Ki Seitzei 21:18 · unit 4

TT #68 · Parashas Ki Seitzei · First aliya · Passuk 21:18

The Complete Passuk

כִּֽי־יִהְיֶ֣ה לְאִ֗ישׁ בֵּ֚ן סוֹרֵ֣ר וּמוֹרֶ֔ה אֵינֶ֣נּוּ שֹׁמֵ֔עַ בְּק֥וֹל אָבִ֖יו וּבְק֣וֹל אִמּ֑וֹ וְיִסְּר֣וּ אֹת֔וֹ וְלֹ֥א יִשְׁמַ֖ע אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃

If a man has a wayward and rebellious son who does not listen to the voice of his father and the voice of his mother, and they discipline him but he does not listen to them,

Chabad.org — 21:18

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Sanhedrin 68b–69a.

Sefaria — Sanhedrin 69a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
לְאִישׁ בֵּן – כִּי אֲתָא רַב דִּימִי אָמַר, אָמְרִי בְּמַעֲרָבָא, כִּי יִהְיֶה לְאִישׁ בֵּן סוֹרֵר וּמוֹרֶה, בֵּן וְלֹא הָרָאוּי לִקְרוֹתוֹ אָב.

English: “A son to a man” — when Rav Dimi came he said: they say in the West, “if a man has a wayward and rebellious son” — a son, and not one who is fit to be called a father.

On the daf / in context: Once three months have passed after the appearance of pubic hair the youth is already capable of fathering a child and is therefore excluded. The entire window of liability is only about three months.

Type of Learning

Derash limiting the upper age of liability.

What Is Learned

The law of the wayward and rebellious son applies only during a brief period near the onset of manhood; once the youth is fit to be called a father he is no longer subject to it.