Illustration credit: Rivka Tsinman
Let’s take a look at the fifth of the עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת (Aseret Ha-Dibrot, Ten Commandments).
כַּבֵּ֥ד אֶת־אָבִ֖יךָ וְאֶת־אִמֶּ֑ךָ
לְמַ֙עַן֙ יַאֲרִכ֣וּן יָמֶ֔יךָ עַ֚ל הָאֲדָמָ֔ה
אֲשֶׁר־יהוה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽךְ׃
Honor your father and your mother,
so that you may live long on the land
that your God is giving to you.
- What do you notice? What stands out to you?
- How do you understand the connection between the first line of the pasuk (the actual command) and the rest of the pasuk? Why might a long life on the land be linked to honoring your parents?
- Is it surprising that this mitzvah is one of the Aseret Ha-Dibrot? Why or why not?
- What do you think is involved in honoring parents? What’s easy about this mitzvah and what’s hard about it?
- In the Aseret Ha-Dibrot, the first group of mitzvot is considered בֵּין אָדָם לַמָּקוֹם (bein adam la-makom, between a person and God), and the last group is considered בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ (bein adam la-haveiro, between a person and a friend). In which group would you put the mitzvah to honor parents? Can it go in both? Why?
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