Rabbi Tarfon was kneeling by his mother's bed and turning himself into a living step. In another case, he put his hands under her feet like sandals. On the other hand, Rabbi Yochanan was known as saying: "Blessed are those who have not seen them" that is, Blessed is He who did not know his parents. The Midrashic literature includes stories about parents and children based on the Bible. Thus, the story of the binding of Isaac, that the Bible reveals almost nothing of, filled by the Midrash in various ways that reveal a deep understanding of the relationship between a son and his parents. For example, Isaac asks Abraham not to tell Sarah about his expected death when she stands next to a pit, so she will not fall into it out of grief. Elsewhere the Midrash states: "Anyone who does not have a son is as if he is dead, as if he is destroyed".

After presenting the world of Aggadic literature in its historical and spiritual contexts, we will read a selection of Aggadic literature on the relations between parents and children as seen by Jewish culture some 1,600 years ago. Is there anything new under the family's sun?