מדרש אויף שמות 26:20

“And God said: Let us make Man in our image, in our likeness, and let them dominate over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the animals, and over all the earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26).
“And God said: Let us make Man in our image, in our likeness.” Rabbi Yoḥanan began: “Back and front [aḥor vakedem], You shaped me…” (Psalms 139:5) – Rabbi Yoḥanan said: If a person merits, he partakes of two worlds, as it is stated: “Back and front, You shaped me.”¹Aḥor vakedem can be translated “the end, and that which precedes it,” – an allusion to this world and the World to Come. But if not, he will come to give an accounting, as it is stated: “You placed Your palm on me” (Psalms 139:5).²The following line should be here instead of where it appears, later in the midrash: Just as it says: “Distance Your palm from me” (Job 13:21). This verse shows that God’s “palm” refers to His punishment of man (Matnot Kehuna).
Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him androgynous. That is what is written: “He created them male and female” (Genesis 5:2). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him with two faces,³That is, two conjoined bodies, male and female. and [subsequently] He sawed him in two⁴Separating the female part from the male part. and made [for] him two backs,⁵Where they had previously been joined together. a back here and a back there. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “He took one of his ribs [tzalotav] … [and the Lord God built the rib that He took from the man into a woman]”? (Genesis 2:21–22). He said to them: [It means that He took] one of his two sides, as it says: “And for the tzela of the Tabernacle” (Exodus 26:20), which we translate: “And for the side of the Tabernacle...”. Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Benaya and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him in an unformed state and he was situated from one end of the world to the other. That is what is written: “Your eyes saw my unformed parts...” (Psalms 139:16).
Rabbi Yehoshua bar Neḥemya and Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon in the name of Rabbi Elazar said: He created him filling the whole world. From east to west, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Back [aḥor] and front [kedem],⁶Aḥor and kedem can also mean “west” and “east.” You shaped me…” (Psalms 139:5). From north to south, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “[From the day God made Adam on the earth,] and from one end of the heavens to the other end of the heavens” (Deuteronomy 4:32). From where is it derived that he even filled the empty space of the world? It is as it is stated: “You placed Your palm on me” (Psalms 139:5) just as it says: “Distance Your palm from me” (Job 13: 21).⁷This line is misplaced here and belongs in section 1, as indicated there.
Rabbi Elazar said: [Adam was created] last [aḥor] among the acts of creation on the last⁸The Hebrew text says “first,” but Rashi emends the text. day, and first [kedem] among the acts of creation on the last day.⁹Adam’s spirit was created as the first act of the last day, and his body was created as its final act. This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Elazar, as Rabbi Elazar said: “Let the earth produce the spirit of living beings by their species” (Genesis 1:24) – this is the life spirit of Adam the first man.
Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: [The creation of Adam was] last [aḥor] among the acts of creation on the last day, and first [kedem] among the acts of creation on the first day. This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, as Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: “And the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the water” (Genesis 1:2) – this is the spirit of the messianic king, as it says: “The spirit of the Lord will rest upon him” (Isaiah 11:2). If a person is meritorious, it is said to him: ‘You preceded the ministering angels’; if not, it is said to him: ‘A fly preceded you, a gnat preceded you, this earthworm preceded you.’
Rav Naḥman said: [Adam was created] last [aḥor] of all the creations, but was first [kedem] for all punishments.¹⁰As it says regarding the Flood: “He obliterated all existence that was on the face of the earth, from man, to animal, to crawling creature, to birds of the heavens” (Genesis 7:23). Rabbi Shmuel said: Regarding praising [God] as well, he comes last. That is what is written: “Praise the Lord from the heavens…” (Psalms 148:1), and it says the rest of that passage. Then “praise the Lord from the earth, [sea creatures and all depths]” (Psalms 148:7), and it says the rest of that passage. Only after that it says: “Kings of the earth and all nations…” (Psalms 148:11), “young men and maidens” (Psalms 148:12).
Rabbi Samlai said: Just as his praising [of God] is only after the animals, the beasts, and the birds, so his creation was only after the animals, the beasts, and the birds. What is the source? It is as it is stated: “Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20), and then: “Let the earth produce…” (Genesis 1:24), and then: “And God said: Let us make Man in our image.”

