Chapter Sixty: The Greatness of the Wife

A Chassid arrived at Rabbi Yisroel to announce his engagement — which came about through wondrous providence and as if by miracle — on the hillulah [the anniversary of the passing] of the holy Tanna Rabbi Yonasan ben Uziel…

Ho — "Gladden you shall gladden!" [Shabbos sheva brachos liturgy] This is great joy. Hashem should bless each one with his match — with a good and upright match…

Blessed be Hashem — do not delay the wedding! Give thanks and acknowledgment to Hashem for this great miracle and kindness. You have literally been renewed in new life. One sees this is from Hashem — from Heaven. Without any effort. One must draw a lesson from this: that everything is from Hashem. Only emunah. We believe — but one needs true emunah, that it be truly. If one has emunah but in a false matter — this is not called emunah.

Blessed be Hashem — we merited to know from our holy Rabbenu that he brings into us such emunah — emunah that is new. Only we must receive it.

Nu — perhaps you will merit to make known to the family about our holy Rabbenu. This surpasses everything. In the merit that you merited to draw close to our holy Rabbenu — this gives us all manner of counsel, all manner of salvations.

That you merited to draw close to our holy Rabbenu in truth and emunah — this matter will bring upon you all the blessings in the world, all the good influences!

Do not forget to always thank and praise Hashem for this great miracle and this great kindness — of which we have no conception. This is kindness — this is a treasury of all treasuries. And afterwards, if Hashem wills it, I want to merit to be at the bris milah and at the wedding of the joy of the grandchild. Blessed be Hashem I have time. I have a blessing from our holy Rabbenu that I will have long days. It is written in the Petek: "And regarding you I said — my fire will burn until the coming of Mashiach." Not one of the words of our holy Rabbenu is empty or vain — everything he said, we see!

The Sages called the wife 'akeres habayis' — the foundation of the home: akeres — ikar — the essential of the home: the wife. And also it is not good for the wife to work in other places.

Our holy Rabbenu illuminates within us to know the truth — that the wife is the foundation of the home. And he speaks even more of the greatness of the compassion one must have for the wife. Our holy Rabbenu — how much he warns and obligates one to honor the wife, to have mercy on her and help her with everything possible, to help her in every matter. The Torah warns us to give all honor to the wife — but in the way of the Torah. And our holy Rabbenu commands greatly to have mercy and honor the wife — to have mercy on her, to help her. Yes.

Our holy Rabbenu says in the Sefer HaMidos — and the Talmud also says the same — this is the language of the Talmud: "One who divorces his wife — through this he does not succeed!" It is not good to divorce the wife. On the contrary — one needs shalom bayis [peace in the home].

I was close to Rabbenu. I married — but from this I did not know. I did not know in my mind the greatness of the importance of the wife. I did not think about this. I thought she was serving us in the house — she deserves nothing. But our holy Rabbenu brings into us, illuminates within us all the lights of the Torah — about everything.

One must have mercy on the wife. Our holy Rabbenu reflects on how much the wife suffers in her life: in the bearing of children and the raising of children. She buys everything, she cooks — everything, everything is the wife. She suffers greatly in her life — much more than we do. From the children and from the sons — what she suffers in her life…

The world does not speak of this at all — as if the wife were a dog. Oy vey — our holy Rabbenu felt this. He reveals the greatness of the compassion one must have — one must have mercy on her, one must honor her. Yes.

Our holy Rabbenu — he wept so much before Hashem…

He prayed greatly to Hashem — that when someone comes to ask him to pray for a woman in difficult labor, only the messenger should touch the shoe at the threshold of the door, should pull the door — immediately she will give birth. Immediately!

The messenger — before entering the house to tell Rabbenu of the request: only open the door… Then the woman will immediately give birth!

He acted before Hashem! (laughs)…