Hello, we continue our study in the fourth chapter of Brit Shalom, which deals with the laws of blasphemy and speaking the Name of God.
Around the prohibition of blasphemy, we must also include the concept of honor—honor given toward Heaven, and here also honor toward those who are partners with the Holy One in creation. I mean the father and mother.
A person is obligated to honor their parents. This obligation is also a matter of natural morality, meaning that even without the Torah, we would understand that one must honor father and mother. The Torah elevated this to one of the Ten Commandments: "Honor your father and your mother," and also "Each person must revere their mother and father."
This means that this commandment, being universal, is something that should be upheld throughout the world, to the extent that the Talmud derives proper behavior toward parents specifically from a non-Jew. His name was Dama ben Netina, and he lived in the city of Ashkelon. Even though he was a pagan, the Talmud refers to him with respect.
Here are the words from section 9: The sages said—there are three partners in the creation of a person: his father, his mother, and the Holy One, blessed be He. The Torah equated the honor due to parents with the honor due to Heaven. Beyond that, honoring one’s parents is part of the human morality accepted all over the world. The same applies to reverence for parents. Needless to say, it is absolutely forbidden to hit or curse them. This is obviously prohibited toward any person, but all the more so toward one's parents.
Psychologists say that as long as a person has not come to terms with their parents, it is difficult for them to become a father or mother themselves, in the case of a woman. In other words, the psychological backbone of a person passes through their proper attitude toward their father and mother, who are partners in their creation with the Holy One.
