The Rambam writes in Hilchos Geirushin, "A man should not marry a woman with the intention of divorcing her." He repeats this law later in Hilchos Issurei Bi'ah, where he writes, "It is prohibited for a man to marry a woman with the intention of divorcing her, for the verse states, 'Do not devise evil against your friend who is dwelling securely with you.'"
Why does the Rambam state this law twice? Furthermore, the Rambam first states "A man should not marry..." which implies that while he should not do so, it is not expressly prohibited. He then goes on to say, "It is prohibited for a man to marry..."
It would seem that according to the Rambam there are two distinct laws here, one regarding the laws concerning marriage and divorce, the other -- from the verse "Do not devise..." -- regarding the manner of conduct between husband and wife.
The explanation is as follows. The essential quality and substance of a proper marriage is "cleaving to one's wife and becoming one flesh," i.e., a constant acquisition and cleaving, with an absence of anything that leads to and causes the cessation of this cleaving and unity.
When, however, the acquisition and context of the marriage is such that there is an aspect and trait that is opposite "cleaving," whether this be at the beginning of the marriage or later on, then something essential is lacking in the marriage itself.
Thus the Rambam writes in Hilchos Geirushin that "A man should not marry a woman with the intention of divorcing her," for though this may not be in and of itself prohibited, it nevertheless cannot be considered true "marriage" according to the Torah.
There is, however, an additional law, that of "Do not devise evil against your friend who is dwelling securely with you." This is a prohibition regarding the conduct of one person to another, including man and wife, for which reason "It is prohibited for a man to marry a woman with the intention of divorcing her."
The Rambam thus states this law in the particular chapter of Hilchos Issurei Bi'ah that discusses the manner that husband and wife are to conduct themselves with regard to one another, their children, etc.
Husband and wife and the institution of marriage in this world derives from the supernal aspect of "husband" and "wife" and their "marriage" above, i.e., the marriage and intimate relationship of G-d and the Jewish people.
We accordingly understand even better why the substance of marriage is an eternal bond, for the marriage of G-d and the Jewish people -- "the day of His marriage (with the Jewish people), that is Mattan Torah" -- is eternal and not subject to interruption or cessation.
As explained above, marrying someone whom one intends to divorce is not only unseemly behavior but also constitutes a deficiency in the very marriage itself. Accordingly, we must understand G-d's marriage to the Jewish people:
The general aspect of exile is similar to divorce, as the Midrash says "I have judged you with divorce." We also find the statement in Gemara that "Israel responded to the prophet with a winning retort: 'A woman who was divorced by her husband, can either then complain about the [behavior of the] other?'"
Since G-d knew that the exile -- "divorce" -- would occur, isn't that -- as it were -- "marrying a woman with the intent to divorce her"?
It may be posited that there was no divine "intent" for divorce, for exile directly resulted from the Jews' freely choosing to behave in an untoward manner, and absent that behavior there would not have been any exile or divorce.
Nonetheless, a question remains. G-d was aware at Mattan Torah that Jews would be exiled. Even if there was no shortcoming in His "intent" -- the "divorce" resulted from Jews exercising their free choice, etc. -- still, the fact remains that on G-d's part the marriage wasn't in a manner of an eternal bond, as He knew from the outset that down the road there would be a "divorce."
In point of fact, there never was a "divorce"; the "winning retort" concerning "divorce" only reflects the standpoint of the Jewish people, as in exile they do not feel G-d's closeness to them and therefore liken it to "a woman divorced."
The truth of the matter is that during exile, although on the surface the marriage seems extremely shaky, if not over, it is in fact even stronger than before. For the entire intent of exile and G-d's concealment therein is to bring about an even deeper level of union and commitment between "husband" and "wife," between G-d and the Jewish people.
Based on Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXXIV, pp. 138-144.
