The words abba (אַבָּא) and ima (אִמָא) are used commonly by Hebrew speakers to mean father and mother. They are not, however, originally Hebrew. The Hebrew terms for male and female parents are av and em. Abba and ima are Aramaic in origin. However, they entered the Hebrew lexicon in ancient times.
In the talmudic period, abba and ema were not only titles, they were frequently used as names. For example, the rabbinic sage Rav was named Abba Arikha and the wife of Rabbi Eliezer was named Ima Shalom. Abba was also used as an honorific for some esteemed rabbis.
The Importance of Parents
Jewish tradition requires children to honor their parents. This is, in fact, one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16), and the only one which has a reward attached to it: living long and well.
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Parents also have obligations toward their offspring. The Torah requires fathers to circumcise their sons (Genesis 17:10–14), and obligates parents to educate their children (Deuteronomy 11:19). The Talmud elaborates on these obligations in several places, including the following:
A father is obligated with regard to his son to circumcise him, and to redeem him (if he is a firstborn), and to teach him Torah, and to marry him to a woman, and to teach him a trade. And some say: A father is also obligated to teach his son to swim. (Kiddushin 29a)
God as a Parent
In Jewish tradition, God is figured in many ways: a mighty creator, a fearsome warrior, a majestic ruler, a jealous spouse and a loving parent. Rabbinic literature explores this idea through an interpretation of the passage above, found in Numbers Rabbah 17:
Our rabbis taught: A person is obligated to do five things for his son. God can be compared to a father and the Jewish people to God’s son … Just as a father is obligated to teach his child Torah, God taught the Jews Torah as it says (Deuteronomy 11:19): “Teach them to your children.” And it is written: “I am God your teacher.” Just as a father is obligated to teach his children mitzvot, God taught the mitzvot to the Jews. Just as a father is obligated to marry his son to a woman, so too God told mankind: “Be fruitful and multiply.” A father is obligated to his son in the following ways: to give him food and drink, to bathe him, to give him ointments, and to clothe him, and thus did God for the Jews, as it is written (Ezekiel 16:9): “And I washed you in water, and I washed away your blood … and I clothed you with embroidered clothing … and My bread which I gave you…”
Jewish prayers build on the parental metaphor, perhaps most notably in the prayer Avinu Malkeinu, which translates to “Our Father, Our King.”
In modern times, abba and ema have remained the everyday Hebrew terms for mom and dad, used by children who speak Hebrew as their first language.
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