”Shalom!” I gently touch my friend’s shoulder as she is buying coffee. “Shalom Shalom!” She is smiling at me giving me a big hug. A cup of coffee and a piece of cake later we have updated each other on what has happened the last year. Now we are discussing our cultural differences and similarities. There are definitely similarities between the citizens of Bergen and a jewish woman grown up in Telaviv. She laughs and tells me how her husband find her perfectly fit for the direct and bold communication that we tend to practice in our city.

I once learned about the traditional jewish marriage and the values thereof. Marriage is highly rated and valued. I remember how important the blessing and the word shalom is in that context.

Shalom Bayit is term used to manifest the standard for a Jewish family life, according to Wikipedia;
‘Shalom bayit signifies completeness, wholeness, and fulfillment. Hence, the traditional Jewish marriage is characterized by peace, nurturing, respect, and chesed (roughly meaning kindness, more accurately loving-kindness), through which a married couple becomes complete. It is believed that God’s presence dwells in a pure and loving home.’

Furthermore;
‘It is in a relationship where both husband and wife recognize each other as creations in God’s image and treat each other accordingly that true sanctity emanates forth. Moreover, this sanctity of the marital union reminds the Jewish husband and wife to express their holiness through marriage and to build a home based on mutual love, respect, and chesed.’

This leads me to think about something Jesus said;
“When you go to a home, give it your blessing of peace. If the home is deserving, let your blessing remain with them.”

We need to put more value on the marriages again.