“But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.” (Genesis 24:4)
In this week’s parsha [Torah portion], Abraham sends his servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for his son, Isaac. I believe that it is valuable to take a brief look at the idea and ideal of marriage from a Jewish perspective. The Torah’s description of the creation of human beings provides us with a fundamental insight into the nature of human relationships. Genesis 1:27 tells us, “And God created the human in His image, in the image of God He created him, male and female he created them.” This verse appears to contradict itself. First it states that God created one human, but then it refers to two, male and female. The Talmud explains that the original human being was androgynous, a unity of both male and female. Only later, was the human divided into male and female halves. We learn from this sequence of events that the ideal, complete human being includes both male and female components, as God originally created Adam.
Knowing that He would later divide the one human being, God created the original state of oneness to enable the two halves to achieve complete unity, to return to their pre-existing condition. For this reason, Jewish law regards a husband and wife as the reunification of a single unit, almost literally, one body, as implied by the verse in Genesis, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife and they will become one flesh.”
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Author: Mordecai Becher
Keywords: Falling in love, Marriage, Married life, Marrying, Marry, Dating, Husband wife, Love, Giving, Loving, Lover, Types love, Agape, Courtship, Eros, Eroticism, Erotic love, Puppy love, Male female, Sex, What is love, Love means, Male and female love, Loving relationship, Marriage happiness, Marital happiness, Marital bliss, One flesh, Two becomes one, Man and woman, Husband and wife, Union, Union of the sexes, Marital fulness, Marital fullness, Perfect match, Perfect couple, Matrimony, Marriage ceremony, Getting married, Great relationship, Secrets to a great relationship, Husband and wife relationship, Marital harmony
Bible reference(s): Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:24, Genesis 24:4, Mat 19:5-6, Mark 10:8, Eph 5:31, Colossians 3:19, Ephesians 5:25, Ephesians 5:28, Titus 2:4
Source: Rabbi “Two Equals One – Parshat Chayei Sarah 5775,” Gateways, November 10, 2014.
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