Did God Speak to Chava (Eve)?

Q. Bereishis Rabbah 48:20 says: “'Sarah denied, saying: I did not laugh, for she was afraid.' He said: 'No, but you did laugh' (Genesis 18:15).

“'Sarah denied, saying: I did not' – Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: The Holy One blessed be He never deigned to speak with a woman, except for that righteous woman [Sarah], and that, too, was out of necessity.

"Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said in the name of Rabbi Idi: See how much He spoke in a roundabout manner in order to speak with her: 'No, but you did laugh.'

"Rabbi Eliezer says: But is it not written: 'She [Hagar] called the name of the Lord, who spoke to her'? (Genesis 16:13). Rabbi Neḥemya said in the name of Rabbi Idi: That was through an angel.

"But is it not written [regarding Rebecca]: 'The Lord said to her'? (Genesis 25:23). Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina bar Ḥama: That was through an angel. Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: It was through Shem son of Noah."

The Zohar also says the same thing.

But if Sarah was the only woman Hashem spoke with directly then how did He ask Chava what she did with the forbidden fruit? It is right there in Bereishis 3:13 ("And the Lord God said to the woman").

A. Before I answer your question, I want to point out that many (possibly most) Midrashim are not intended as literal history. Rather, they're moral lessons for us. When I read this Midrash, I see it expressing a lesson to men: that they shouldn't be overly familiar with women. (This lesson is taught overtly in a mishnah in the first chapter of Avos.) The lesson as taught in the Midrash is expressed through a metaphor that remains true even if the events didn't actually transpire as recorded.

That having been said, just like the Midrash answers that God spoke to Hagar through an angel, and to Rivka through an angel or through Shem, one could say that God spoke to Chava through an angel or through Adam. But again, I don't know that an explanation is necessary if the Midrash is speaking metaphorically rather than historically.

I hope this helps!

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