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Why does the Torah (תורה) describe men loving their wives (Yitzchok loved Rivka, Yaakov loved Rochel) but never women loving their husbands? The shiur develops a yesod from Sarah's reluctance to serve fine flour to guests: a woman's home is her space, and guests—or anyone entering it—represent an invasion until they become part of her. Once that happens, the relationship transcends "love" and becomes unity itself.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a striking textual observation: the Torah (תורה) repeatedly tells us that Yitzchok loved Rivka and Yaakov loved Rochel, but nowhere does it state that a wife loved her husband. Why this asymmetry? To answer, he turns to a puzzling Midrash on Parshas Vayeira. When Avrohom hosted the three guests, he told Sarah to prepare bread. Sarah suggested using "kemach" (coarse flour), while Avrohom insisted on "soles" (fine flour). Chazal derive from this: "Mikan she'isha tzaras ayin be'orchim"—from here we see that a woman is stingy (narrow-eyed) toward guests. Rabbi Zweig raises three fundamental questions: (1) Why indict all women based on one incident with Sarah? (2) Why would Sarah be stingy when the money belonged to Avrohom, the breadwinner, who was clearly spending lavishly on these guests? (3) How can we understand her reluctance when Avrohom was already providing generously?
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Parshas Vayeitzei (and Vayeira)
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