כי אתא חזייה אלישע לצרעת דהוה פרחא עילויה רישיה א"ל רשע הגיע עת ליטול שכר שמנה שרצים וצרעת נעמן תדבק בך ובזרעך עד עולם ויצא מלפניו מצורע כשלג: (מלכים ב ז, ג) וארבעה אנשים היו מצורעים פתח השער אמר ר' יוחנן גחזי ושלשה בניו
as it is written, And Elisha came to Damascus:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' II Kings VIII, 7. The text of the Talmud reads, 'And Elisha went to Damascus,' Actually there is no such verse, and so the one quoted must be substituted. And the Talmud asks 'whither did he go?' since the text 'And Elisha came to Damascus' implies that his objective was not Damascus, but, happening to come there (on his way to a certain destination, unspecified), he was consulted about Ben-hadad's illness as related in the chapter. Therefore the Talmud asks, what then was the original purpose of his journey? (Maharsha).
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Pele Yoetz
The love between a husband and wife must be a passionate one. We will begin with the love of the husband to his wife for the declaration of our Sages (Yevamot 62b) is known, "That the husband is obligated to love his wife as himself and to honor her more than himself." Nonetheless, he may not compromise his service of G-d because of his love for her. The tanna (Avot 1:5) already cautioned, "Do not speak excessively with a woman. This is referring to one's wife, for anyone who does speak excessively with a woman causes evil to himself, is idle from words of Torah, and in the end will inherit Gehinom." Our Sages said (Baba Metzia 59a), "One who goes after the counsel of his wife falls into Gehinom." In light of this condition, every wise man must act with cleverness. As our Sages commented (Sanhedrin 107b), "The left hand should push away as the right hand brings close." The primary love is the love of the soul. It is incumbent upon the husband to admonish his wife with pleasant words, to guide her in the ways of modesty, to distance her from slander, anger, cursing, the mention of G-d's name in vain, and similar things in the Orders of Nashim and Nezikin. He should caution her in regard to the details of mitzvot – especially in the areas of prayer, blessings of benefit from this world, the observance of Shabbat, etc. How good and how pleasant it would be for him to teach her ideas of ethical improvement and to share with her words of the Sages in all matters that are relevant to her and their severity. Then her heart will tremble and she will be even more careful thana man.
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