Akiva expounds: “If husband and wife are worthy, the Shekhina is with them if they are not, fire consumes them” ( Sota 17a). So powerful is the mitzva of ona that its fulfillment brings the Shekhina (Divine Presence) to dwell with the couple. Thus, when a married couple lives together lovingly, each loving the other no less than they love themselves and desiring to bring joy to the other no less than they want for themselves, they fulfill the entire Torah in a concentrated form (Arizal, Sefer Ha-likutim, Ekev). ![]() It is only between spouses that love is expressed in all aspects of life, spiritual and physical alike. Akiva calls “a major principle of the Torah” ( Sifra ad loc.). Through the framework of marriage, a person can achieve the ultimate fulfillment of the mitzva to “love your fellow as yourself” (Vayikra 19:18), which R. There is no greater joy in this world it is a foretaste of the euphoria of the World to Come (below, 1:7-8). For this reason, the mitzva is referred to as simḥat ona, the joy of marital sexual relations. The mitzva must be fulfilled with passion and ecstasy, the husband trying to bring his wife as much joy and pleasure as possible, and the wife trying to bring her husband as much joy and pleasure as possible (below, 2:1-5). ![]() ![]() The essence of their union is expressed through the mitzva of ona (marital sexual relations), through which they become completely united, in body and spirit, making their marriage whole. A man is not complete without his wife, and a woman is not complete without her husband. A complete person is one who lives in a joyful and loving marriage.
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