Introduction Mishnah three contains further restrictions with regards to the “wayward and rebellious son”.
If he stole from his father and ate it on his father’s property, or of strangers and ate it on the property of the strangers, or of strangers and ate on his father’s property, he does not become a “wayward and rebellious son,” until he steals from his father and eats on other’s property. Rabbi Yose bar Yehudah said: “Until he steals from his father and mother.” According to our mishnah in order for a son to become a “wayward and rebellious son” he must steal from his father and consume the stolen food on other people’s property. This is because stealing from his father is easy due to his easy access to his father’s property. Eating the stolen food on other people’s property is also easy, since other people will not know that that which he is eating was stolen. Any other combination of stealing and eating will not make him a “wayward and rebellious son”, since one element will not be so easy. In other words, in order to be a “wayward and rebellious son” he must violate the norms of society in a way that will be easy and therefore encourage him to continuously do so. A riskier action is less likely to be repeated and is therefore more lightly punished. According to Rabbi Judah he must steal from both his father and mother. This “egalitarian” approach is probably based on the fact that the verses in Deuteronomy say that both parents bring the child to his punishment, as we will learn in greater depth in the next mishnah. If both parents bring the child to be punished, the crimes must have been directed at both parents as well.
Questions for Further Thought:
• Of the strategies for dealing with understanding the laws of the “wayward and rebellious son” that we discussed in the introduction to this chapter, which are employed in this mishnah?