Not to strike father and mother: That a child should not strike [his] father and mother, even if they strike him [very much], so long as their souls do not bring them to kill him, as it is stated (Exodus 21:15), “He who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.” And even though the verse does not explicitly warn him about this, that it says to him, “Do not strike the fathers,” but rather it only wrote the punishment of the one who strikes them — and it is the way of the Gemara to always ask about a matter like this and to say, “We have heard the punishment, from where is the warning” — here too, we have a warning: as behold, we are warned (Makkot 9a) for every person, not to strike him. As it is written about one who is liable for lashes (Deuteronomy 25:3), “Forty shall he strike him, he shall not add.” And it is a fortiori (kal ve’chomer) about someone who is not liable [for lashes] — and the father is included in Israel. And [so] the warning [for the commandment] is from here. And [this must be the case] even though this negative commandment of “he shall not add,” is considered a separate negative commandment on its own. Since we have a rule in our hands that anything that has for it excision or a death penalty must also have a negative commandment — except for the Pesach-offering and circumcision — and behold with the striking of father and mother, [we know] that there is excision without witnesses and the death penalty with witnesses! And therefore, we have to say that we nonetheless learn the warning for it from the Scripture of “he shall not add,” as we did not find it in [any] other place. And the main idea of the warning will be [about] all of Israel; but [also] included in it, we learn about the one who strikes [his] mother and father. And they, may their memory be blessed, said (Sanhedrin 85b) that the case of this liability for death of the one that strikes is specifically when he brings out blood from them. [But it is] not the same with any other person — as even if he extracts blood from them, he is [only] liable for money.
From the roots of this commandment are to punish scoundrels and informers that raised their hand against the ones that brought them to the world by the will of God and did for them many goodnesses. And “by justice the King sustains the land.”
The laws of the commandment — for example, one who strikes him after death is exempt; the one that strikes him on his ear and makes him go deaf is liable, as it is impossible that a drop of blood did not go out inside [his ear]; the one who makes a wound for healing is exempt and that he should not, at the outset, perform healing that requires a wound if it is possible [to be done] by another; the law of a foundling (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Rebels 5:14) that he is liable for his mother but not for his father; the law of a convert whose conception was not in holiness (before his mother’s conversion) that he is not liable for either of them; and the law of the convert that he is [nonetheless] forbidden to strike his gentile father [from] rabbinic law; the law of one whose father and mother are completely [and] famously wicked that he is exempt for striking them until they repent, but it is nonetheless forbidden even before repentance; [that] in all [cases] except for an inciter to idolatry, the son is not made the agent of the court to [lash] his father; and the rest of its details — are [all] at the end of Sanhedrin. (See Tur, Yoreh Deah 242.)
And [it] is practiced in every place and at all times by males and females and [those the sex of which is in doubt]. And one who transgresses it and strikes them with a blow that has a wound from it with witnesses and a warning, [receives] his death penalty by strangulation. But without a wound, he is liable towards them like any other man: As one who strikes his fellow for which there is a repayment worth [even] a small coin (perutah), pays and does not get lashed. But if there is no repayment of the worth of a small coin, he is lashed and does not pay. As the law is that a man does not die and pay (Ketuvot 36b); and so [too], he is not lashed and [obligated to] pay.
