The commandment to honor one's father and mother stands among the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12), equal in weight to the commandments governing humanity's relationship with God. The Talmud in Kiddush (the sanctification blessing over wine)in (f. 31a) explores what this honor looks like in practice — and the sages found their most powerful example not among Jews, but among the gentiles.
A man named Dama ben Netina lived in the city of Ashkelon. He was not Jewish, but his respect for his mother was legendary. One day, the sages of Israel came to him seeking precious stones for the breastplate of the High Priest. The stones Dama possessed were worth a fortune — six hundred thousand gold dinars, by some accounts.
But there was a problem. The key to the chest where the stones were kept lay under his mother's pillow. She was asleep. Dama's servants urged him to wake her. "The sages are here with gold in their hands," they whispered. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime." Dama refused. He would not disturb his mother's rest for any amount of money in the world.
The sages left empty-handed. But God rewarded Dama ben Netina. The following year, a rare red heifer was born in his herd — an animal so valuable to the Temple service that the sages returned and paid him the full price of the lost jewel sale. The Talmud in Avodah Zarah (f. 24a) preserves this story to shame those who claim that honoring parents is too costly. If a gentile could sacrifice a fortune for his sleeping mother, how much more should a Jew honor the parents who gave him life?