Our Gemara on Amud Beis references the famous kal v’chomer about shlom bayis, which is used as a halakhic rationale in various instances to be extra lenient and accommodating regarding marital harmony.
Since on Daf 51 we mentioned the twice yearly custom of the Shidduch dance as described in Mishna Ta’anis (4:8), I will discuss it in some more depth here.
There were no days as joyous for the Jewish people as the fifteenth of Av and as Yom Kippur, as on them...the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards. And what would they say? Young man, please lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself for a wife.
Let us continue to study this unusual practice in light of how the Peninei Halakha (Yamim Noraim 6:12) uses this kal v’chomer:
Peninei Halakha wonders how it could possibly be appropriate to have what amounts to a “Shidduch Dance Festival” on Yom Kippur? Can you imagine the Kolei Koreh you would hear today if someone tried that? He says that the reason why Hashem allows for the erasure of His holy name for shlom bayis is not merely a sacrifice of one value for another. Rather, shlom bayis itself, marital unity is what’s known as a “Yichud”, meaning a unification of God’s name. By creating a oneness and Harmony between husband and wife, it is an enactment of the holy bond between God and the Jewish people. This is why Yom Kippur is the perfect day for Shidduchim. He adds, when the brides and grooms find joyous union, all of Israel is inspired to do the same. Even older married couples are inspired by this romantic event to renew their unity. This intense connection between Israel, with the proper intentions and understanding of how to find God by seeing another human, promotes the ultimate unity and teshuva in all of klal yisrael.