שֶׁלֹּא לְהַכּוֹת אָב וָאֵם – שֶׁלֹּא יַכֶּה הַבֵּן הָאָב וְהָאֵם, וַאֲפִלּוּ אִם הֵם יַכּוּ אוֹתוֹ הַכָּאָה רַבָּה בְּכָל זְמַן שֶׁלֹּא יִשְׂאוּ נַפְשָׁם לַהֲמִיתוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות כא טו) וּמַכֵּה אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ מוֹת יוּמָת. וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלֹּא הִזְהִיר הַכָּתוּב בְּפֵרוּשׁ עַל זֶה שֶׁיֹּאמַר אַל תַּכּוּ הָאָבוֹת אֶלָּא שֶׁכָּתַב עֹנֶשׁ הַמַּכֶּה אוֹתָם, וְדֶרֶךְ הַגְּמָרָא לְעוֹלָם לִשְׁאֹל בְּעִנְיָן כָּזֶה וְלוֹמַר עֹנֶשׁ שָׁמַעְנוּ אַזְהָרָה מִנַּיִן? גַּם בָּזֶה יֵשׁ לָנוּ אַזְהָרָה, שֶׁהֲרֵי אָנוּ מֻזְהָרִין (מכות ט א) עַל כָּל אִישׁ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁלֹּא לְהַכּוֹתוֹ, שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּמִי שֶׁנִּתְחַיֵּב מַלְקוּת (דברים כה ג) אַרְבָּעִים יַכֶּנּוּ לֹא יֹסִיף. וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן לְמִי שֶׁלֹּא נִתְחַיֵּב, וְהָאָב בִּכְלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל הוּא וְאַזְהָרָתוֹ מֵהָכָא. וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלָּאו זֶה דְּלָא יוֹסִיף נֶחְשָׁב לְלָאו בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ, מִכָּל מָקוֹם הֲרֵי כְּלָל בְּיָדֵינוּ שֶׁכָּל שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ כָּרֵת אוֹ מִיתָה יֵשׁ בּוֹ לָאו חוּץ מִפֶּסַח וּמִילָה, וּבְהַכָּאַת אָב וָאֵם הֲרֵי יֵשׁ בּוֹ כָּרֵת בְּלֹא עֵדִים וּמִיתָה בְּעֵדִים, וְעַל כֵּן יֵשׁ לָנוּ לוֹמַר עַל כָּל פָּנִים שֶׁנִּלְמַד הָאַזְהָרָה בּוֹ מִקְּרָא דְּלָא יוֹסִיף אַחַר שֶׁלֹּא מְצָאנוּהָ בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר, וְתִהְיֶה עִקַּר הָאַזְהָרָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל וּבִכְלָלָהּ נִלְמַד לְמַכֶּה אָב וָאֵם. וְעִנְיַן חִיּוּב הַמִּיתָה בַּמַּכֶּה אָמְרוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (סנהדרין פה ב) שֶׁהוּא כְּשֶׁהוֹצִיא מֵהֶם דָּם דַּוְקָא, מַה שֶׁאֵין כֵּן בִּשְׁאָר כָּל אָדָם, שֶׁאֲפִלּוּ הוֹצִיא מֵהֶן דָּם נִתָּן לְחִיּוּב מָמוֹן.
Not to strike father and mother: That a child should not strike [his] father and mother, even if they strike him [very much], so long as their souls do not bring them to kill him, as it is stated (Exodus 21:15), “He who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.” And even though the verse does not explicitly warn him about this, that it says to him, “Do not strike the fathers,” but rather it only wrote the punishment of the one who strikes them — and it is the way of the Gemara to always ask about a matter like this and to say, “We have heard the punishment, from where is the warning” — here too, we have a warning: as behold, we are warned (Makkot 9a) for every person, not to strike him. As it is written about one who is liable for lashes (Deuteronomy 25:3), “Forty shall he strike him, he shall not add.” And it is a fortiori (kal ve’chomer) about someone who is not liable [for lashes] — and the father is included in Israel. And [so] the warning [for the commandment] is from here. And [this must be the case] even though this negative commandment of “he shall not add,” is considered a separate negative commandment on its own. Since we have a rule in our hands that anything that has for it excision or a death penalty must also have a negative commandment — except for the Pesach-offering and circumcision — and behold with the striking of father and mother, [we know] that there is excision without witnesses and the death penalty with witnesses! And therefore, we have to say that we nonetheless learn the warning for it from the Scripture of “he shall not add,” as we did not find it in [any] other place. And the main idea of the warning will be [about] all of Israel; but [also] included in it, we learn about the one who strikes [his] mother and father. And they, may their memory be blessed, said (Sanhedrin 85b) that the case of this liability for death of the one that strikes is specifically when he brings out blood from them. [But it is] not the same with any other person — as even if he extracts blood from them, he is [only] liable for money.
מִשָּׁרְשֵׁי הַמִּצְוָה לְיַסֵּר הַנְּבָלִים וְהַמּוֹסְרִים שֶׁהֵרִימוּ יָד בְּמִי שֶׁהֱבִיאָם לָעוֹלָם בִּרְצוֹן הָאֵל וְעָשָׂה לָהֶם כַּמָּה טוֹבוֹת (משלי כט ד) וּמֶלֶךְ בְּמִשְׁפָּט יַעֲמִיד אָרֶץ.
From the roots of this commandment are to punish scoundrels and informers that raised their hand against the ones that brought them to the world by the will of God and did for them many goodnesses. And “by justice the King sustains the land.”
