Obey Mom & Dad!

The Torah in Leviticus 18:16 states that it is forbidden for a brother to marry his brother's former wife. However what about the laws of Yibum? (When a man dies childless the Torah Commands that the brother of the deceased, marries his brother's widow as his wife )

The Gemara defines this as "A Positive Commandment overriding a Prohibition".

The Gemara goes on to list other instances:

1) Laws of Shaatnez (Forbidden mixture of Wool & Linen) & Tzitzis (i.e. The garment can be made from linen & the threads of the tzitzis wool)

2) Prohibition of "You Shall not round the corners of your heads" (i.e. forbids the cutting the hair above the temples), However a Metzora (person who has contracted Tzaraas) is required to shave his head.

3) The Mitzvot of the Pesach offering overrides the prohibition of doing labor on Shabbos.

4) The Mitzvot of Circumcision overrides the prohibition of doing labor on Shabbos.

5) The Mitzvot of Honoring one's parents overrides the Sabbath, as the Gemara references: Every man: your Mother & Father shall you revere and my sabbaths shall you observe. (Leviticus 19:3) In other words, if one's father or mother instructs him to do something that involves the desecration of the sabbath (Only in terms of Melachah - forbidden labor), he should follow the parent's instructions because the commandment to honor one's parents would override the sabbath prohibition. Please note however, this does not give parents free reign to have their children desecrate the sabbath, it merely states that if a child is (unfortunately) in the position of choosing, he must obey his parents.


- Yevamos 5 a/b