The salient message for couples in these two explanations is one of profound consequence. Firstly, it is a commitment to stay together. In the "Throw Away" society that we live in today, we have been conditioned to think in terms of "Why bother to fix it when we can buy a newer one cheaper." The logic follows that if it applies to automobiles, computers and clock-radios, why can't it apply to marriages? Indeed, many liberal-minded mental-health professionals counsel married couples in precisely this fashion. Growing apart? Don't see eye to eye anymore? Not getting enough out of the relationship? Why bother going through the trouble of working on it when dissolution is so simple? How about remembering the dove and our vows and check to see if we are honoring our commitments before abandoning ship?

Second, the dove is just as comfortable on terra firma as it is in the friendly skies. This means, as a metaphor, that one should strive to achieve in marriage a level of connection and love to one's spouse that it no longer matters who is giving and who is receiving. When both are content with either scenario, the couple knows they have reached the level of the collective "I." Likewise, when there is pain and suffering for one, the other should experience it as his/her own. The story is told of a great sage who lived in Israel during the first half of the previous century. He paid a visit with his wife to the podiatrist who warmly greeted the couple as they entered the office. The physician then asked the rabbi what seemed to be the problem. Without pretentiousness or hesitation the venerable sage announced, "My wife's foot is hurting us." How many of us express ourselves in daily life with this type of commitment, connection, and concern for our spouses?