On Shavuot, we reenact Maamad Har Sinai, God's revelation at Mt. Sinai. We all stand while the Ten Commandments are read, just as B'nai Yisrael did when we first received the Torah.

When one listens to the Ten Commandments, it is important to have the proper Kavana, intent and focus. I suggest that this year we put a special emphasis on the mitzvah of kibud av va'em, honoring our parents.

The Ten Commandments were evenly divided into two tablets. Each tablet contained a group of five commandments. The first tablet listed the mitzvoth between a person and God, while the second tablet listed the mitzvoth between a person and their fellow person. What stands out is that the fifth commandment, "Kabed et avicha ve'et imecha", "Honor your father and mother", is actually grouped with the mitzvoth between a person and God, not with the mitzvoth between a person and their fellow person.

Why is the mitzvah of honoring our parents on the first tablet?

According to Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 33, "at the root of the mitzvah of Kibbud av va'em, honoring our parents, lies the thought that it is fitting for a person to acknowledge and treat with loving-kindness the person who treated them with kindness. A person should realize that their father and mother are the cause of their being in the world; hence it is proper to give our parents every honor and every benefit possible since they brought us into the world and labored through many troubles over us in our early years. When we set this quality firmly in our character, we will recognize the goodness of God, who is the cause for our existence.

To truly appreciate, respect and honor God, first we must learn to appreciate, respect and honor our parents.