Like Father, Like Son
A father and son came to see me. The father was full of complaints. “Honored Rav, my son does not pray or learn and causes me indescribable anguish by his terrible acts.”
I expected the boy to react, but he remained silent. Upon seeing this, the father reproached him. “Nu,” he began, “tell the Rav if I am not correct.” But the boy stayed quiet. “You have nothing to say in your defense! That proves that you think I am right!”
Suddenly, the boy found his tongue. “I am afraid to respond to your accusations, because what I have to say in my defense will not be pleasant to your ears. You will be deeply humiliated and give me a sound flogging afterward.”
The father was unsure for a moment. But then, in spite of himself, he asked his son to speak up. The boy still refused, but his father prevailed upon him, promising not to retaliate for any insult he might feel. Then the son agreed to say his piece.
“Every single night, I notice that you wake up at three a.m. and turn on the television. You watch pornographic pictures of the worst kind. This is after you dope Mother with sleeping pills so that she should never, by chance, find out about it.”
The father was dumbstruck by his son’s piercing words. The boy continued, “Now maybe you’ll explain to me how you expect me to keep Torah and mitzvot after you spend your nights in this despicable way. What do you think I feel as I watch you lay tefillin and pray after such deplorable activities? How can you demand that I obey you when you never obey Hashem?” The father was truly humbled and humiliated by his son’s true words.
When the roots of the tree are rotten, the fruits will grow rotten. If parents are lacking in yirat Shamayim, their children will be unable to connect to Torah. Proper education is nourished by the admirable actions of the parents.
