Is Parnossa the Wife’s Responsibility?

May 15, 2008 | Comments 0

My wife told me that when she speaks with her friends, they all agree on this point. They all feel that it is their duty to bring in parnossah for the family, and if they c”v lose their job, the pressure is on them, as the breadwinners of the family, to replace the income lost.

This is something very revealing that I and most of my friends never realize.

Women are not cut out for carrying the emotional burden of running the household as well as the financial responsibility. Yes, there are some exceptions, but generally speaking this is not the case. So when my wife told me that this is how most of her friends think and were trained to believe, it shows how terribly wrong our system is.

Are we doing the right thing by sitting in kollel, while our wives fall apart both physically and emotionally? Do the wives really feel that as soon as their weary bodies give in, we will step up and take over their responsibility?

If they would truly believe that we stand ready to take them over, it would remove a huge emotional burden off them.

Only trouble is, they will never really believe us…

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