ABSTRACT
The Hebrew tradition recognizes the "breath" as signifying, rather, an essential dependence between the creature and God. The Hebrew tradition will not seek to escape the intrinsic tension between matter and spirit in man, but rather attempts to resolve it, to harmonize it. Contrary to the Western conception of the virile subjectivity as central and masterful in the face of the world, the biblical account of the masculine identity reveals to us a being whose rapport with the world is, rather, profoundly de-centered. According to Philo, Carol J. Adam's sin lies in forfeiting his position as master of woman and succumbing to her domination. A renewed reading of the story of the creation of man reveals a subjectivity which is far from central. Profoundly differentiated from its origin the dust of the earth through its partaking of the divine essence the breath of God such a subjectivity finds itself ever having to rise above its origin towards a spiritual calling.
