In fact, our sages wondered about that very thing way back in the book of Genesis!

We find it in Genesis 2:18: "The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper for him alongside him." But what does it really mean? The rabbis of the Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, delve into this seemingly simple verse and uncover a fascinating layer of meaning.

The Bereshit Rabbah connects this verse to a grander concept: the ten divine utterances with which God created the world. You know, those famous "God said..." moments from the first chapter of Genesis. "God said, let there be light!" "God said, let there be a firmament!" Each one a building block of creation.

According to Avot 5:1, the world was created with ten divine utterances. The Midrash then goes on to list them: "In the beginning [God created the heavens and the earth]" (Genesis 1:1), even though the words “God said” aren’t explicitly written there, it's understood that God's command was the force behind creation, as we see in Psalms 33:6. And then: “the wind of God hovered [over the surface of the water]" (Genesis 1:2). Again, the Midrash interprets ruaḥ – usually translated as "spirit" – as "wind." Similar to the first utterance, even though the words “God said” aren’t written, it was through God’s command that the wind came about.

Then come the more familiar ones: "God said: Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3); "God said: Let there be a firmament" (Genesis 1:6); "God said: Let the water be gathered" (Genesis 1:9); "God said: Let the earth sprout [grass]" (Genesis 1:11); "God said: Let there be lights" (Genesis 1:14); "God said: Let the water swarm" (Genesis 1:20); "God said: Let the earth produce" (Genesis 1:24); and finally, "God said: Let us make man" (Genesis 1:26).

But here’s where it gets interesting. Menahem bar Yosei actually removes "The wind of God hovered" from the list and replaces it with "The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be." Think about that for a second. Why? Well, perhaps he felt that the statement about man's solitude was significant enough to warrant its own place among the foundational acts of creation.

However, Rabbi Yaakov ben Kurshai disagrees! He believes a special utterance was indeed devoted specifically to the wind and maintains the original count of ten utterances.

So, what are we to make of this debate? Is it just a numbers game? I don't think so. It highlights the profound importance the rabbis placed on the creation of companionship. The very foundation of the world, the very act of bringing order from chaos, was, in a way, incomplete until there was someone to share it with. Until there was connection.

Perhaps that feeling of something missing isn't just a personal one, but a reflection of the very structure of creation itself. We are, after all, created to connect, to build relationships, to find our "helper alongside us." And maybe, just maybe, that connection is as vital to the world as light, firmament, and the very wind itself.