4 | MAY 6 • 2021 

PURELY COMMENTARY

guest column
Mother’s Day Viewed 
Through a Jewish Lens
M

y earliest memory 
of Mother’s Day 
goes back to when 
I was about 6 years old. I 
conspired with my sister, 
who is two 
years my senior, 
to surprise 
my mother by 
making dinner 
for the family. 
 While she 
was still in 
bed, early 
on that Sunday morning, 
we attempted one of our 
favorites: spaghetti and 
meatballs. 
 It was an absolute 
disaster! The chopped meat 
was frozen, as we were yet 
unaware of the need to 
defrost it the night before. 
Despite the flopped dinner, 
she truly appreciated the 
sentiment, and we helped 
her clean up the not-so-small 
mess that was left behind.
As one travels along the 
journey of life, Mother’s 
Day takes on different 
meanings. To a young 
child, it may mean trying 
to create a nice surprise for 
the most important woman 
in the child’s life. Freshly 
cut foraged wildflowers, a 
lopsided cake or a cute little 
note unmistakably written in 
a child’s scribble are all ways 
a youngster might mark this 
special day. 
As one gets older, the 
gifts for mom grow in 
sophistication. Beautiful 
roses, breakfast in bed or 
that new kitchen gadget 

that she always wanted. And 
when parents turn the corner 
and enter the arena of old 
age, perhaps picking them 
up and taking them out for 
dinner is the way to express 
love and appreciation. 
For many, Mother’s Day 
is a time of mixed feelings, 
thinking of a mother who 
has passed on, nostalgically 
recalling the many good 
times that were shared 
together. But there is also the 
pain of the loss, missing her 
and feeling the void. 

A DEEP LOVE
From a Jewish perspective, 
Mother’s Day is intrinsically 
connected to the gratitude 
we must feel and express 
to someone who has given 
us more than anyone in the 
whole world. The Torah 
teaches that the love that 
a parent feels for a child 
is even stronger than the 
reverse, that is, the love that 
the child feels for a parent. 
A mother is capable of 
extending herself and giving 

to her child in a way that the 
child will never be capable 
of replicating. The nights 
robbed of sleep, moments 
filled with worry and days 
rich in that nurturing mater-
nal love are just the very 
beginning of what our moth-
ers have done for us.
To truly understand the 
depth of something, we study 
the ancient Hebrew word for 
it. We believe that the world 
was created with the mystical 
letters of the Hebrew alpha-
bet, and the Hebrew word 
for something will portray its 
essence. 
 The Hebrew word for 
mother is “em” or “Ima,” 
closely related to the Hebrew 
word “emunah,” which means 
faith. Through her constant 
care and love, our mother 
is the one who instills in us 
a deep sense of trust. That 
foundation of trust is the 
basis for our faith in our 
Father in Heaven, and a faith 
and hope in people. Through 
a mother’s love, we learn 
to trust in humanity and in 
the goodness of the world 
around us.
Honoring one’s mother 

(and father) plays such a 
prominent role in Torah 
thought that it made it into 
the Ten Commandments. 
It stands as number five 
on the list and serves to 
bridge the gap between the 
commandments that relate 
to our relationship with the 
Almighty, which occupy the 
right side of the Tablets, and 
the interactions that we have 
with our peers, found on the 
left side. 
A parent is a partner 
with God in creating us and 
giving us life. To us, a par-
ent isn’t a peer. A mother 
and father are not simply a 
friend, but they are someone 
we look up to, revere and 
respect. 
Properly honoring a parent 
is a step toward honoring the 
Almighty, and as such, this 
mitzvah serves perfectly to 
transition from the right side 
of the tablets — the Divine 
side, to the left side — the 
one dealing with laws of 
human engagement.

To those of us who are 
fortunate enough to have a 
mother still in this world, 
let us take this Mother’s 
Day, and really, every day, to 
appreciate the great gift that 
we have. 
She won’t be with us 
forever, so let us seize the 
moment and make it special. 
To those of us whose 
mother lives on in memory, 
let us cherish those 
memories.
Wishing you all a happy 
Mother’s Day. 

Rabbi Chaim Fink is an educator at 

Partners Detroit.

Rabbi Chaim 
Fink

here for it all.

