Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the status of a person’s ability to testify about himself. We have a general rule that close relatives are disqualified from serving as witnesses for each other. Extending this logic, a person is considered his own close relative and, therefore, cannot give testimony about himself.

The Maharal (Gur Aryeh, Bereishis 46:15) expands on this idea, offering a profound insight into the role of the opposite gender in human character development.

The verse states:

“These were the sons whom Leah bore to Yaakov in Paddan-aram, in addition to his daughter Dinah.”

Chazal and various commentaries have noted a shift in how lineage is attributed in this verse. The sons are described as Leah’s children, while the daughter, Dinah, is described as Yaakov’s child.

Psychologically speaking, it is common across many cultures to see this cross-identification, where fathers often have a special bond with their daughters, and mothers have a similar bond with their sons. This is reflected in familiar expressions like “Daddy’s little girl” and “Mama’s little man.” The Maharal (ibid) suggests that this pattern reflects a deeper, axiomatic truth: the encounter with the opposite gender rounds out and completes a person. The identification with the opposite gender evokes a particular kind of connection, rooted in an intuitive recognition of one’s own incompleteness.

This concept connects back to the principle that a person cannot testify about himself. Certain truths can never be fully grasped without exposure to a perspective beyond oneself. Metaphorically and metaphysically, a person cannot develop beyond their own incompleteness without encountering something other. This encounter is necessary for growth, self-understanding, and wholeness.

I believe this idea also explains the Torah’s prohibitions against masturbation and homosexuality. Each of these, in its own way, represents a “closed loop” or an “echo chamber” of self-reflection and self-gratification. These acts bypass the essential challenge and complexity that come from encountering an opposite. True completion requires stepping outside oneself and engaging with difference. For example, two men living together may require far less imagination, creativity, and empathy to understand each other than a man and woman living together. The differences in perspective, experience, and emotional responses between a man and woman present a challenge — but it is this very challenge that drives growth and completion.

On a deeper level, this idea extends to the nature of creation itself. All creativity ultimately arises from the encounter of opposites. The very existence of the universe reflects this principle. Despite Hashem’s infinite presence, He “made space” for existence to emerge. This act of tzimtzum — divine self-contraction — is a pattern that repeats throughout creation. It reflects a fundamental truth: just as God “made room” for the world, so too must creativity, life, and growth stem from the encounter with something other. Without this dynamic, there is no new creation, no development, and no true completion.

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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