Wedding D'var Torah - The No Longer Lonely Man of Faith

At the Chatan's Tisch I was unable to give my D'var Torah due to time restrictions. We could not find the Rav who was honored with reading the T'naim for - what seemed like - fifteen minutes so I did not have time to share my speech then.

I wrote this speech in ten minutes sometime the week before the wedding at work and never saw it again until the day of the Chatanah. I thought that some of you might like to read it - though a few of you already have.

In Genesis 2:18 the Torah tells us "Lo Tov Hiyot HaAdam L'vado", which is usually translated as "It is not good for man to be alone." This verse is often used when speaking about marriage. However, the verse seems to be misunderstood. Rav Soloveitchik explains that the word would be translated as loneliness or aloneness. Preferring the translation "It is not good for man to be lonely", the Rav shows us that man needs more than a helper- that two can accomplish more than one. Man cannot be lonely. Man cannot live up to his potential - again, not a utilitarian purpose - but for ontological reasons - without an Ezer K'negdo - without a soul mate. This is what soul mate really means, a person with whom we achieve more, a person who gives life meaning and direction. A marriage is always greater than the sum of its parts.

Lo Tov Hiyot HaAdam L'vado - It is not good for man to be lonely. I am no longer lonely.

It was a wonderful wedding, more than I could have ever wished or asked for. This past week of Sheva Brachot has been the most exhausting week ever. We've been up and down the east coast (my parents are making "East Coast Tour" t-shirts). Now it's time to go back to work and finally settle in.