Far apart under one roof

Far apart under one roof,” was the newspaper caption telling of the bitter dispute between Chana Taub and her husband Simon. In this saga – repeated countless times around the world – after 18 years of marriage and four children, Chana and Simon’s love turned to hatred.

To put a halt to the bitter arguments, a judge ordered that a wall be put right down the middle of the three-story house that has been home to the Taubs. And what precipitated all of this? Chana says, “A lot of little things.”

Long ago a man who had a lot of experience trying to satisfy the whims of women wrote, “Catch for us the foxes in bloom” (Song of Solomon 2:15). Solomon compared the annoying, little things to foxes that play in a vineyard, destroying the vines that provide a living for the owner.

Little things, when neglected, become bigger issues. Unresolved, they produce the bitter stand-off that caused the Taubs to live in the same house yet with a wall between them. Many people live in houses with walls between them – maybe not the physical kind – but walls, nonetheless, that may allow them to sleep in the same bed but not as husband and wife, eat at the same table but as strangers, and live separate lives.

If you see an invisible wall being built between you and someone you love, tear down that wall. Life is too short to live in a divided house.