3
Some P'rushim came and tried to trap him by asking, "Is it permitted for a man to divorce his wife on any ground whatever?"
4
He replied, "Haven't you read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female,
5
and that he said, `For this reason a man should leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two are to become one flesh'?
6
Thus they are no longer two, but one. So then, no one should split apart what God has joined together."
7
They said to him, "Then why did Moshe give the commandment that a man should hand his wife a get and divorce her?"
8
He answered, "Moshe allowed you to divorce your wives because your hearts are so hardened. But this is not how it was at the beginning.
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Now what I say to you is that whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery!"
10
The talmidim said to him, "If that is how things are between husband and wife, it would be better not to marry!"
11
He said to them, "Not everyone grasps this teaching, only those for whom it is meant.
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For there are different reasons why men do not marry -- some because they were born without the desire, some because they have been castrated, and some because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever can grasp this, let him do so."
13
Then children were brought to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray for them, but the talmidim rebuked the people bringing them.