יחזקאל, פרק י״ח, פסוק י״ד

A child raised in a corrupt environment is not doomed to repeat the mistakes of his parents. He possesses the freedom and ability to break the cycle of wrongdoing. The prophet presents the story of a wicked man who has a son. This child grows up in a deeply flawed home, absorbing an immoral education while witnessing his father's sins firsthand [ביאור שטיינזלץ, מצודת דוד].

The primary approach among commentators is that despite his damaging upbringing, the son chooses not to follow his father's path. This decision is rooted in a dual experience of sight. At first, his vision is purely physical; he simply watches his father's actions with his own eyes. However, this sensory experience is immediately followed by a deeper, intellectual, and internal vision [מלבי״ם].

The son evaluates his father's life with his heart and mind, realizing that such a path is bad and bitter. By internalizing this moral lesson [רש״י, מלבי״ם], he consciously rejects his father's ways. Even though he is constantly exposed to these sins, he feels no desire to participate in them. Instead, he makes a deliberate choice to step away, avoid the wrongdoing, and live differently than his father [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].