The Rib Protects the Heart

Others have mentioned the significance of how woman was made from the rib of the man, and it is worth repeating. She is not taken from his head so as to rule over him, and she is not taken from his foot as being beneath him. She is taken from his side and near his heart indicating their equality and that she is to be loved as Christ loves His Church.

According to the biblical account, woman is also created after the man and is the final creature created. The endpoint of creation is mankind, and the very endpoint is woman. There are many jokes about the creation of Adam and Eve, and one goes something such as: after God made Adam, He looked at him and said, "I can do better than that." That is when he made the woman. In a certain way, woman seems to have a greater dignity than man. The greatest human of all time is in fact a woman, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

There is more to understanding the woman's genesis from the rib of man. One of the primary roles of our ribs is to protect our vital organs, especially the heart. From my previous writings I have stated how the tree of life is the heart, i.e. the heart that worships, loves, believes and obeys God. It is in loving, praising, believing and obeying God that we have life and life to the full. The fruit of such a faithful heart is a full life in God, and that is why it is the tree of life: "out of his heart shall flow rivers of living waters." God made the man together with his tree of life so that he would be able to be in union with God and pass any trial of faith God sent him.

The test resides in the seemingly contradictory commands: be fruitful and multiply and don't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Only a pure faith in the goodness and beneficence of God will overcome the test. God gives the man the woman so that she can be an extra help to overcome the trial. She is given to encourage the man to stay strong in his faith, obedience and love of God. She, in a particular way, is a protector of his tree of life so that he can make his way to heaven.

At the same time, she is the other half of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She is both his best friend and part of the test he is to overcome. They are the best thing for one another to draw the other closer to God, and they are the very thing which may cause their downfall and separation from Him. It is quite likely that, because of their interdependence, where one of them goes, the other will follow.

The woman's role as protector of the tree of life is fulfilled and perfected by the New Eve, Our Lady. If we entrust our heart to her, she will always lead us closer to her divine Son. Of course the woman of Genesis failed to protect the man's heart in trusting and obeying God. She did the exact opposite and turned the man's heart to the wisdom of the serpent who encouraged them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The entire episode of this betrayal in the garden began with a kiss and ended with the conception of Cain. Jesus was likewise betrayed in a garden by one who was supposed to protect and encourage him, and that betrayal too began with a kiss from Judas and ended, from Jesus' perspective, with the conception of the Church on the Cross.

One last thought: why is the way to the tree of life guarded by a cherubim? The woman abrogated her role as protector and encourager of the tree of life in the fall, so God gave every person a new protector and defender of our tree of life to lead us to heaven: our guardian angel. I understand that passage not as God trying to keep us from eating of the tree of life, but as His giving us a new helper to bolster our faith in Him "Behold, I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. Give heed to him and hearken to his voice, do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; for my name is in him" Exodus 23:20-21. We don't have to ever worry of being led astray by our angel; he will always lead us closer to God.

Thanks for reading.

Copyright 2007.