middle-grounded

A sincere question… here’s a sincere answer… 9/10 people would say a quick yes to your question… but in our world today, with another forum already titled “is Facebook to blame for rising Orthodox divorce rate” , and many responses on this forumn already poking fun, pointing fingers elsewhere, questioning the ‘shalom bayis’ in homes where divorce isn’t present, or just sounding hopeless in general, I’ll answer your question with a question… What DOES Shalom Bayis mean? What does it mean to ‘Lack’ or ‘Have’ Shalom Bayis? In a world where the distractions of daily life, even with ‘kosher’ gashmi things, are increasingly bombarding a person’s every moment, most people are making choices minute by minute that they are being TOLD to make, SHOULD make, or HAVE TO make. Find a married couple, or older single, or divorced single living with Shalom, minute by minute Shalom with the daily choices that they’re making, within the framework of Da’as Torah, and you will find a Bayis with Shalom. No matter its form…. Focusing on the point you asked regarding family, a family is made of many different parts and many different personalities. That said, a person, even from a divorced home, (or a married home lacking shalom) that has a personal Shalom with their daily choices and daas torah, and is b’simcha, DOES have Shalom Bayis no matter what their ‘family’ might lack. The opposite can also unfortunately be true… Hatzlacha!