דִּינֵי הַמִּצְוָה כְּגוֹן מַכֵּהוּ לְאַחַר מִיתָה שֶׁפָּטוּר, וְהִכָּהוּ עַל אָזְנוֹ וְחֵרְשׁוֹ שֶׁחַיָּב מִיתָה שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר שֶׁלֹּא תֵּצֵא טִפַּת דָּם בִּפְנִים, וְהָעוֹשֶׂה בּוֹ חַבּוּרָה לִרְפוּאָה שֶׁפָּטוּר, וּלְכַתְּחִלָּה לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה לוֹ רְפוּאָה שֶׁמְּבִיאָה לְחַבּוּרָה אִם אֶפְשָׁר עַל יְדֵי אַחֵר, וְדִין שְׁתוּקִי (רמב"ם ממרים ה יד) שֶׁחַיָּב עַל אִמּוֹ וְלֹא עַל אָבִיו, וְדִין גֵּר שֶׁהוֹרָתוֹ שֶׁלֹּא בִּקְדֻשָּׁה שֶׁאֵין חַיָּב בִּשְׁנֵיהֶן, וְדִין גֵּר שֶׁאָסוּר לוֹ לְהַכּוֹת אָבִיו גּוֹי [מִ]דְּרַבָּנָן, וְדִין מִי שֶׁהָיוּ אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ רְשָׁעִים גְּמוּרִים מְפֻרְסָמִים שֶׁפָּטוּר עַל הַכָּאָתָן עַד שֶׁיַּעֲשׂוּ תְּשׁוּבָה, אֲבָל אָסוּר הוּא מִכָּל מָקוֹם אֲפִלּוּ קֹדֶם תְּשׁוּבָה, וְלַכֹּל אֵין נַעֲשָׂה הַבֵּן שְׁלִיחַ בֵּית דִּין לְיַסֵּר אָבִיו חוּץ מִמֵּסִית, וְיֶתֶר פְּרָטֶיהָ בְּסוֹף סַנְהֶדְרִין. (י"ד רמ"א)
The laws of the commandment — for example, one who strikes him after death is exempt; the one that strikes him on his ear and makes him go deaf is liable, as it is impossible that a drop of blood did not go out inside [his ear]; the one who makes a wound for healing is exempt and that he should not, at the outset, perform healing that requires a wound if it is possible [to be done] by another; the law of a foundling (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Rebels 5:14) that he is liable for his mother but not for his father; the law of a convert whose conception was not in holiness (before his mother’s conversion) that he is not liable for either of them; and the law of the convert that he is [nonetheless] forbidden to strike his gentile father [from] rabbinic law; the law of one whose father and mother are completely [and] famously wicked that he is exempt for striking them until they repent, but it is nonetheless forbidden even before repentance; [that] in all [cases] except for an inciter to idolatry, the son is not made the agent of the court to [lash] his father; and the rest of its details — are [all] at the end of Sanhedrin. (See Tur, Yoreh Deah 242.)
וְנוֹהֶגֶת בְּכָל מָקוֹם וּבְכָל זְמַן בִּזְכָרִים וּנְקֵבוֹת וְטֻמְטוּם וְאַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס. וְהָעוֹבֵר עָלֶיהָ וְהִכָּה אוֹתָם הַכָּאָה שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהּ חַבּוּרָה בְּעֵדִים וְהַתְרָאָה מִיתָתוֹ בְּחֶנֶק, וּבְלֹא חַבּוּרָה חַיָּב עֲלֵיהֶם כִּשְׁאַר כָּל אָדָם, שֶׁהַמַּכֶּה חֲבֵרוֹ הַכָּאָה שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהּ תַּשְׁלוּמִין שָׁוֶה פְּרוּטָה מְשַׁלֵּם וְאֵינוֹ לוֹקֶה. וְאִם אֵין בָּהּ תַּשְׁלוּמִין שֶׁל שָׁוֶה פְּרוּטָה, לוֹקֶה וְאֵינוֹ מְשַׁלֵּם, שֶׁהֲלָכָה הִיא (כתובות לו ב) אֵין אָדָם מֵת וּמְשַׁלֵּם, וְכֵן אֵין לוֹקֶה וּמְשַׁלֵּם.
And [it] is practiced in every place and at all times by males and females and [those the sex of which is in doubt]. And one who transgresses it and strikes them with a blow that has a wound from it with witnesses and a warning, [receives] his death penalty by strangulation. But without a wound, he is liable towards them like any other man: As one who strikes his fellow for which there is a repayment worth [even] a small coin (perutah), pays and does not get lashed. But if there is no repayment of the worth of a small coin, he is lashed and does not pay. As the law is that a man does not die and pay (Ketuvot 36b); and so [too], he is not lashed and [obligated to] pay.