The hardest mitzvah: Honoring parents

Rabbi Ed Bernstein delivered the talk "Beyond Cleaning Our Room: Responsibilities and Opportunities in Honoring Our Parents As They Age" to Valley Beit Midrash on May 16, 2024. Special thanks to Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz and Alix Cramer of Valley Beit Midrash for allowing the rebroadcast of this talk on the NeshamaCast feed. 

ABOUT THE EVENT:

The Fifth of the Ten Commandments is “Honor your father and mother.” It is one of the few commandments in the Torah that attaches a reward for its successful performance: “that your days may be long.” We might think that if we follow the command in our youth, clean our rooms and do other things that our parents ask, then we’ve checked that box. The reality is that honoring our parents is among the most difficult and grows in complexity as children—and their parents—age. Rabbi Bernstein explores Jewish perspectives on the responsibilities of adult children to their aging parents and the true rewards we gain in fulfilling this mitzvah.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein is a Board Certified Chaplain and serves as Chaplain for Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Boca Raton, Florida. He hosts NeshamaCast, a podcast exploring Jewish spiritual care, produced by Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also hosts My Teacher Podcast. Rabbi Bernstein edited  Love Finer Than Wine: The Writings of Matthew Eisenfeld and Sara Duker , a 2016 National Jewish Book Awards Finalist.  Rabbi Bernstein was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He served congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. Rabbi Bernstein has also served on the faculty of Camp Ramah Darom, Moishe House and the JTS Florida Office.

Here is Rabbi Bernstein's presentation on VBM's YouTube channel.

Here is Rabbi Bernstein's Sefaria Study Guide. 

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

 

NeshamaCast contributor Rabbi Katja Vehlow was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary and is Director of Jewish Life at Fordham University. She trained as a chaplain at Moses Maimonides Medical Center in New York. Previously, she served as Associate Professor of Religious Studies at University of South Carolina. A native German speaker, she is planning a forthcoming German-language podcast on the weekly Torah portion with a focus on pastoral care.

 

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center  in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Bikur