Honoring Torah Scholars
Bein Adam Le-chavero: Ethics of Interpersonal Conduct
By Rav Binyamin Zimmerman
****************************************************************
This weeks
shiurim are dedicated in memory of Israel Koschitzky zt"l, whose
yahrzeit falls on the 19th of Kislev.
May the worldwide dissemination of Torah through the VBM be a fitting
tribute to a man whose lifetime achievements exemplified the love of Eretz
Yisrael and Torat Yisrael.
****************************************************************
Shiur #07: Honoring Torah Scholars
The Holy Message
In last week's lesson, we
began discussing the mitzva in Parashat Kedoshim of treating
senior citizens and Torah scholars with utmost respect. The Torah states
(Vayikra 19:32):
You shall rise before the
aged and show favor to an elder, and you shall fear your God; I am God.
The verse calls for
kima, rising in the presence of seiva, old age, and according
hiddur, extra honor, favor or deference, to a zaken, an elder
We noted that the Talmud
and Shulchan Arukh rule in accordance with the opinion of Isi ben Yehuda (Kiddushin
32b), who understands that this verse essentially states two obligations: rising
for the aged and showing favor to the scholar. As the Chinnukh explains, the
underlying principle is that we must show respect to those who possess wisdom.
The placement of this
mitzva in Parashat Kedoshim demonstrates how proper interpersonal
behavior enhances ones kedusha
(holiness). The Torah calls for
us to recognize the knowledge of the aged and the learned. The proverbial little
old lady who needs help crossing the street is not merely an individual in need,
but a possessor of wisdom; thus, one must admire her while being thankful for
the opportunity to assist her. Through internalizing the call to treat others
with respect, one can develop a new perspective about people, esteeming their
wisdom born of life experience and Torah study. Simultaneously, one may develop
a newfound commitment to a way of life directed towards attaining greater
enlightenment.
In fact, the second verb
in the verse, Ve-hadarta, is quite significant. Ha-ketav Ve-hakabbala
points out that the root, which appears in numerous verses throughout Tanakh, is
very similar to its Aramaic cognate, hadar, which refers to retracing
one's steps, retreating and reversing course out of fear. After proving this
assertion from numerous sources, he states:
As to the instruction of
the Torah, Ve-hadarta, the Talmud explains that hiddur is
neither to sit in the chair of a venerable person nor to contradict what he
says. At first glance, one may be inclined to ask the following question: what
prompts the Sages to transmute a positive commandment into a negative
commandment, telling us what not to do to a zaken? However, the reason
the Sages do this is precisely because the meaning of the word Ve-hadarta
is to retreat from something. Therefore, in line with this basic meaning, the
Sages illustrated the practical meaning of the commandment by telling us what to
refrain and retreat from, i.e. not to be forward enough to sit in his chair and
not to be arrogant enough to contradict him.
As Ha-ketav
Ve-hakabbala explains, Ve-hadarta means to take a step back. Now,
hiddur also means glorification, but, the essence of the mitzva is not
the outward action but the inner feeling. These prohibitions impress upon an
individual the need not to be presumptuous. Youth is wasted on the young,
according to the famous quote attributed to George Bernard Shaw, and impetuous
young people often think that their elders are has-beens who find it difficult
to keep up with the times.
The Torah tells us to
withdraw a bit to see age not as a sign of weakness, but as a sign of
strength. If one takes a step back before mischaracterizing elders, one will
also be able to take many steps forward and go out of his way to accord them the
honor they deserve.
The Scholar and His Calling
It is here, however,
where we must draw a distinction between the two types of individuals the verse
calls to esteem. The aged must be appreciated and cherished; however, old age is
not always attainable. Old age is a gift from God, which many of the greatest
individuals in our history did not receive; nevertheless, it is their eternal
life in the next world which ultimately counts. While we honor those who are
elderly, appreciate their wisdom from experience and hope we will be given the
same opportunity, we can only hope to be like the elderly when we grow old; we
cannot emulate them now. The mitzva calls for appreciating individuals whose
wisdom is a result of the length of their days and their life experience, which
is born of circumstance.
The honor due the Torah
scholar is different. One need not only sit, or in this case stand up for them,
on the sidelines; one may try to be like them. While the Chinnukh notes the bond
between these two groups, the Keli Yakar notes the difference between them. The
honor that must be accorded the scholar is certainly greater, as it is honor due
to him for his own personal achievements, not due to his age or other outside
factors. This is the language of Rabbi Yosei the Galilean (ibid.): "A
zaken is this one (zeh) who has acquired (kana) wisdom. The
hiddur is due not only to the level of scholarship, but to the toil in
the act of its acquisition.
This distinction is
echoed in a slightly different context in a responsum by Rav Moshe Feinstein (Iggerot
Moshe, OC II, 34). He explains that the honor due to a Torah scholar is
greater than that due to a kohen (priest), as the scholars status is the
result of personal achievement, while being a kohen is the result of an
accident of birth. Essentially, the honor due to a kohen is due to the
priestly family of Aharon, rather than the individual.
