"Honour thy father and mother" is a difficult and ambivalent Commandment that - in the biblical tradition - mandates not only a general sense of respect for one's parents but also an active and conscientious devotion towards them. But in today's world what is the meaning underlying the command to "honour" if it is separated from a hierarchy based on the elderly's power and claim to wisdom? This book provides far-reaching reflections with implications for contemporary society, in which the relationship between different generations grows increasingly complex and parents' advanced age sometimes has a disruptive effect on their children's lives.

Giuseppe Laras is professor emeritus of History of Hebrew Thought at the University of Milan, presides over the Rabbinical Tribunal of Central-Northern Italy and is a former president of the Italian Rabbinical Assembly and former head rabbi of the Jewish community in Milan.

Chiara Saraceno taught Sociology of the Family at the University of Turin and is currently a research professor at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin fr Sozialforschung.