Soc.Culture.Jewish Newsgroups Frequently Asked Questions and Answers URL: www.scjfaq.org/faq/12-44.html

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Question 12.44:
In the times of the Torah, was a son equal in stature to the father?

No. In Tanakh, people stand (or fall) on their own merits. The upbringing they had may be considered in looking at how far they've come, but no one automatically makes a son equal in stature to the father. As proof: look at Yishma'el and Esav, Moshe's childrens were nobodies, etc...

The FAQ is a collection of documents that is an attempt to answer questions that are continually asked on the soc.culture.jewish family of newsgroups. It was written by cooperating laypeople from the various Judaic movements. You should not make any assumption as to accuracy and/or authoritativeness of the answers provided herein. In all cases, it is always best to consult a competent authority--your local rabbi is a good place to start.

Hopefully, the FAQ will provide the answer to your questions. If it doesn't, please drop Email to questions@scjfaq.org. The FAQ maintainer will endeavor to direct your query to an appropriate individual that can answer it. If you would like to be part of the group to which the maintainer directs questions, please drop a note to the FAQ maintainer at maintainer@scjfaq.org.

© (c) 1993-2005 Daniel P. Faigin <maintainer@scjfaq.org>