Pensée juive sur Les Proverbes 30:17

Normally, we encounter the word eychah as introducing a lament. The term as described in our opening Midrash as fitting Israel when it was at the height of its glory, on a spiritually lofty plane, is therefore somewhat puzzling.

The commandment then emphasizes that the reward promised is not a natural sequence, but an act of Divine kindness, one that in light of the natural tendency to honour parents if only from a sense of gratitude, is hardly warranted. The mitzvah element of the commandment addresses itself first and foremost to the poor, who invest in looking after their father and mother rather than ensure they do not lose their inheritance.

According to your reasoning, you may be impressed by the advantages which your plan brings at the beginning, but the long term negative consequences which the plan will bring are hidden to you. In your short sightedness, you will see its initial benefits but not its error and eventual damage. And the wise man said "do not remove an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers" (Mishlei 22:28), and "listen my son to your father's instructions" (ibid 1:8), and it is said of one who condemns the ways of his forefathers "a generation clean in its own eyes, and yet are not cleansed of their excrement" (ibid 30:12), and "there is a generation that curses its fathers" (ibid 30:11), and "the eye that mocks a father, [that scorns obedience to a mother will be pecked by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures]" (ibid 30:17).