The fifth commandment, “Honor Your Father and Your Mother,” is one of the most well known. On the literal level, it instructs us to honor our parents. Before exploring its deeper meaning, let us consider what honoring one’s parents entails. A child who honors their parents recognizes and appreciates the care and upbringing they have received. They treat their parents with respect and reverence and do not disregard their guidance. They are also confident that when they need support, their parents will be there for them.
The deeper, inner meaning of this commandment can be explained through the following example. When we wish to connect with others through relations of bestowal and love, yet feel powerless, directionless, and lacking the strength to do so, we realize that we need guidance. When we feel this deficiency, while at the same time honoring and valuing the qualities of bestowal and love as the highest of all qualities, we begin to discover that there is a spiritual system above us, and it is designed to correct our egoistic nature and help us connect with each other.
This is a special system from which I can receive assistance. In the language of Kabbalah, this spiritual system is called “Father and Mother” (Abba ve Ima).
Based on “New Life 159 – The Ten Commandments, Part 2” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.