וּלְאַבְרָ ם הֵיטִ יב בַּעֲבוּרָ הּ וַיְהִי לוֹ צֹאן וּבָקָר וַחֲמֹרִ ים וגו' (יב, טז)
And He benefited Avram for her sake, and he had sheep and cattle and donkeys... (12:16)
Honoring One’s Wife Causes Wealth:
Chazal say (Bava Metziah 59A): “A man should always be careful with his wife’s honor because blessing is only found in the home because of a man’s wife, as is stated: ‘And He benefitted Avram for her sake.’ This is as Rava told the residents of Mechuza, ‘Honor your wives so that you can become wealthy.’”
A man once came to Rav Elazar of Reisha zy”a and handed him a kvittel. He told the Rebbe that he had serious problems with his shalom bayis. Rav Elazar replied, “That is no surprise. You don’t honor your wife enough.’ The man was amazed that the Rebbe could see this and assumed he must have ruach hakodesh. How did he know what went on in the privacy of his home? The Rebbe told him, “Don’t be shocked. This is not ruach hakodesh. Rather, when you pulled the kvittel out of your pocket, I noticed that you also pulled out a receipt from the cleaners. I saw that you had given three of your garments in to be cleaned but none of your wives. Therefore, my advice to you is to buy her three new dresses, and then you will have shalom bayis!”
A Woman’s Soup is Like a Rosh Yeshiva’s Shiur:
Rav Yisroel Salanter zt”l said, “When a man tells his wife that her soup was tasty, it is akin to telling a Rosh Yeshiva that the teretz he said for a difficult Rambam is amazing or the shiur he gave was incredible. A wife’s soup that she prepares for her husband is her ‘shiur’ and she wants to be appreciated for all of the work she puts into it. When her husband shows gratitude for all that she does for him, he gives her the encouragement she needs to continue caring for him.”
