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Two Is One


Based on letters and talks of the Rebbe, Rabbi M. M. Schneerson

Look deeply and you will see that the Torah does not know of man and woman as separate beings. Each act is performed once through a single body—a body that in our world may appear as two, but which the Torah sees as one.

On the contrary, for both to do the same mitzvah would be redundant, for why should one half of the body do what the other has already done?

They are a single whole, whether they know of one another or not. Where does a woman put on tefillin or wear tzitzit? On the body of her male counterpart.
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Based on letters and talks of the Rebbe, Rabbi M. M. Schneerson   More articles...  |   RSS Listing of Newest Articles by this Author

From the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman. To order Rabbi Freeman’s book, Bringing Heaven Down to Earth, click here.

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Latest Comments:
Posted: June 1, 2011
Devorah
Maybe the answer lies in the idea of the bershert. You may not have met your better half, but he is out there somewhere, and doing the mitzvahs that complete you. Another idea is that G-d completes us, our soul, neshama, is attached to Hashem. Another idea comes from Lecha Dodi on Friday nights:

Come my " Beloved " to greet the Sabbath Bride.

Beloved is Hashem. Hashem is both male and female/Shechina.

Now i am out of ideas. Ima sure that there are others because you make a good point.
Posted By Anonymous, w

Posted: June 1, 2011
Hmm
1. Redundancy is good, sometimes. My left side breathes and my right side breathes -- redundancy in action. re: circle of Willis (redundancy from The Master)

2. "Where does a woman put on tefillin or wear tzitzit? On the body of her male counterpart."
Ha, you've never been to the HIR, where some women wear kipot, where some women put on tallot, where some woman puts on Tfillin (Hey, didn't some of Rashi's kindera do that?). At least they keep those things out of the women's room.
Posted By Anonymous, NY, NY

Posted: June 1, 2011
duality is the ideal but...
What about in intermarriage where the wife is Jewish?
Or what about in a marriage in which the husband is not Religious yet due to his childhood misgivings.
What were his childhood misgivings? His Dad was a strict in his prayer to Hashem but violent, impatient and insensative to his children, a very Religious Dad. How can the current Religious wife pick up on the husband's lagging relationship with Hahsem? and lagging commitment to rules of marriage? How can a wife convince her husband that Hashem is there for him and his marriage. The husband knows now his Dad was doing the best he could so now is spiritual but he now cannot realize that his Dad was wrong to be so severe and should not have hit or destroyed their man to man relationship in order to get the son back to Hashem. The husband' Dad's own insensatiivy mistaught his son about the ritual involved with the love of Hashem and still has caused a distance.. This is crucial especially when there are sons trying to find their way.
Posted By Anonymous, M., Ma.

Posted: June 1, 2011
This is a weak, although"pretty" excuse for today's antiquated and blatant inequalities between men and women.
Posted By Anonymous

Posted: June 1, 2011
When I read the daily dose today I also have questions like of previous comments. One of course is the case of not married. I just can not see my act of worship has to depend on another male counterpart as you call it. I do not mind and respect whatever we as mankind able to decipher but even that all of us fall short of His glory. Approaching Shavuot I consider commandment 10 and do not want to covet any man's position or part!
Posted By Anonymous, Forest Hills, NY

Posted: June 1, 2011
Mitzvoth for each one as they are "whole"
I am a widow, that means only "half"
What about Tefiillin" or Zitzit?
A man, when he is alone, has to light Shabbat candles?
Posted By Michal, Germany

Posted: Nov 7, 2009
Devorah's point
Devorah's point is well taken. "Standing alone in faith" is providential just as much, it would seem, as the state of matrimony that is also divinely providential. Duality and its resolution, or lack of resolution, manifests in this way too.
Posted By Happyminyan, Beverly Hills, California

Posted: Nov 3, 2009
Re: Does not apply for every mitzva
The woman does the mitzva in a different way than the man. Therefore she recites the Grace After Meals, washes her hands for bread, says the prayers, and does many of the mitzvos that men are commanded to do as well. He cannot do the mitzva in the same way as her, and vise versa, so it needs to be done by both of them.
So then why do women not wear tefillin, and why don't men light shabbat candles? Because we each have our own special mitzvot, too.
Mitzvot are our way to connect with G-d. G-d decided that men need to wear tefillin in order to connect with Him. Women, apparently, do not.
It is not up to us human beings to decide which mitzvot are for whom. some are for both of us, some are divided between us.
Posted By Anonymous

Posted: Nov 3, 2009
Two is One
What if one does not have a counterpart?

In a perfect world our wives, our husbands are our counterparts. But the world is not "perfect" and a woman or a man can stand alone in faith.
Posted By Devorah, Pitttstown, NJ

Posted: Nov 3, 2009
marriage
Two is One defines the essence of a good marriage,
Posted By Anonymous, winnipeg, canada



 


Meditations on Man & Woman
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Peace
Transfusion
What is Love?
A Woman’s Way
Man and Woman
Feminine Bread
Full Index...
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