“And G-d said:It is not good for man to be alone;I shall make for him a helpmate (k’negdo).”Genesis 2:18)
When G-d created Adam he made him put the names of the animals. Adam realized that they all came in pairs and he was alone. G-d did this on purpose so he would desire a wife to be his partner in life. Our sages teach us that it is in fact the way of man to search for woman, for he is in fact searching for his own lost side of the rib. Spiritually this lost side is the unconscious level of his own soul.
The word “k’negdo'” (helpmate) in Hebrew could also mean “someone against him.” Rashi explains that if he is worthy she will be a help to him; if he is unworthy she will be against him to fight him.
Let’s take a closer look to this commentary, in Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburg book “The Mystery of Marriage”, he explains that when a man learns to relate to ones wife on the level of their common soul root he “finds” not only a good marriage. A good wife is thus one who makes her husband conscious of the depths of his own will to be good. The blessings of marriage are contingent upon the abandonment of egocentricity and a positive reorientation towards the truth that a couple has a root soul in common and they are here together for a higher purpose which is to make their home a place of peace “Shalom Bayit” and inviting G-d as their third partner in their earthly journey. When we are able to rid ourselves of the “I” and instead focus on the “We”, the couple will be able to live their lives “face to face” instead of “back to back.”
May we all strive to form beautiful marriages and in that way serve the purpose for which we were created.
Shabbat Shalom
Live a little higher
