DAY #5:“Honor thy father and mother.”-- You really treating your parents right?

The Ten Commandments were written on two separate tablets. The first one lists all the duties of man toward God, i.e., the prohibition of idol worship etc.  The second includes the laws between man and man, i.e., thou shalt not steal. Yet, so important is the obligation to honor our parents that it is included on the first tablet which lists our duties to God.[1][i] Each of us is a product of a tripartite partnership, and that is not to be forgotten. When you disrespect your parents, God takes it personally. Snub them, deal with Him. It is actually one of the few commandments that comes along with an incentive package with options for renewal: “Honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God commanded you, in order that your days be lengthened, and that it may go well with you….”

Most people think this commandment means not to be rude to your parents. Plus you call them once a week so you’re awesome, right? Wrong! Did you know you are not even allowed to sit in your parents’ chair and you are not allowed to contradict them undiplomatically unless they oppose the Bible’s teachings and even then with kid gloves? If you curse them or hit them, the Torah calls for the death penalty. “Parents are a stand-in for God in this world and any aggression against them is tantamount to committing idolatry.” (Rabbi Elie Munk)

There is no statute of limitations on honoring one’s parents.  A person is bound to honor his parents even after the tombstone is erected. Every action in this life reflects on those who raised you and the God that breathed life into you. When you behave arrogantly, cruelly, immorally, lasciviously, or disrespectfully, you dishonor all your creators: Mother, Father and God! No coincidence that in crude modern vernacular you will be called a son of a *&%#*@! when your ego, attitude and self-entitlement rule your behavior. Know that everything you do, for the good or the bad, affects the souls of your departed parents— either raising them to higher levels of peace and paradise or lowering them into deeper depths of suffering. Don’t talk bad about your own parents to your kids, that’s giving them license to trash you and soon you will find yourself the victim of their vilification. According to the Torah’s teachings:

·       *Never call your parents by their name

·       *Serve and assist your parents however possible and whenever necessary (Chabad)

·       *Parents who are physically or mentally ill, in nursing homes, must still be respected

·       *Stand when your parents enter a room

Parents are not supposed to be your BFF. “Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father.” (Levit.19:3)