Sins Committed as a Child
It is well-known how meticulously tzaddikim observed this mitzvah. I heard about the holy Rav Chaim Mordechai of Nadvorna zt”l, author of Dvar Chaim, that he was exceedingly careful in honoring his father, the holy Rav Isamar of Nadvorna zt”l. In his father‘s later years, when he lived in the United States, Rav Chaim Mordechai traveled there periodically to attend to him and be with him, even when there was no specific necessity. He told his father he came specifically to fulfill the mitzvah of honoring him.
The holy Rav of Sanz zt”l, in his sacred work Divrei Chaim (Shabbos Teshuvah), recounts an awe-inspiring story: The holy Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk zt”l would repent even for hitting his mother‘s breast while nursing as an infant. The text reads: “I heard from my holy teacher (the holy Rav Naftali of Ropshitz zt”l) in the name of my master, the holy Rav Elimelech zt”l, that a person must repent for the very first transgression he ever committed. How can a Jew sin? Surely, one transgression must have led to another as stated in Pirkei Avos (4:2), ‘One Sin leads to another sin.’ This initial sin was likely inadvertent, but even such an act seems impossible for a Jewish soul to commit, as implied in Vayikra (4:2): When a soul sins, where the holy Zohar (vol. 3 16a) says the holy Torah is wondering how a holy soul came to sin. Thus, my master Rav Elimelech zt”l taught that he repented for even hitting his mother as a nursing infant and subjected himself to ascetic practices for such deeds.” The Divrei Chaim (Ki Savo, 63) recounts further, “As they said of him, that he repented and burnt his hands because he pushed against his mother‘s breast as an infant.”
The Ma’or VaShemesh (Parashas Masa’ei) testifies to an even greater degree, noting that Rav Elimelech repented for causing his mother distress even as a fetus in her womb: “I heard from my holy teacher, the holy Rav Elimelech zt”l, that he repented for the sins of his youth and even for causing his mother distress while still in her womb.”
