Reference for Bava Metzia 117:12

תנן התם חתכו חוליות ונתן חול בין חוליא לחוליא ר"א מטהר וחכמים מטמאין

Said R. papa, Hence the proverb: When the barley is quite gone from the pitcher, strife comes knocking at the door,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'house'. ');">²³</span> R. Hinena b. papa said: One should always take heed that there be corn in his house, because Israel were called poor only on account of [the lack of] corn, for it is said, And so it was when Israel had sown etc., and it is further written, And they [sc. the Midianites and the Amalekites] encamped against them, [and destroyed the increase of the earth], whilst this is followed by, And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Jud. VI, 3, 4, 6. ');">²⁴</span> R. Helbo said: One must always observe the honour due to his wife, because blessings rest on a man's home only on account of his wife, for it is written, And he treated Abram well for her sake.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Gen. XII, 16. ');">²⁵</span> And thus did Raba say to the townspeople of Mahuza,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A large Jewish commercial town, situate on the Tigris. Raba had his academy there. ');">²⁶</span> Honour your wives, that ye may be enriched.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The foregoing passages are Instructive on the Talmudic attitude to women. Though recognising the evil influence a bad woman can wield upon her husband, as evidenced by Ahab and Jezebel, these sayings breathe a spirit of tenderness and honour. As she is highly sensitive, the greatest care must be taken not to wound her feelings, and a husband must adapt himself to his wife; whilst it is emphatically asserted that prosperity in the home, as well as the blessings of home life, are to a great extent dependent upon her. ');">²⁷</span> We learnt elsewhere: If he cut it into separate tiles, placing sand between each tile: R. Eliezer declared it clean, and the Sages declared it unclean;

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