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The following is part of RSRH's commentary on Shemos 20:5<br><br>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4><b>5
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>Do not prostrate yourself
before them and do not serve them, for I, </i>Hashem<i>, your God, am a
God Who demands His exclusive right; I remember<br>
the sin of parents for [their] children, for the third and fourth
generation, for those who hate Me;<br><br>
</i></b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>Now then, what is the
meaning of </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>pokad ahvon
avos al bonim ...
l'sonoi</i></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>? Does<br>
it mean that God </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>remembers
</i></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>the sins of the parents,
when children,<br>
grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren hate Him? Does it mean<br>
that when children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren
continue<br>
on the path of sin, God remembers the first step taken by the<br>
parents, considers that the sin has not yet become embedded
throughout<br>
many generations, that return is still possible, and He tries to lead
the<br>
children, the grandchildren or even the great-grandchildren back to<br>
Him by educating them in the school of suffering? Does it mean that<br>
if the fourth generation does not repent, subsequent generations
perish<br>
in their sin?<br><br>
Perhaps the meaning is that God
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>visits
</i></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>the sins of the parents
upon<br>
the children, and so on, if they hate Him. Children, grandchildren,
and<br>
great-grandchildren continue to suffer the consequences of the
parents’<br>
sin, because they continue on the path of sin. Because of their
sins,<br>
they are stricken with troubles and suffering; for the example of
their<br>
parents set them on a path full of obstacles, inviting sin and
sorrow<br>
into their cradles, to accompany them throughout their lives.<br>
Perhaps the meaning is that God
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>punishes
</i></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>parents by the
suffering<br>
that they cause their children through the sins they bequeath to
them<br>
for their journey through life.<br><br>
Perhaps the meaning is that God
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>carries over
</i></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>the sins of parents
to<br>
children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; He makes them
responsible<br>
for atoning for the sins of the parents. Instead of quickly
destroying the parents<br>
because of their sins, God waits until the fourth generation:
perhaps<br>
grandchildren or great-grandchildren will return and rectify the
deeds<br>
of the parents. Only then, if there is no betterment, does He allow
the<br>
generation to perish in their continued guilt.<br><br>
Whatever may be the true nature of this Divine attribute, two
fundamental<br>
truths emerge from it for our most earnest reflection:<br><br>
The one and only God wants us to accept upon ourselves the yoke<br>
of His rule over all our actions and to recognize Him as the
Lawgiver<br>
for our whole lives, and it is He Who grants us life and sustains us
for<br>
the fulfillment of His Law. It is in our power to build up our lives
or<br>
to ruin them, all according to the measure of our adherence to, or<br>
defiance of, His Law. God lives and endures, and He judges a person<br>
according to his deeds. There is no escape from His judgment.<br><br>
Furthermore, the weal or woe of the children depends on the parents<br>
— all according to the measure of their virtue or vice. Children are<br>
fruit growing on the tree of the life and fate of the parents. For the
sake<br>
of our children we should preserve our health; for the sake of our<br>
children we should act morally and charitably; for the sake of our
children<br>
we should be spiritually vigilant and valiant.<br><br>
Just as it is certain that God sends each child into this world with
a<br>
perfectly </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>pure
soul</i></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>, it also is certain
that parents bequeath to the
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>physical<br>
</i></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>nature of their child
their flawed propensities, weaknesses and defects.<br>
These present the child with a formidable task, and to overcome them
the<br>
pure soul of the child must test and prove its godlike power. The
parents’<br>
sins line the cradle of their infant with unhappiness, sickness, and the
example<br>
of moral degeneration, and the little citizen of the world is
destined<br>
to climb a hard steep path of trials until he prevails in the moral
test.</font></body>
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