Repenting out of Respect
I was once asked to deliver a eulogy on behalf of a woman who spent her days doing acts of kindness for others. The woman’s children were there, but, unfortunately, they were not dressed differently from their gentile friends. Even during the tefillah, they did not bother to be properly attired. With great difficulty, the sons managed to stumble through the Kaddish prayer. It seemed as though my words of Torah were Greek to them. They were not moved in the least to make any type of life-change in the aftermath of their sorrow. But when I mentioned their mothers’ good deeds, their tear ducts suddenly opened, and torrents of tears flooded the place.
No matter how far children are from the path of Torah, respect for their mother is engraved in their heart. May their demonstration of respect for their mother provide an elevation for her neshamah. And maybe hearing of her good deeds aroused in them the desire to do teshuvah and emulate her ways.
