Blessing in the Home: The Role of the Wife

The Gemara in Bava Metzia 59a makes a bold statement:

“A person should always be careful to honor his wife, because blessing is only found in a man’s home on account of his wife.”

This is not mere sentiment—it’s Torah truth. The Gemara cites Avraham in Egypt: “And Avram was enriched… because of her,” referring to Sarah (Bereishit 12:16). From the outset, the Torah teaches that material blessing, like spiritual strength, flows through the woman of the home.

The Zohar (I:49b) goes further: The Shechinah itself rests upon a home only when there is harmony between husband and wife. She is called akeiret habayit—not just the “homemaker” in the modern sense, but the ikar, the essence of the Jewish home. She holds the key to its spiritual DNA.

But just as she can build, she can also destroy. And this week’s parashah, Korach, provides us with both extremes.