Pillars of the Jewish Home

Guidance for Married Life

from the Gaon Rabbi

Avraham Genachowski zt"l

Based on the Seven Principles

of the Rambam



In the "Yad Chazaka," his classic compendium of the laws of the Jewish

People, Maimonides ("The Rambam") sets forth seven golden rules

that every Jewish husband must follow in his home -- regarding his

wife and his household. The Rambam writes in Chapter 15 of the Laws

of Marriage (Law 19):



1) A man shall honor his wife more so than he honors himself

2) He shall love her as much as he loves himself

3) If he has money, he shall generously avail himself of it for her

benefit, as is fitting for his financial status

4) He must not make her unduly afraid of him

5) His words to her must be soft and pleasant

6) He must not project sadness

7) He must not be irritable



One of the greatest Torah luminaries of modern times -

the gaon Rabbi Avraham Genachowski zt"l - Rosh Yeshiva

of the Tchebin Yeshiva in Jerusalem, expounded upon and

thoroughly explained these seven principles, in brilliant,

Insightful talks that he gave to thousands of his students

who had become engaged to be married. With genius and

wit he provided them critically needed guidance as to how

to build and maintain a Jewish home where one lives in

peace and tranquility with one's "help-mate." He spoke at

length about the particular needs and essential nature of women, pointing

out (in very entertaining ways) large and essential differences between men

and women, placing his talmidim "on notice" that due to these differences,

they were about to face challenges that they never had faced before!



In 5779, a few years after the Rav's passing, one of his disciples, Rabbi

Alter Avraham Boruch Altman Shlit'a published a sefer in Hebrew entitled

"Amudeha Sheva (Its Seven Pillars)" where he organized the great gaon's talks

into book form -- with chapters, titles and footnotes, enabling access to the

great wealth of information and guidance in a smooth, orderly fashion, so

that the benefits are maximized. That sefer proved to be amazingly popular.

So far, in Israel and elsewhere, over twenty thousand copies have been sold!

As a result, Rav Altman decided to produce an English version of "Amudeha

Sheva." which is the sefer before you, entitled "Pillars of the Jewish Home."

May the English language version reach additional Jewish communities

in many lands, where it will accomplish the important goals of the Rav's

presentations - peace and harmony in Jewish homes.