(א) ויאמר אלהים נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותנו. אמר רבי ירמיה בן אלעזר: בשעה שברא הקדוש ברוך הוא את אדם הראשון, אנדרוגינוס בראו, הדא הוא דכתיב: זכר ונקבה בראם. אמר רבי שמואל בר נחמן: בשעה שברא הקב"ה את אדם הראשון, דיו פרצופים בראו ונסרו ועשאו גביים, גב לכאן וגב לכאן. איתיבון ליה, והכתיב: ויקח אחת מצלעותיו?! אמר להון: מתרין סטרוהי, היך מה דאת אמר: (שמות כו): ולצלע המשכן, דמתרגמינן ולסטר משכנא וגו'.
(1) And God said: Let us make Adam in our image, in our shape: R' Yirmiyah ben Elazar said, when Hashem created Adam HaRishon, he was created as both genders; thus is it written, "male and female did He create them." R' Shmuel bar Nachman said, when Hashem created Adam HaRishon, He created him with two faces, one on each side, and [when He made Chavah,] He split him along the middle, forming two backs. They challenged him: but it is written, "And He took one of his ribs!" He said to them, ["mitzalosav" doesn't mean rib, it means] one of his sides, similar to that which is said, "and to the 'tzela' of the Mishkan," which is translated "the side of the Mishkan."
The Midrash, classical Jewish exegesis, adds that the [first human] being formed in G-d's likeness, was an androgynous, an inter-sexed, person . . . Hence, our tradition teaches that all bodies and genders are created in G-d's image, whether we identify as men, women, inter-sex, or something else. (Rabbi Elliot Kukla, Reform Devises Sex-Change Blessings)
וַיֹּאמֶר כִּי־יָד עַל־כֵּס יָהּ מִלְחָמָה לַיהוָה בַּעֲמָלֵק מִדֹּר דֹּר׃
He said, “It means, ‘Hand upon the throne of the LORD!’ The LORD will be at war with Amalek throughout the ages.”
כי יד על כס יה. יָדוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּבָּ"ה הֻרְמָה לִשָּׁבַע בְּכִסְאוֹ לִהְיוֹת לוֹ מִלְחָמָה וְאֵיבָה בַעֲמָלֵק עוֹלָמִית, וּמַהוּ כֵּס וְלֹא נֶאֱמַר כִּסֵּא? וְאַף הַשֵּׁם נֶחֱלַק לְחֶצְיוֹ? נִשְׁבַּע הַקָּבָּ"ה שֶׁאֵין שְׁמוֹ שָׁלֵם וְאֵין כִּסְאוֹ שָׁלֵם עַד שֶׁיִּמָּחֶה שְׁמוֹ שֶׁל עֲמָלֵק כֻּלּוֹ...
Because the Hand is upon the Throne of Yah - What is the force of כס - why does it not say as usual כסא? And the Divine Name, also, is divided into half (יה is only the half of the Tetragrammaton)! The Holy One, swears that His Name will not be perfect, nor His throne perfect, until the name of Amalek be entirely blotted out.
“Radical Judaism”:
“Being or Y-H-W-H underlies and unifies all that is. ... There is no ultimate duality here, no "God and world," no "God, World, and self," Only one Being and its many faces.
When I refer to ‘God,’ I mean the inner force of existence itself, that of which one might say: ‘Being is.’ I refer to it as the ‘One’ because it is the single unifying substratum of all that is. (18, 19).
“Being is One, and each person is God’s unique image” (153).
(א) וּנְתַנֶּה תֹּקֶף קְדֻשַּׁת הַיּוֹם, כִּי הוּא נוֹרָא וְאָיֹם, וּבוֹ תִּנָּשֵׂא מַלְכוּתֶךָ, וְיִכּוֹן בְּחֶסֶד כִּסְאֶךָ, וְתֵשֵׁב עָלָיו בְּאֱמֶת.
Let us tell the utter holiness of this day (Rosh Hashanah), for it is tremendous and awe-inspiring, and on it your dominion shall be exalted, your throne established, in loving-kindness, and you will sit on that throne in truth.
וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם׃
(27) And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.
