you very much).
I met my husband when I was 19. The day I met him, in the middle of a rainstorm in Chillicothe, Ohio, I felt immediately as though I already knew him. I was drawn to my husband — I just had a strong feeling that I already knew him. And today, after being together since that day (May 19, 1985), I can truly say that I did find my b'sheirt. My soulmate. That after many good times and bad, in sickness and in health, as a couple and as parents, we have been true to each other, have respected each other and learned from each other — and that we continue to do so. I joke to our son that Daddy didn't cook his "famous egg, bacon and cheese sandwich" until we had been married 10 years. And, if you had told me in 1989, when we got married, that my husband would convert 22 years later, I would have laughed out loud.
I like being a woman. I love being a mother. I have grown in my faith over the years, especially since becoming a mother.
I like that the original Torah has G-d creating a humanoid that is both male and female at once. Sometimes it is good to remember that at one time, all of humankind was created in the image of G-d. That we were once One Being — and that if we can remember to respect each other, then we are living the way G-d intended: to be each others helper and companion. Not necessarily to be "better" or to "obey" each other, rather to inspire and lift each other up to be the best version of ourselves.
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