In much the same way that Creation was not complete until Adam, man, was created, and Hashem declared him to be the crown of Creation, Hashem did not pronounce His “tov,” good, until woman, man’s corresponding helpmate, was created. Horav S.R. Hirsch, zl, notes that the Torah does not write, lo tov l’adam l’heyos levado, “It is not good for man to be alone,” but, rather, “this is not good; man being alone.” The emphasis is on Creation. As long as Man stands alone, it is altogether not yet good. The goal of perfection which the world is to attain through him will never be reached as long as he stands alone. The completion of the “good” which Hashem sought was brought to the world not by man, but by woman.
This concept is taught to us by Chazal: “Only through his wife does man become a man.” Man’s task is too great for him alone. It must be divided. Thus, Hashem created woman as an eizer k’negdo, “a helper corresponding to him.” Even from a superficial perception, this defines the dignified role of the woman. Her designation is purely as an equal partner in man’s function in this world. It was there that she was missing. Man cannot do it alone. Eizer k’negdo implies equality, on the basis of equal independence. Woman stands with man, at his side, on one line, one complementing the other, so that Hashem’s purpose will be realized.
Horav Mordechai Gifter, zl, sees another, perhaps deeper, objective behind the creation of woman. Man’s neshamah, his soul, resides within the physical container which we call the guf, body. Man is a duality of body and soul melded together. Being that the spiritual dimension of man is encased within a physical entity, man must utilize his physical senses in order to relate to spiritual concepts. While this might sound complicated, it simply means taking the lessons one learns in the physical dimension and applying them to the spiritual dimension.
One such concept is that of deveikus b’Hashem, clinging to Hashem. This means abrogating one’s self and clinging totally to Hashem. When we think about it, one who is alone has a most difficult task comprehending the concept of self-nullification for another. To love another means to give up one’s “self.” What I do is for someone else – not for myself. One who does not know what it means to live for someone else cannot fathom true love. In order to relate to deveikus b’Hashem, man must first experience such a concept in physical terms.
When Hashem saw that Adam could not orientate to this idea of deveikus, He created a helper to enable him to understand this concept. Chavah was the partner through which Adam could physically experience deveikus, and only then would he be able to achieve spiritual deveikus.
The Rosh Yeshivah cites the Talmud in Yevamos 62b, which teaches that one who has no wife resides without goodness, as is indeed attested to by our pasuk, “It is not good that man is alone.” Absolute goodness is deveikus b’Hashem, and, if one does not possess a wife, he cannot achieve this spiritual plateau. The husband/wife relationship, when observed in accordance with Torah dictate, which is a relationship based upon mutual respect and admiration leading to an inseparable bond, lays the groundwork for one to understand the meaning of clinging to the Almighty. Is it any wonder, then, that contemporary society lives a G-dless life? They simply do not comprehend the meaning of a spiritual relationship, because their idea of a physical relationship is akin to that of a breeding ground for wild animals.
