LEV308 Honor of parents is essential to their assigned task of transmitting religious and cultural values to succeeding generations. Instruction of one's children is the only parental duty mentioned in the Bible (Deuteronomy 6:7). Children who are respectful of their parents will readily accept their guidance and instructions. The biblical command "You shall fear every man his father and his mother" is concluded with the statement "I am the Lord your God" [this verse], i.e., parents whose children fear them are able to implant reference for God in the hearts of their children. The verse following this command warns against the worship of idols. The link between parental honor and the preservation of the faith is thus clearly implied. This connection is explicitly emphasized in the Book of Proverbs: "The fear of Lord is the beginning of knowledge. … Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father and forsake not the teaching of thy mother" (Proverbs 1:7–8). It may be added parenthetically that parental honor solidifies family bonds. The survival of Jewish society as a religious and cultural community rests upon the foundation of stable family units.