Psychology, halakhah, and organ transplantation.

The first surgical procedure, as is well known, was that performed by God on Adam. According to the Torah, God "caused unconsciousness to fall upon Adam and he slept";1 that is, God administercd an anesthetic to Adam, and then performed an operation somewhat akin to a Siamese section. The result of this was the formation of the first male and the first female. Rashi, consistent with the Talmud, explains that it was necessary for Adam to be asleep during the operation, although God could have undoubtedly formed the male and female of the species painlessly, even with Adam being fully awake. The anesthetic was necessary, says Rashi, so that the new, autonomous reality effected