In classic Jewish literature, a married couple is likened to an oil lamp which has two components. The woman is compared to the oil and the husband is represented by the wick. The flame of the lamp formed by the wick and the oil together is the soul which shines forth from the husband and wife as a united couple. The light which the lamp gives off is the result of the joining of two souls into one. The stronger the bond of love between them, the more light shines forth from the lamp's flame. These elements are not static; as the couple's love for each other grows over the years, so, too, does the lamp glow more brightly. Their lives are illuminated by the soul they share, the soul from which they were hewn at the time of the Creation. This soul radiates upon their lives for all generations.

This is the meaning of the axiom we find in the Talmud: “When a man and a woman are meritorious, the Presence of G-d dwells between them” (Tractate Sotah 17a). What is meant by “the Presence of G-d”? This is a matter of bringing sanctity from the upper sphere and incorporating it in this world. The Talmud continues: “If they are not meritorious, if they have joined themselves together for ulterior motives, not in order to bring man's greatness and perfection down to this world, and if they help each other for baser reasons, then their joining together is not for the benefit of their souls, but of their bodies.”