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The Torah presents a scenario in Numbers Chap. 5 about a sota (suspected adulteress). Let us say a married woman became very friendly with another man, friendly enough that her husband suspected she was cheating on him. He warned her not to seclude herself with the other man, but she did so nevertheless. The husband suspected that she cheated on him, and thus had become forbidden to him. (See section 4 above.) She maintained she did not commit adultery. What was to be done? For the sake of peace in the home, the Torah ordered them to go up to the Temple. There they would write the Torah’s words about the sota – including the name of God – on parchment, and dissolve the ink into a cup of water which the wife drank. If she had cheated, she would be punished by heaven and die. If she had not cheated, her health would improve, and the couple were permitted to resume living together. Even though erasing the name of God is a serious transgression, God commanded it to be done for the sake of restoring the couple’s relationship. If the holy name of God could be erased to make peace between husband and wife, how much more so must people be prepared to swallow their pride and make every effort towards that peace. To this end, it is a mitzva for the husband’s parents to praise his wife; and for the wife’s parents to praise her husband. All the more so, parents and parents-in-law must be careful to avoid causing disagreements.
