Why Was Man Created from the Dust of the Earth?

Tomer asks:

"Hello, I have two questions: A. The Torah states that man was created 'dust from the ground', and later Hashem told him 'for dust you are and to dust you shall return'. How should we understand these verses scientifically if our body does not turn to dust after death? I've heard of fossils of skeletons preserved for thousands of years. B. My second question is, it is said that man was created 'in the image of Hashem' - so why did Hashem create him specifically from the dust of the earth? Why not from something important, like gold and diamonds, or even more stable materials like wood and stone? Thank you."

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Hello Tomer, and thank you for your questions.

The verse you read does not contradict science. The human body is made of flesh and blood, which decomposes after death and indeed eventually crumbles to particles - dust and ash, until it cannot be identified in the ground where it's buried. Bones are made of tough yet lightweight tissue. Among these tissue cells are layers of calcium and protein fibers called collagen that give the bone its hardness - yet these are cells, not a type of "stone" as it may mistakenly appear. Even skeletons eventually crumble to ash in the ground [as is known, a body that is burned turns immediately to ash. In European countries and the USA, many non-Jews bury their dead in small urns of ash].

Contrary to common belief, fossils found in soil layers are not skeletons preserved for thousands of years. Fossils form when animals get trapped in muddy ground that hardens around them, their bodies decay naturally and crumble, when in the empty space created, stony matter slowly formed copying the skeletal shape (while the original bones decomposed in the ground and disappeared). A fossil is made of stone, not bone.

Indeed, skeletons that have survived thousands of years were found, but these are rare cases formed under special climatic conditions. The vast majority of humans and animals that died in the last thousands of years left no traces behind. Naturally, every body decomposes by microorganisms and eventually crumbles into the earth's dust.

In response to your second question,

Hashem created man from the dust of the earth, and this can be seen as the reverse process of his death. A person's body ultimately returns to the earth from which it was taken, a fact that reminds us that our lives in this world are limited, and we have a role and purpose within our temporary body, as it is said: "for dust you are and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19).

For this reason, a person should not spend his life pursuing bodily desires and external beauty that will be lost with his body's demise. All returns to dust and is lost in the soil we walk upon. There is thus a moral lesson for all generations to invest time in eternal spirituality rather than in the passing futilities of time.

The foundation of dust is considered the lowest of physical materials because it is inanimate and motionless (unlike fire, air, and water), also it is the lowest since it forms the bottommost layer. Thus, to seek humility, we end the Amidah prayer with: "Let my soul be like dust to everyone."

Our forefather Abraham discovered his humility when he said: "Abraham answered and said, behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ash" (Genesis 18:27), and Ibn Ezra interprets: "And the meaning (of saying) I am dust and ash - for dust I was and ash I shall return. Primarily, on the foundation of the body, which are the bones."

A person who recognizes his end, understanding that his body will return to the earth beneath his feet, can no longer feel pride in this world. Who is the strongest person, the most beautiful, the richest, the most honorable, in face of such a simple fact of life?

Moreover, besides teaching us humility and an important lesson about the futility of material allure to our hearts, the Creator wanted to reveal a significant foundation in our spiritual work:

The physical nature of man teaches about his struggle between material and spirit.

It was said to man "for dust you are and to dust you shall return" - because his body returns to the earth's dust just like the beast's body, which was also created from dust: "And Hashem said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beasts of the earth after its kind, and it was so" (Genesis 1:24).

From here, man learns that he is identical in his material nature to animals, his body like theirs, and they share common drives in the material world.

Since man was created from the lowest base of the earth, his body expresses its animalistic desires, drawn to the baseness of this world, with low and selfish instincts - which we must confront and restrain according to Torah guidance.

Although the human body is materially essential like the earth element, the one commanding it is a divine soul, which is who we truly are. Thus, it is said in the Torah about the creation of man, and not any other living creature, after Hashem formed his body from the dust of the ground, He breathed a spiritual soul into him: "And Hashem formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Genesis 2:7).

Thus it was said by our sages:

"Six things were said about mankind: Three like beasts, and three like ministering angels.

Three like beasts: they eat and drink like the beast, procreate like the beast, and excrete waste like the beast.

Three like ministering angels: they have understanding like the ministering angels, stand upright like the ministering angels, and speak in the holy language like the ministering angels" (Avot d'Rabbi Natan, Chapter Thirty-Seven, Section B).

The Torah teaches us that man is essentially composed of two opposing elements, "dust" body and "heavenly" soul, indicating his remarkable challenge in this world: man's feet are deeply rooted in the ground, yet his mind is high in the heavens.

Indeed, man's inclination is evil from his youth, but he has the power to control it: "Surely if you do good, you will be accepted, but if you do not do good, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is toward you, but you can rule over it" (Genesis 4:7)!

Therefore, our struggle in this world is to choose between good and evil, between the soul and bodily desires. We choose whether to let our animalistic inclinations lead us like sheep to the slaughter, Heaven forbid, or if we shall control our inclinations through our celestial soul and turn them into instruments in divine service, as our sages taught: "The wicked are subject to their heart. The righteous have their heart in their control" (Bereishit Rabbah 34:10).

Furthermore, from the story of man's creation, we learn before whom we are destined to give an account. We learn that at death, a man's body returns to the dust of the earth like the bodies of the animals, but man's spiritual soul did not originate from the dust of the earth but from a higher source, so it returns to heaven to give an account of all its deeds to the one who breathed it:

"Who knows the spirit of man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast that goes downward to the earth" (Ecclesiastes 3:21), and it is said "For Hashem shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

Man was specifically created from the dust of the earth to remind him of his end, but also to teach him about his purpose in the world of action.

As the Or HaChaim HaKadosh wrote (Genesis 6:5):

"The intension of the scriptures is that man is composed of four elements: fire, air, water, dust. They are in hierarchy, the lowest of the four is dust because it is the most murky and coarse of all, above it is the element of water, above it the element of fire, above the fire is the element of air, which is the most spiritual of all; and you will find that all creations in the world, although all of them were created from four elements, with all this every creature its main building is from one element, and that is the fundamental element, and the remaining three branches to it. There is a creature whose main foundation is water like fish that grow in water, and there is whose main foundation is from air like birds... and man, the foundation upon which the elements were built in him, is the dust element as it is written (Genesis 2:7): 'And Hashem... formed man from the dust of the ground', which is the coarse and dense foundation among the four elements, and therefore his dwelling place and rest is on the earth, nor tolerates living in water, nor in air, nor in fire. And Hashem did so for many reasons, one of them is that he is the ladder through which the steps ascend from below to above, and the lowest step is the dust foundation, and it needs to be on the earth. If it were built from the other three [elements], the spirituality in relation to dust would not have fulfilled the intention in its creation, and the intelligent will understand because it is the secret of clarification and understand."