Do Your Children Respect You?


We are all descendants of Adam and Eve, the first human beings. We have inherited from them the basic ingredients of human nature. They didn't have parents. They were created, not born. They had no umbilical cords. They probably didn't even have belly buttons. So any normal human being has an innate desire to look after their children. But looking after our parents is a skill that doesn't always come naturally.

The genes we pass on to our children are not enough. We must pass on to them a moral code too. If they are raised to think of themselves as mere intelligent evolved animals, then they will follow their instincts, which program them to care for themselves and their young, not their parents.
But if we teach our children that they are moral beings that can go beyond their genetic programming, then we raise them to know that life is about doing what is right rather than what feels right, what is good rather than what feels good. We are not just apes with intelligence, but ethical beings with a calling.

Mendel Bluming has served as Chabad rabbi in Potomac, Maryland since 2000. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Bluming and his wife have put a great focus on connecting community youth with our timeless Jewish values.

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