According to the flow of the text, it is implied that she lost favor in his eyes and, therefore, he divorces her. Rashi adds that he should divorce her because of her immoral conduct. Even if he does not have witnesses to prove his allegations to the satisfaction of the court, the fact that she is guilty of immoral conduct should be reason enough for her to lose favor in his eyes. Horav Eliyahu Meir Bloch, z.l., derives an important lesson from Rashi. We are under the impression that “favor” is not dependent upon a person’s moral posture. If he is a nice person, regardless of his moral behavior, he should be well-liked. Thus, he would have to divorce his wife, even though he still cares for her, because the Torah says so. The Torah teaches us otherwise. One should abhor a person who is immoral. They should be despicable in our eyes. If a person discovers an ervas davar, a matter of immorality, about his wife there is no longer any room – or place – for love. She no longer has chein, favor, in his eyes, because she has sinned against Hashem. She has disgraced the institution of marriage with her immoral conduct. Divorce should not be the result of the Torah’s demand, but rather, the result of the loss of favor in his eyes. Hence, the sequence of events is: immorality, lack of favor, divorce. One who is evil to Hashem neither deserves nor warrants our respect or admiration.
