Chasam Sofer on the First Chet

 

חתם סופר (תורת משה בראשית ג:יז): כי שמעת לקול אשתך ותאכל מן העץ. יל"ד הי' לו לכתוב בקיצור ותאכל מפרי העץ אשר צויתיך לבתלי אכול ממנו, ולמה מאריך בלשונו לאמור כי שמעת לקול אשתך ותאכל וגו'. אחז"ל שנענש על שהלך אחר עצת אשתו משמע שזה ענין בפני עצמו הוא. חדא שהלך אחר עצת אשתו, שנית כי אכל מעץ הדעת [עיין ברמב"ן], מפני שהיא היתה חשובה יותר ממנו. יען שהיא נבראת בג"ע עצמו, ועפרו של אדם נלקט מהעולם כולו כדאי' במדרש [בילקוט רמז י"ג שקבץ הקב"ה עפרו מד' פנות העולם, אדום שחור לבן ירקרק וכו' והובא ברש"י לעיל בפסוק וייצר וכו' את האדם עפר מן האדמה], ועל שאכל מפרי העץ יכול להשיב שראה שחוה אכלה ולא מתה, והי' לו מקום לטעות, אך ממ"נ חטא האדם, כי הי' לו לתלות באמת משו"ה לא מתה היא יעןשהיא חשובה ממנו שהיא נבראת בג"ע יותר בקדושה לכן מותרת לאכול ולא יזיקנה, אבל הוא שנתגשם גופו מלקיטת עפרו מכל העולם כולו לו יזיק אכילת עץ הדעת, וא"כ נענש אדם או על ששמע והלך אחר עצת אשתו או על שאכל מעץ הדעת

 

 

Very interesting. I would not use this as a basis to say that the male is created “spiritually inferior” in a general way as proposed by books such as Eye of the Needle. If he were, why shouldn’t he listen to his wife? The Gemara tells us that the man who goes about in the counsel of his wife goes to gehennom (BM 59a). This does not imply inferiority in the male.

I think it’s safer to say that because the female is superior in some respects, as represented by her creation from flesh rather than dust, it could be that she might safe to eat from the tree. I would theorize that since many of her advantages are physical (fertility being the biggest) that one might have concluded that she’d be safe to eat since that is a physical act. You wouldn’t say that women are superior since they are safe to watch men dance but men can’t watch women. Rather, in that one physical way they have an advantage.

Rav Hirsch also mentions the creation from flesh as a basis for the female’s greater refinement, earlier maturity, and moral propriety. (CW Vol. VIII, “The Jewish Woman.”) Yet, R’ Hirsch says numerous times that the male and female are spiritually equal.

“Right from the beginning God reached ‘mankind’ male and female, both equally godly, of equal worth, neither more in the likeness of God than the other, both given the same blessing by God, both together given the name ‘Adam’” (Commentary on Genesis 5:2)

The man has other strengths that equal the score. Rav Hirsch discusses these elsewhere.

We have from other commentators readings of the creation story that portray the male as being more chashuv. The Maharal says that Hashem spoke to Adam because Adam was closer to Him and on a higher plane (Tiferes Yisrael 28). The Maharal says that Adam was formed after Chava (created simultaneously but formed separately) for the same reason. (Gur Aryah, parshas Tazriah). Rav Tzadock says Adam was created from Hashem’s will alone but Chava from that of Hashem and Adam. Thus Adam is more spiritual. (Dover Tzedeck, p.119).

I don’t see all of these as being contradictory. I think we can see a way to summarize via the words of R’ Joseph Soloveitchik. He said that, “The Chumash in Bereishis says that when God created man בצלם אלקים ברא אתם . Man and woman were created in the Image of God. Equality was taken for granted. If two personae were created in the image of God, you cannot say one is superior to the other.” (The Rav Thinking Aloud on the Parsha, Sefer Bamidbar, pp. 142-3) . Yet, he says that, “Man and woman are different personae, endowed with singular qualities and assigned distinct missions in life …” (Family Redeemed, p. 72). This means that each will have positive attributes in which the other is not as strong. But in the end, they are equal. So we must be careful not to extrapolate from single statements. We have to see them all.

The desire to do kiruv temps us to jump to conclusions, but those conclusions undermine our efforts. It’s like a shrunken bed sheet where pulling on one side unattaches the sheet from the other.  One of the great challenges for BTs is accepting rabbinical authority. But if men are so low, why would anyone accept their authority? Similarly, how is the Torah uplifting and positive if the only purpose of mitzvos is to fix our flaws, like a 12 step program?

I believe we can say that in our day and age the best approach is to portray equality with differences in role. With all the shalom bayis problems, with all the shiduchim problems, we need people to get along and when one sees him or herself as being superior (or inferior), you get all kinds of problems. The approach of the leading figures of our era (R' Hirsch, R' Moshe Feinstein, Lubavitcher Rebbe, R’ Soloveitchik, R’ A. Miller) has been equality with differences in role.

Times have changed. Analysts say that next US President will likely be a woman. The head of the federal reserve bank is a woman. The US attorney general is a woman. We recently had a female speaker of the house and sec of state. Exaggerations to flatter women used to be taken with a grain of salt. When a man called his wife his better half, people didn't take it literally. He was being gracious. Today such a comment would be taken literally and the results are not good.