“The Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth.” (Genesis 2:7).

What is meant by “dust of the earth”? Rather than simply translate this phrase, the Pseudo-Jonathan Targum explains this phrase midrashically: “He took dust from the site of the Temple and from the four corners of the earth, and mixed it with the waters of all the seas”. The idea that the first human was created from the soil of the site of the Temple derives from a midrash that ties the word “earth” with the building of the altar: “R. Berachya and R. Helbo said in the name of R. Samuel b. Nahman, he was created from the place of his repentance, as is written ‘Make for Me an altar of earth’ (Exodus 20:21)” (Genesis Raba (Vilna) 14). Rashi provides us with the midrashic source for the idea of taking dust from all parts of the world: “God gathered man’s dust from all the four corners of the earth so that wherever he may die, there the earth will receive him for burial”. These approaches tie the earth of man’s creation to his end, recalling: “Until you return to the ground; for from it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19).

Another midrahic approach suggests that humankind was created from the dust of the earth in order to make it stronger: “R. Huna said, ‘dust’ (afar) is masculine; ‘earth’ (adama) is feminine [referring to the grammatical gender of the words in Hebrew]. This Creator combines masculine dust and feminine earth so that his vessels will be strong” (Genesis Raba (Vilna) 14).

This view of human creation as the product of merging or uniting two opposite parts or materials is also expressed in the continuation of the verse that describes man’s creation. The first human is created from the substance of the earth, but “He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). As Rashi states: “He made him from below and from above, a body from [the earth] below, and a soul from [the heavens] above.” Humans are formed from the lowest and from the most exalted - from the most concrete and the most abstract. This idea of the duality of humanity is addressed by the commentator R. Menahem Recanati (Italy c. 1250-1310): “The two yods in the spelling of the word va-yiytzer (וַיִּיצֶר – “formed” or “created”) caught the attention of the sages, and they explained that there were two creations, one male and one female, and they said that it teaches that humans were created diprosopone (with two faces) [see Genesis Rabba (Vilna) 8], and this is an allusion to the aspects of mercy and of judgement.”

1. Concerning the creation of animals, we read: “And the Lord God formed out of the earth all the wild beasts and all the birds of the sky” (Genesis 2:19). Why was it important to emphasize the duality in human creation as opposed to that of the animals that are described as being created from the earth alone?

2. Does the idea that a person can be buried anywhere accentuate the human connection to the earth, or should it be understood as saying that that connection is secondary and the place of burial is unimportant because the source of the human soul is in the heavens? Can the idea of the earth of the altar harmonize the two approaches?

3. What does the idea that humans are formed from the “masculine” dust and the “feminine” earth teach us about perfection? How does this amalgamation of masculine and feminine make humans stronger?

4. Why did the sages wish to tie human creation to the earth of the Temple and repentance? Were they trying to say something about our inherently evil nature or about our potential for holiness? One would think that the sages would have pointed to our heavenly souls as the source of our potential for holiness. Why do they point, instead, to our earthly origin in the soil of the Temple?