Our Father and Mother

Day 163: How Fear of God Can Make You a Better Person (2)

"Fear of God means having a sense, an understanding that you are accountable to more than yourself, that you must not experience yourself as all-powerful. That why 'fear of God' in the Torah is mentioned in the context of unequal power relations."

There are 3 specific times [pointed out in today's section] in the Torah where we are reminded to fear God:

1. "You shall honor the old and you shall fear God" (Leviticus 19:32)
2. "Take no interest [from one who become impoverished], but you shall fear God" (Leviticus 25:36)
3. "You shall not rule over [your servant] ruthlessly, but you shall fear God" (Leviticus 25:43)

All of these situations are instances where we have the ability to take advantage of a (excuse the term) "weaker" person. I personally believe that we are reminded to fear God in these verses because we should always remember that we will always be weaker than Hashem. Just as Hashem does not take advantage of us, we should not take advantage of people we perceive as weaker than us.

Day 164: Express Gratitude to Your Parents

There's an old joke about being nice to your children...after all, they choose your nursing home.

And yes, most of the time (at least in the cases I've seen), that's true: children care for their parents when their parents are no longer able to care for them. This is just one way of showing gratitude to your parents. "Measure for measure" is a Talmudic concept meaning that "gratitude should be expressed in the same manner in which the deeds evoking the gratitude were performed."

There are also other ways to show gratitude to your parents! By calling them often to speak, telling them how much you love and appreciate them, visiting them, etc.

There's no one right way to honor your parents or thank them for all they've done for you.