Parsha Pearls

Parsha Pearls

לֹא טוֹב הֱיוֹת הָאָדָם לְבַדּוֹ אֶעֱשֶה לּוֹ עֵזֶר כְנֶגְדּוֹ ...
“...It is not good for a man to be alone. I will make for him a helper, opposite of him.” (Bereishis 33:2)

The obvious question on this verse is: What “help” did Adam need? Doesn’t our mesorah tell us that in Gan Eden everything was provided for him? Even the food and drink was prepared for Adam by angels. So why did Adam need עֵזֶר כְנֶגְדּוֹ ?

HaRav Chaim Shmulevitz zt”l is quoted answering this question. He explains that Adam needed “help” due to the fact that Adam was created בצלם אלקים. In other words, he possessed Hashem’s attributes, and one of such attributes is doing acts of kindness for another. He therefore needed a wife to whom he can do acts of kindness.