Words From Rabbi White

Dear mitpallelim,

This Friday is the first yahrzeit for my Aunt Betty Shapiro, Bessie bat Tsvi Hirsh. As you may remember, she passed away in Boston last year, “be-seivah tovah,” at the age of 105. Until about her last year, we would go over the parasha by phone every Thursday night. As she died without children, my brother and I said kaddish during the year.

This Shabbat, 20 Shevat, is the yahrzeit for my dear mother, Chana bat Tsvi Hirsch..

21 Shevat is yahrzeit for Sender Goldstein, grandfather of Stanley Goldstein and Mariam Mintz.

It is also the yahrzeit of Yeshua ben Chaim, father of Adele Haimovici and grandfather of our hazzanim Yaakov and Yehoshua.

Honoring parents, as we all know, is one of the 10 commandments. As the 5^th commandment, it serves as a bridge between the first group: which are mitsvot concerning our relation to HaShem, and the 2^nd group: which deal with relations among people. Thus, honouring parents is a mitsvah containing both elements.

What is so special about honouring parents? According to Sefer ha-hinukh, a tremendous 14^th century Sephardic work which gives a rationale for all of the torah mitsvot, this mitsvah is based on “hakkarat ha-tov,” i.e., appreciation to our parents for having given birth to us, and for having sustained us and guided us. And likewise, we thank HaShem for having given our parents the ability to sustain us.

The Sefer Haredim, by R. Eliezer Azkari, one of the great 16^th century scholars from Tsfat, takes that idea a bit further: by honouring our parents, we are repaying a debt that we owe them.

Abrabanel has an interesting and practical explanation: by honouring our parents, we are setting an example for our own children to respect us.

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In my shul in Teaneck this past shabbat, people were complaining that it was so cold. The wind chill (what they call here “real feel,”) was below zero fahrenheit (= around minus 19 celsius.) I told them, “you ain’t seen nothin’”. I understand it was around minus 38 in Montreal. So, kol ha-kavod to those who were able to come to shul and participate in the minyan in that bitter cold.

Shabbat shalom, have a warm shabbat. 

Rabbi Menahem White