ויברך אותם אלהים. וכן, ויברך אלהים את יום השביעי. הא למדת, שהקונה דבר חדש, מברך שהחיינו: And conquer it: [Using the variant spelling that is] missing [the letter] vav, to teach you that it is the way of the man to 'conquer' the female; so that she not be unbridled, to cause a stumbling block for sexual impropriety, as did Leah, when she accustomed her daughter [to be unbridled] and created a stumbling block [for her]. And any [woman] who secludes herself in her home is fitting to marry the High Priest, as it is stated (Psalms 45:14), "All the honor of the king's daughter indoors, [is more than gold checkered clothing] etc," which means to say, that she will marry someone, about whom it is written (Exodus 28:39), "and you shall make checkered [...]." And she is fitting to have High Priests come from her, as it is stated (Psalms 128:3), "your sons will be like olive plantings;" meaning that they will be anointed with olive oil.
פרו ורבו. ופרדות, לא היו בכלל ברכה, כדאמרינן, הוא ענה, אשר מצא את הימים במדבר, ולפיכך, אינם פרות ורבות בעולם, ואפי' לרבי יוסי, דמסיק בפרק מקום שנהגו, דלמוצאי שבת בראשית, הביא אדם שני בהמות, והרכיבן זה על זה, ויצא מהן פרד, ל"ק מידי דפרו ורבו נאמר קודם: פרו ורבו, “be fruitful and multiply!” this blessing did not include mules, as we know from the Torah’s cryptic report that a certain man by the name of Anah had made horses and donkeys mate as a result of which a new species called mules came into being. (Genesis 36,24) (after having cross bred horses and she donkeys) “this is Anah who found the mules in the desert which had been the result of horses and asses being crossbred.” This is the reason why mules do not reproduce their species. According to our sages, he did so, seeing that he himself was a bastard as related in the beginning of the same verse. He had slept with his mother. Even according to the opinion of Rabbi Yossi, in the Talmud tractate Pessachim folio 54, who claims that immediately after the first Sabbath Adam crossbred two mammals, as a resulted of which the species mules came into existence there is no inconsistency here as the blessing to be fruitful and to multiply had been given to man prior to the first Sabbath.
וכבשה. חסר וי"ו, ללמדך, שדרך האיש לכבוש את הנקבה, שלא תהי' יצאנית, לגרום תקלה לערוה, כמו שעשתה לאה שהרגילה, וגרמה תקלה לבתה. וכל מי שמצנעת עצמה, בתוך הבית, ראויה להנשא לכהן גדול, שנא', כל כבודה בת מלך פנימה וגו', כלומר, שתנשא למי שכתוב בו ושבצת. וראויה להעמיד ממנה, כהנים גדולים, שנאמר, בניך כשתילי זיתים, שנמשחים בשמן זית: וכבשה, “and subdue her;” the missing letter ו which would signify the plural mode in that word, is to teach us that it is normal for the male to dominate the female in marital relations, she is to reside inside her home and not venture out without a suitable escort, as we know from Leah, Dinah’s mother whose daughter was raped by Sh’chem because she had been allowed to roam unescorted. Dinah’s mother Leah, was also quoted elsewhere as having left her tent unescorted, (Genesis 30,16) [although she had apparently good reason on that occasion; Ed.] Psalms 45,14 teaches that a truly Royal princess finds her glory inside her home, not when on public display. [If Bat Sheva had not displayed her charms when bathing on the roof of her house where David saw this, many problems in Jewish history might have been prevented. Ed.] (Samuel II 11,3-4) According to tradition, any woman who strictly observes this rule of chastity is worthy of becoming the wife of a High priest. The sages derive this from the word: ושבצת, (Exodus 28,39) which is interpreted as the High Priest adorning himself with his tunic, the “tunic” being his chaste wife. [The High Priest’s tunic covered him from neck to toe. Ed.] Such a wife is apt to give birth to sons, who in turn will qualify as future High priests.(Midrash Tanchuma Tetzaveh, 6) Of her it is said (Psalms 128,3: ‘your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons like olive saplings around your table.”