Honoring a Father with a Mental Disorder
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Question
Hello, A person whose father has some mental disorder, and when the son sees or talks to him, the father enters into a long speech in which he speaks things disconnected from reality for many minutes. How should the son act? And how should the son generally behave in terms of meetings and conversations with such a father?
Answer
Hello
A person is obligated to honor his father, even when the father is considered a 'shoteh'.
The son should allocate time to speak with the father according to his needs, as long as it does not come at the expense of Torah, prayer, fulfilling commandments, or financial losses.
[In the case of such conversations, it is not certain that the father is considered a shoteh, perhaps he is speaking about thoughts, desires, but this is not yet a 'shoteh']
Source
Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah, Siman 240, Sif 10