“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: When a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be impure seven days; like the days of her menstrual infirmity she shall be impure” (Leviticus 12:2).
“When a woman conceives” – that is what is written: “Back and front You shaped me” (Psalms 139:5). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: If a person merits, he inherits two worlds, this one and the next. That is what is written: “Back and front You shaped me.” If not, he comes to present an accounting, as it is stated: “You placed Your hand upon me” (Psalms 139:5), as it is written: “Distance Your hand from me” (Job 13:21).¹This was stated by Job in light of his suffering, and indicates that the image of God’s hand upon a person is used in the context of suffering.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him androgynous. Reish Lakish said: When he was created, he was created with two faces.²There was a face and the front of a body on both sides. [God] sawed him, and two backs were formed, a back for the male and a back for the female. They raised an objection to him: “He took one of his ribs [mitzalotav]…[the Lord God built the rib that He took from the man into a woman]” (Genesis 2:21). He said to them: It was one of his sides, as it is written: “For the [second] side [ultzela] of the Tabernacle” (Exodus 26:20).
Rabbi Berekhya, Rabbi Ḥelbo, and Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him such that he filled the entire world from one end to the other. From where is it derived [that he filled the world] from east to west? As it is stated: “Back and front You shaped me.” From where is it derived [that he filled the world] from north to Ssouth? As it is stated: “From one end of the heavens to the other end” (Deuteronomy 4:32). And from where is it derived [that he filled] the entire space of the world?³From the earth to the heavens. As it is stated: “You placed Your hand upon me.”⁴“You placed [vatashet]” indicates that he was near to the Holy One blessed be He when He placed His hand upon him.
Rabbi Elazar said: “Back,” this is the first day, “and front,” this is the final day.⁵The reference here is to the first and final days of Creation. According to the opinion of Rabbi Elazar, [this is] as it is written: “God said: Let the earth produce living creatures in its kind” (Genesis 1:24); this is the spirit of Adam the first man.⁶Rabbi Elazar’s point is that Adam’s spirit was created on the sixth day before other creations that were created on that day, and his body was created last. Reish Lakish said: “Back” is the final day, “and front,” this is the first day. According to Reish Lakish, as it is written: “The spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water” (Genesis 1:2), this is the spirit of the messianic king. If a person merits, they say to him: ‘You preceded the entire act of Creation.’ If not, they say to him: ‘The gnat preceded you, the worm preceded you.’ Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Tanḥum said: “Back,” after all the creations, “front,” before all the punishments.⁷Man was created last but is the first to be punished, as in the Flood: “From Man to animal” (Genesis 7:23).
Even his praise came only last, as it is stated: “Beasts and all animals,⁸The term beast [ḥaya] implies animals generally undomesticated, and the term animal [behema] implies species that are generally domesticated. creeping animals, and birds of wing” (Psalms 148:10), and thereafter: “Kings of the earth and all nations” (Psalms 148:11). Rabbi Simlai said: Just as the creation of man was after animal, beast, and bird, so, his law is [written] after those of the animal, beast and bird. That is what is written: “This is the law of the animal” (Leviticus 11:46), and thereafter: “When a woman conceives.”

“He took one of his sides [mitzalotav]”¹⁶Mitzalotav can mean either “one of his ribs” or “one of his sides.” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: “One of his sides” – as it says: “For the side [tzela] of the Tabernacle” (Exodus 26:20). Shmuel said: He took one rib from between two [other] ribs [tzalotav].¹⁷Mitzalotav thus means “from the midst of his ribs.” It is not written here, “in its place [taḥteha],” but rather, “in their place [taḥtena].”
Rabbi Ḥanina son of Rav Idi: From the beginning of the book until this point the letter samekh¹⁸Here it appears in the word vayisgor, “and He closed it”. is not written. [The allusion is this:] When she was created, Satan was created with her.¹⁹Satan begins with the letter sin, which is pronounced like samekh. With the creation of Eve, a course of events was set into action, culminating in Eve’s committing of the first sin, and Satan is the source of all sin. If a person will say to you [in objection]: “It is that which encircles [hasovev]” (Genesis 2:11, 13), say to him [in response]: ‘Those verses are referring to the rivers.’²⁰Our verse contains the first samekh in regard to the narrative of Creation; those samekhs were merely describing the locations of the rivers.
Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: The Holy One blessed be He made an enhancement for his bottom so that he would not be disgraced like an animal.²¹His anus is concealed. The Midrash interprets taḥtena as “[He closed with flesh] his bottom.”
Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Yannai: one said: He made an enclosure and a seat attached to him, so that he would not be uncomfortable when he sits. The other said: He made cushions for him.²²All these refer to the buttocks, which are unique to humans.
Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Ami: one said: He made burial for him.²³i> He understands the phrase to mean, “And He closed the flesh underneath [taḥtena],” that is, underground. And one said: He made shrouds for him.²⁴He understands the phrase to mean, “And He covered up the flesh underneath [taḥtena],” that is, after death man is covered with shrouds and placed underground.