וְנִשְׁמַע֩ פִּתְגָ֨ם הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ אֲשֶֽׁר־יַעֲשֶׂה֙ בְּכָל־מַלְכוּת֔וֹ כִּ֥י רַבָּ֖ה הִ֑יא וְכָל־הַנָּשִׁ֗ים יִתְּנ֤וּ יְקָר֙ לְבַעְלֵיהֶ֔ן לְמִגָּד֖וֹל וְעַד־קָטָֽן׃
און אַז דעם מלכס פּסק װאָס ער װעט מאַכן, װעט באַקאַנט װערן אין זײַן גאַנצן קיניגרײַך, װי גרױס עס איז, װעלן אַלע װײַבער אָפּגעבן כּבוד זײערע מאַנען, פֿון גרעסטן ביזן קלענסטן.
Pele Yoetz
And behold, if a woman is given into the embrace of a G-d fearing man, and how much more so if he possesses Torah and greatness, she will naturally honor and love him with a great love. [But] indeed more encouragement is needed for the woman whose portion is a man with difficult character traits and temperaments, despised and insignificant among men, [and] lacking all good. [Even] for this she should not trifle his honor in her eyes and despise him in her heart, G-d forbid, rather at all times she should be careful to honor him, whether righteous or sinful, easy or burdensome, for the word of the King, the King of the world, is upon her. And what does she have to do concerning the hidden things of the Merciful One? For G-d sits and hand-picks marriages, and thus all that He put upon her to do, she must do. To what is this similar? To the man who who the king desires to honor, having appointed him as second to the king, and thus the entire nation is required to honor him even if he is a leper or a zav [i.e. has a bodily discharge], so too is the case here. And just as a woman should be cautious in the commandments of Niddah, Challah, and candle-lighting, so too should she be careful with honoring her husband, for thus the King commands her. And her reward will be greater, since her actions prove that she does these things for their own sake, fulfilling the decree of the King of the universe. And our rabbis of blessed memory say (Tanna Devei Eliyahu Rabbah, Chapter 9): “there is no virtuous woman among women except one who does the will of her husband”. And all women should take warning from the incident (Nedarim 66b) concerning Bava ben Buta and the woman who accorded honor to her husband and struck Bava ben Buta on the head in carrying out the will of her husband [in reality, the husband never intended for her to strike Bava ben Buta, and yet she was still rewarded for her efforts based upon her understanding]. And thus all women must give honor to their husbands, the great and small alike (Esther 1:20).