Episode Details

The fifth commandment's codified text—from Maimonides' Mishneh Torah to the Shulchan Arukh—forbids humiliating a parent in the moment, not maintaining contact with an abusive one. Prompted by a listener facing decades of scolding letters and grievance lists, this conversation unpacks rabbinic rulings from the Maharik, the Rema, and Rabbi Dov Linzer's 2018 responsum. Together they show how Jewish law prioritizes your own wellbeing, and why distancing a harmful parent can be the very thing that fulfills the obligation. Key sources: • Sefaria, Mishneh Torah, Rebels 6:7, trans. Eliyahu Touger (Moznaim, c1986 — https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Rebels_6%3A7 • Sefaria, Mishneh Torah, Rebels 6:8, trans. Touger. Retrieved 2026-11-13. — https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Rebels_6%3A8 • Sefaria, Mishneh Torah, Rebels ch. 6 (6:1, 6:3 read; 6:10 not retrieved). Retrieved 2026-11-13. — https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Rebels.6.10?lang=bi Episode 6562 — myweirdprompts.com/n/6562 (permanent short link: myweirdprompts.com/387360) Listen on Android: MWP FM Player — myweirdprompts.com/apk