Honor Thy Father And Mother

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BBS: Stonehenge BBS
Date: 08-29-94 (06:57)               Number: 52
From: SHLOMOH SHERMAN                Refer#: NONE
To: ALL                              Recvd: NO  
Subj: Honor thy father and mother    Conf: (52) New Chat  
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Something I'd like to share with you all.

Went to CODA today. Hadn't been there for some time.

I had a chance to talk about what I had learned from the Forum and how I had finally internalized it.

And that is - unconditional forgiveness to parents for the mistakes they made in raising us.

I am firmly convinced that no one can be successful in life without becoming right with their parents. I have heard a lot of pain coming from people who have been raised in dysfunctional families, which means about everyone.

In life, I believe that there is only ONE real example of unconditional love and that is parent to child. No other relationship, as far as I can gather, has that factor.

Orthodox Jews agree that the hardest commandment to follow is "Honor your father and mother." Imagine that! The TORAH does not say anything like that about parents feelings towards children because it knows that parents DO have unconditional love for their children.

But it has to COMMAND children to HONOR (not love) their parents. Maybe the TORAH knows that to command love is a bit too much.

At any rate, a person in my position, one whose parents are already gone from this vale of tears has a bit harder time of it than those who still have living parents. THEY can resolve it with their parents here and now. Still it is possible even to resolve it with parents who are gone.

Since the Jewish New Year is almost upon us, I want to state that I give complete and unconditional MECHILAH to my parents, and if they are in a place in which they can know that I do, all the better; but if not, still I give it.

After all, are we REALLY that much better as parents to our own children? I wonder.

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 þ OLX 2.1 TD þ For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow
Ecclesiastes 1:18