This week’s Taste of Torah explores the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus, Chapter 20—serving as a timeless moral foundation that guides human behavior and promotes ethical principles across various cultures and religious traditions.
The Ten Commandments were inscribed on two tablets, divided into two sets of five: the first deals with our relationship with G-d, and the second with our relationship with fellow humans. Yet something seems out of place.
The fifth commandment – to honor our parents – appears in the first set. At first glance, this seems like a misplacement. Indeed, respecting our parents is about human relationships. Wouldn’t it fit better alongside prohibitions against stealing or bearing false witness?
But there’s profound wisdom in this placement. By including parental honor among the G-d-focused commandments, the Torah teaches us something remarkable about both parenthood and our relationship with the Divine.
Think about it: our parents are the closest thing we have to experiencing God’s creative power. They brought us into existence, nurtured us when we were helpless, and sacrificed countless hours of sleep, personal time, and resources for our well-being. In many ways, they were our first glimpse of what unconditional love looks like.
Yet here’s the challenging part – we’re commanded to honor them regardless of whether we feel they “deserve” it. This isn’t about reciprocating love or repaying kindness. It’s about recognizing something more profound: the divine role parents play in the cosmic order of creation.
This placement teaches us that honoring parents isn’t just about maintaining healthy family relationships. It’s about acknowledging our place in a chain of existence that stretches back to Creation itself. When we honor our parents, we’re not just fulfilling a social obligation but participating in something sacred.
This perspective offers both challenge and comfort to those struggling with complex family relationships. The commandment acknowledges that honoring parents isn’t always easy—that’s precisely why it was commanded. But it also reminds us that when we make this effort, we connect to something larger than ourselves.
In honoring our parents, we honor the very concept of creation and our own role in continuing its legacy.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yonatan Hambourger, y@tasteoftorah.org
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