Why Children Do Not Naturally Respect Parents

It is so natural and joyous to care for our children and yet what a challenge to show that love, patience and care to our parents.

Why is it so? It’s easy to write it off to the ills of our societal values and of course there is truth to that, but here’s a different angle.

 We are all descendants of Adam and Eve, the first human beings. We have inherited from them the basic ingredients of our human nature.

 One thing made Adam and Eve very different to the rest of us. They didn't have parents. They were created as adults by G-d, not born as babies to parents. They had no umbilical cords.

We on the other hand do have parents. And we inherit their genes, all the way back to Adam and Eve. That's why the desire to look after our children is human nature, but looking after our parents are skills that don't come naturally. Adam and Eve knew how to parent, but they never knew how to treat a parent. This is a skill that we need to learn.

If children are taught to just follow their heart and trust their instincts, then they will do just that. Their instincts tell them to care for themselves and their young, but not their parents.

 On the other hand, if we teach our children that they are moral beings, who can use their free choice to go beyond their genetic programming, they can do what is right rather than what feels right, and what is good rather than what feels good. This means honoring the people who gave them their existence; who sacrificed for who they are today.


By Menachem M. Bluming and Rabbi Moss and Chabad.org

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