“When a man marries a new wife, he shall not go out to the army, nor shall it obligate him in any manner; he shall be free for his home for one year, and gladden his wife whom he has married.” (Deuteronomy 24:5)
During this first year of marriage from which obligations is this man freed? The Torah frees a newlywed from any community obligations, both martial and communal—(Rashi, Ramban). Through this law, the Torah proclaims that the greatest duty for a husband is make his wife happy and not to disappoint her. This responsibility is so important that it frees a husband from any public service for the first year so that the husband can give himself up entirely to his home life and to laying a foundation to his wife’s happiness. Furthermore, the happiness of an individual affects the general well-being of the entire nation. A nation is not an entity in and of itself, but consists of a collection of individuals. In order for the nation to flourish, each individual member should have a flourishing and happy home which would contribute to the general well-being of the nation—(R. Hirsch).
To continue reading this Bible article, click here.
Author: Zev S. Itzkowitz
Keywords: Warfare, Marriage, Newly wedded, Newlywed, Husbands, Wives, Wife, Husbands wives, Husband wife, Marriage bed, Husbands love your wives, Responsibility of husbands, Responsibilities of husbands, Marital bliss, Marriage bliss, Newly wed, Just married
Bible reference(s): Gen 2:24, Deuteronomy 24:5, Matthew 19:5, Mark 10:7, 1 Corinthians 7:33-34, Ephesians 5:25, Ephesians 5:28, Col 3:19, 1 Peter 3:7
Source: Zev S. Itzkowitz (ed.), A Byte of Torah, Volume VI, Issue XLVIII.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.