Honoring Father and Mother Set Beside the Honor of Heaven

Another interpretation: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Honor your father and your mother..." Let a man not say: Since my Father in Heaven came first, I will do the will of my Father in Heaven and honor Him, and set aside the honor of my father and mother. Therefore it says (Proverbs 3:9-10): "Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first of all your produce, and your barns will be filled with plenty." And it says: "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long." Likewise let a man not say: Since my Father in Heaven came first, I will do the will of my Father in Heaven and fear Him, and set aside the fear of my father and mother. Therefore it says (Deuteronomy 6): "You shall fear the LORD your God," and it says (Leviticus 19:3): "Every man shall fear his mother and his father." Therefore, when a person curses his father and mother or strikes them, as it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, folds His legs beneath the throne of His glory and says: I made My honor equal to the honor of these, for the three of them are weighed as one. Had I been among them, they would have done this to Me. I did well that I do not dwell with them in one neighborhood. From this you learn: whoever seeks days and years and wealth and honor and long life in this world and in the world to come, life that has no end or limit, let him do the will of his Father in Heaven and the will of his father and mother. Therefore it says: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long." Another interpretation: "Honor your father and your mother... and you shall not murder." What has "honor" to do with "you shall not murder"? It teaches you: if a man has food in his house and does not honor and feed and support his father and mother even in their youth, and all the more in their old age, it is reckoned to him as though he were a murderer all his days before the Holy One, blessed be He. Therefore it says, "Honor...," "you shall not murder." Another interpretation: "Honor... and you shall not commit adultery." What has this to do with that? It teaches you: if a man has the means and does not honor and support his father and mother, it is reckoned to him as though he committed adultery all his days before the Holy One, blessed be He. Another interpretation: "Honor... and you shall not steal." It teaches: if a man has the means and does not honor and support his father and mother, it is reckoned to him as though he stole souls all his days before the Omnipresent. Another interpretation: "Honor... and you shall not bear false witness." It teaches: if a man has the means and does not honor and support his father and mother, it is as though he bore false witness all his days before the Omnipresent. Another interpretation: "Honor... and you shall not covet." It teaches: if a man has the means and does not honor and support his father and mother, it is as though he coveted the money of others all his days before the Omnipresent. And when a person honors and feeds and supports his father and mother in their youth and in their old age, to what is he likened? To a king to whom the son of his beloved friend came. The king said to him: My son, from where do you come? He said to him: From the house of my father and mother. He said to him: Your father and mother, what are they doing? He said to him: They departed in peace to their eternal home. The king said to him: My son, blessed are you, and may you have contentment in the world, because you gave rest to your father and mother until they departed in peace to their eternal home. Now come with me to my house and I will show you what your father and mother have stored up for you with me. So too, one who honors and feeds and supports his father and mother until they depart in peace to their eternal home, and also walks in the ways of Heaven and thereby gives contentment to his father and mother, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: My son, come and see the treasures of Heaven that are stored up for you with Me, because you honored and supported your father and mother and gave Me contentment by your good deeds. As it says (Deuteronomy 28:2): "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, when you hearken to the voice of the LORD your God." When shall all these blessings come upon you? When you hearken to the voice of the LORD your God and walk in His ways, which are the ways of Heaven. And what are the ways of Heaven? That He is merciful and shows mercy even to the wicked and receives them in complete repentance, and feeds and supports all creatures; so you too be merciful to one another, supporting one another and showing one another a kindly face in goodness. Another interpretation: what are the ways of Heaven? That He is gracious and gives a free gift to those who know Him and to those who do not know Him; so you too give a free gift to one another. Another interpretation: what are the ways of Heaven? That He is abounding in kindness and inclines toward kindness; so you too incline toward goodness, to do good to one another more than evil.