May 21, 2024 · 01:39:21
With Your Spouse and with Hashem: It is the Relationship Itself that Matters MostThis class was presented on Tuesday, Parshas Behar, 13 Iyar, 5784, May 21, 2024, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY. The Midrash recounts that in the second century, in the famous seaport town of Sidon, on the coast of Lebanon, there lived a married couple blessed with wealth and an honored position in the community. There was, however, a great void in their lives. Although they were married for ten years, they had no children. The couple decided to get divorced. They turned to the great Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai for advice. He looked at the couple for a long time, and then he said to them, “I ask only one thing of you both: If you must part, then just as you wed with celebration, so should you part from each other with celebration.” They took his advice and arranged a great feast. During the evening, the husband raised his cup and said to his wife, who would soon leave, “True, this is the last meal we shall share. Before you go, look around at the treasures of this house, choose the most precious jewel your heart desires, and take it back with you to your parents’ house.” The wife did not respond to his offer. Instead, she mixed and spiced the wine, and they drank a lot. The candles burned low in the room, and the husband fell asleep, overcome by heavy drowsiness. While he was asleep, the wife told her servants to lift him on a bed and carry him to her parents&rs