Back to Question of the Week Back to Archives Q: When I attended Hebrew School ( many many years ago) I was taught that Eve was created from Adam's rib. In turn, Men have one less rib than women. Is this really true? If yes, where is the lack of the rib. If no, what is this basis for this story (if any). Irv
		A: Women have the same number of ribs as men. The rabbis already had a midrash a long time ago that understood the text of Genesis 2:21 in a way that is compatible with this. In the collection of midrash called Bereshit Rabbah, Chapter 8, section 1, they say that the original human being, Adam, was created both male and female. That is, it had two "fronts," a male and a female one, and no back. Rabbi Samuel explains there that the word tsela, usually translated as "rib" (from which the notion that men are missing a rib comes), can sometimes mean "side." So the explanation is that God separated off the female "side" of Adam and gave both sides a back, leaving Adam only male, and creating a new all- female being, Eve. In this understanding of the story, both sides get the same number of ribs, as indeed they should. This question and answer remind me how wonderful it is that Judaism has a midrashic tradition -- a history of understanding that the Biblical text is open to, indeed requires, active reading and interpretation in every generation. So we aren't forced into the absurd position, which I'm sure some people take, that the doctors are wrong and women really do have one more rib. written by Rabbi Jeremy Schwartz
		last update: August 1999 Got a question for Reb on the Web? Visit our Archived Questions SHOOT*! ("SHOOT" is the Hebrew acronym for SHe'elot OOTeshuvot (Questions and Answers), the centuries-old dialogue between Jews and their rabbis.)

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