מוסף לראש השנה
אַתָּה זוֹכֵר מַעֲשֵׂה עוֹלָם וּפוֹקֵד כָּל יְצוּרֵי קֶדֶם. לְפָנֶיךָ נִגְלוּ כָּל תַּעֲלוּמוֹת וַהֲמוֹן נִסְתָּרוֹת שֶׁמִּבְּרֵאשִׁית. כִּי אֵין שִׁכְחָה לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבוֹדֶךָ וְאֵין נִסְתָּר מִנֶּגֶד עֵינֶיךָ:
זֶה הַיּוֹם תְּחִלַּת מַעֲשֶׂיךָ, זִכָּרוֹן לְיוֹם רִאשׁוֹן. כִּי חוֹק לְיִשְׂרָאֵל הוּא מִשְׁפָּט לֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב:
Musaf, Rosh Hashanah
You remember the dealings of the world, and You consider the behavior creatures who lived in earlier times. In Your Presence are revealed all that is hidden, and the multitude of secrets from the beginning of creation; for there is no forgetfulness before the throne of Your Glory, and there is nothing hidden from Your eyes. This day [Rosh Hashana] is the beginning of Your work, a memorial to the first day.
Transition Ritual
“In our tradition leaving Egypt wasn’t an historical event alone. In our tradition, it was a personal and existential leaving as well.
"בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ\עַצְמָהּ כְאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא\ה מִמִּצְרַיִם” (In every generation a person must regard themselves as though they personally had gone out of Egypt)
Whenever we leave a narrow place, a place of constriction, painful servitute, a place where we are not authentically who we are, that leap taking, that transitioning, is an exodus. A freedom walk.
הִגָּלֶה נָא וּפְרוֹס חֲבִיבִי עָלַי אֶת סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמֶךָ.
Please, be revealed and spread the covering, beloved, Upon me, the shelter of your tranquility
הַיּוֹם הֲרַת עוֹלָם, הַיּוֹם יַעֲמִיד בַּמִּשְׁפָּט כָּל יְצוּרֵי עוֹלָמִים, אִם כְּבָנִים אִם כַּעֲבָדִים, אִם כְּבָנִים רַחֲמֵנוּ כְּרַחֵם אָב עַל בָּנִים, וְאִם כַּעֲבָדִים עֵינֵינוּ לְךָ תְלוּיוֹת עַד שֶׁתְּחָנֵּנוּ וְתוֹצִיא כָאוֹר מִשְׁפָּטֵנוּ, אָיוֹם קָדוֹשׁ:
This day, the world is born anew, and all creation awaits Your judgment. whether as children or as slaves. As we are Your children, show us a parent’s compassion; as we are slaves, we look to You for mercy: shed the light of Your judgment upon us, O awesome and holy God.
(Translation from Mahzor by Rabbi Leon Morris)
ספר רזין דאורייתא, בשם הרבי ר' מיכל מזלאטשוב
אולם הכוונה, דנודע אשר יצחק נולד בנשמת נוקבא, וכמו שכתב בעל אור החיים הק', ועל ידי העקדה היה לו נשמת דכר להשפיע. ועל פי זה מובן למה לא נמצא באדם יותר עקרה מאשר מבבהמה, אשר בפסוק נשתוו זה לזה בברכה, לא יהיה בך ובבהמתך עקר ועקרה, רק זאת נודע סדר הגלגולים. ולפעמים נקבה תסובב גבר כי בסבת הגלגול נשמת נקבה תבוא בזכר, כאשר י'תרעם ה'גלגל ו'יתרעש ה'חוזר לבוא בגלגול שני ושלישי. ואם נקבה אשר תסובב בגבר, שני נקבות אינם מולידים, רק על ידי מעשי הטוב מחליפין הנשמה, וליצחק החליפו הנשמה. לפיכך לו ולא לה, כי יצחק היה צריך לאותו דבר ולא רבקה:
18th Century Hasidus
It is known that when Issac was born, he was born with the soul of a female, as it is written in Or Hachaim, and through the akeidah (binding of Issac) he got a male soul that can influence (meaning, can impregnate). [With that we can understand why there are more infertile humans than animals, even though that they both got the same blessing "It will not be within you and within your animals infertility".] But, this is known according to the Sod (Secret/Mysticism) of reincarnation - that at times, a female would be in a male body, because in the reasons of gilgal (reincarnation) the soul of a female would come to be in a male. ... that is why it says by Issac that Hashem (Divine) answered to him and not to her (Rebecca), because he needed divine help to be able to have kids.
Translation by Abby Stein
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