Q: Why did G-d separate the human species into men and women? (This question is related to the prohibition, “Do not commit adultery.”)
Q: Why did G-d separate the human species into men and women? (This question is related to the prohibition, “Do not commit adultery.”)
A: Answer by Rav Ouri Cherky:
This enriches the soul of mankind by providing two central focal points in our identity – one based on intellect and the other based on emotion.
Answer by Rav Yeshayahu Hollander:
I have no way of answering the question of why G-d did or does something. Only a person who has asked G-d and received a reply can answer such a question. What we can do is make some hypothesis, which may or may not be supported by interpretations of holy books. If the hypothesis seems reasonable to the one who proposed it or to someone else, that’s fine (although it should never be accepted as a basis for practical action). But such proposals should never be viewed as absolute truth, they always were and will always remain a hypothesis.
So, I will make my own suggestion. Let us look at the alternative to having two sexes. That is, what if all human beings were hermaphrodites – both male and female at the same time? Then everybody would be the same. Let’s see what that might mean, by looking at hermaphrodite animals that exist. They also reproduce, and they are sexually attracted to each other. They too have urges and inclinations.
However, hermaphrodites lack something as compared to having creatures with two sexes. There is a benefit to be derived from having opposite sexes, and this is true not only for human beings. Usually the male is physically stronger and is better suited to fight for territorial control. The male can do things the female cannot, and the female can do things that are no less important which the male can never hope to do.
See also Rav Cherki’s succinct reply, above.
