Human beings mate - but animals also mate, so what is the difference?
This is a critical question because we live in a generation where the lines between human being and animal, male and female, adults and children etc. etc. have been blurred. For example, many, many people admit that if their beloved dog and a person they didn't know was drowning at the same time and they could save only one of them - they would save the dog. Hey - they love their dog and they don't know the guy, so what is the question??
But we know that human beings are inherently-essentially-fundamentally more important and SACRED than any animals [I ask mechilah from any species other than humans who are reading this and are offended. That crack is part of the point - The fact that animals don't have the intellect to read makes them (among many other factors) fundamentally inferior to human beings].
The Torah says ONLY ABOUT HUMANS לא טוב היות האדם לבדו - It is not good for man to be alone. Animals mate, perpetuate their species and move on. There is no great value and importance to them staying together. Only human beings must not only procreate but develop deep lasting relationships. The pasuk doesn't say לא טוב לאדם היות לבדו - It is not good for man to be alone. It says לא טוב היות האדם לבדו - It is not good for man to be alone. For whom is it not good? For EVERYONE. A healthy world requires healthy couples.
We human beings need a mate-spouse-eternal-partner to fulfill our purpose.
I invited Rav Hirsch z"l to share his thoughts and this is what he wrote:
Halacha li-myse? Make a shidduch today and bring simcha and fulfillment into the lives of two people [not to mention their mother's:-)].
