CHASSIDIC PEARLS BY RABBI LAZER BRODY PARSHAS YISRO

I am Hashem, your God…Who charges sons with the sin of their fathers (Shmot 14:15). Hashem warns that children are required to pay for their parents' sins. The son asks, "Is it my fault that my father sinned? Why do I have to pay? Is that fair?" Rashi explains that a son must pay for a father's sins when the son continues to transgress as the father transgressed. According to Rashi's principle, the son's liability for a father's misdeeds is certainly just. We can all understand that a son is entitled to inherit his father's assets, especially when the son continues to maintain the father's business or other endeavors. The opposite also holds true, and is even anchored in religious law, for the halacha specifically states that orphans are required to pay their parents' debts (see Shulchan Oruch, Choshen Mishpat 107.a). Spiritual debts are strikingly similar to material debts – both must be paid. Spiritual debts resemble material debts in yet another aspect: With material or monetary debts – like that of an orphan or impoverished person who owes money from a parent's debt - the creditor can be merciful and decide to forego the debt. With spiritual debts, teshuva – penitence and returning to Hashem – invokes Divine compassion to the point where Hashem foregoes the debts. When a son casts aside the errant ways of his father, the son releases himself from the chains of any and all liability for his father's misdeeds.