Of One Flesh

(21) And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead thereof. (22) And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from the man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. (23) And the man said: ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ (24) Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. (25) And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

One flesh – the child is created by two of them, and there their flesh is made one.

The child is created by two of them, and there their flesh is made one – these are the words of Rashi. And this explanation does not make sense, because all animals [and not uniquely humans] become one flesh in their offspring. What appears correct in my opinion, is that [male] animals and beasts do not cleave to their females, but the male comes onto whatever female he finds, and goes his way.

Thus, the verse says that the female of the man came from a bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh, and cleaved to her, and she became in his bosom like his flesh, and he desired her, that she should always be with him. Once this was the case with Adam, it was placed in his nature for his descendants, that the males should cleave to their wives, abandon their mothers and fathers, and see their wives as if they are with them as one flesh… And behold he will abandon his mother and his father – who are his flesh – and his closeness to them, and he will see that his wife is closer to him then they…