About this episode
This week's learning is sponsored for the refuah shleima of Hannah bat Peninah. Today's daf is sponsored by Adina Gewirtz in honor of her husband, Danny. "He encouraged me to start daf yomi when he started the new cycle. Thank you for opening the world of Gemara to me!" Rabbi Elazar makes seven statements – some of them having to do with marriage and the importance for a man to have a good wife, some having to do with the importance of owning land or the value of investments. Better to eat your own produce than to be reliant on buying from others. Other financial and marriage advice is mentioned. Some stories are told of relationships between rabbis and their wives. What is considered a "good wife" and what is considered a "bad wife"? One who is married to a bad wife and her ketuba sum is large is in a difficult predicament. A number of verses are brought that highlight this predicament or other difficult situations. Quotes from the book of Ben Sira are brought relating to "good" and "bad" wives. A number of statements are brought regarding the severity of not bringing children into the world. Even though Ben Azai viewed it as a very serious issue, he did not marry as he spent his life exclusively learning Torah and left the mitzva of having children to others.