In fact, the word
seiva refers to the white hair of old age. However, sometimes those who
dedicate their life towards attaining wisdom look much older than their years.
According to the Mishna (Berakhot 1:5), which we recite from the Passover
Haggada annually, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya states: "Here I am like a
seventy-year-old man." The Talmud explains (Berakhot 27b-28a) that he was
only eighteen years old, but so that he might look distinguished among the
elderly scholars, his hair turned as snowy white as if he were seventy.
Our discussion adds a
twist. As we saw in the previous lesson, the Shulchan Arukh rules that seiva
includes everyone from age seventy and up. A septuagenarian deserves honor
for the wisdom of experience, but a young scholar, even one who is eighteen,
deserves honor due to the wisdom he has acquired and toiled to attain, "like a
seventy-year-old man." (See also the Keli Yakars commentary on our verse).
An old friend of mine
studied under Rav Avraham Shapira zt"l (1914-2007; chief rabbi,
1983-1993) during the latters final years, and he related to me a story that I
will now retell. (Though the specifics may not be accurate, the idea behind them
remains valid.) One day my friend asked Rav Shapira which later commentaries one
should study. Rav Shapira proceeded to ask him what he had studied already. When
my friend could only list a couple of things he had read through partially, Rav
Shapira said, No I am asking you which ones you have read cover-to-cover.
Embarrassed, my friend had nothing to say. Rav Shapira continued and asked him:
How old are you? Twenty-one. Rav Shapira said: "You are twenty-one and don't
have a single gray hair on your head. How can that be? When I was your age I had
a full head of gray hair, but I had also learned through many later commentaries
cover-to-cover. Evidently, the two go hand-in-hand."
My friend, who later
married into Rav Shapira's family, told me that at that moment a new realization
came upon him. Rav Shapira was not the great man he was, the former chief rabbi
of Israel and a celebrated rosh yeshiva, because of his brilliance, but
rather because he worked hard to attain it. It wasn't because he knew which
commentaries to study, but rather because he went and studied them, all of them,
cover-to-cover. In the process he had gained the stature of a seventy-year-old
man, towering above others with wisdom, and he even looked the part.
Not all will have
prematurely gray hair, and some may even look young when old; nevertheless, the
honor due to a scholar is the result of the arduous process of acquiring Torah
wisdom.
Fear and Reverence in This Mitzva
Our verse concludes: "And
you shall fear your God; I am God." What is the meaning of this statement?
The Midrash (Bamidbar
Rabba
15:17) relates that Rav Abba Ha-Kohen bar Pappa would always
avoid crowds, lest he trouble them by causing them to rise. When he mentions
this to Rabbi Yosei be-Rabbi Zevida, the latter reprimands him, explaining that
he would be doing them a great favor by having them rise before him, because
this would lead them to the fear of God, as indicated by our verse.
The contact with a Torah
scholar can be a life-changing moment, as the verse states: "Your eyes shall see
your teachers" (Yeshayahu 30:20). Elisha transforms his life after coming
into contact with Eliyahu (see I Melakhim 19:19-21 and the end of The
Lonely Man of Faith). Reish Lakish gives up being a bandit in order to
become a student of Rabbi Yochanan (Bava Metzia 84a). Jewish history
abounds with numerous leaders who had no intention of being in a leadership
position but were transformed, encouraged and inspired by contact with the great
individuals in our nation.
Showing hiddur to
a great scholar can be a transformative experience, and many individuals go out
of their way to encounter the righteous scholars of the generation, even just to
see them. With this in mind, it is understandable that the Or Ha-chayim, in his
commentary on this verse, offers a number of explanations which interpret this
mitzva as a call for one to attain his spiritual stature in the utmost. He cites
the Talmudic teaching (Yevamot 50) that koma, akin to kima
in the verse, refers to one's spiritual height. One merits living out the years
allotted if one follow God's commands. Therefore, the verse essentially states:
if you wish to reach a good old age, attain the spiritual height you are meant
to attain. He continues:
The verse challenges us
to develop to our full spiritual potential as much as it directs us to display
honor for people who have attained old age
The way to head off the frequent
side-effects of aging is kima, to rise to one's spiritual stature
The words And show favor
to an elder may even allude to one's own old age; our Sages (Sukka
53a) are on record as saying about themselves: "Hail to our youth which does not
shame our old age." They referred to the kind of old age in which one can recall
an exemplary life led, with no skeletons in one's closet. The Torah therefore
advises youngsters to lead the kind of lives now that will never cause them to
be ashamed in the future of their younger years.
We not only stand for the
scholars and allow their characters to have an effect on us, we also realize
that following their lead in the way we live our lives will allow us to be proud
in our golden years of our youth.
The understanding that
the honor due to a scholar is because of personal achievement would also seem to
be the focus of the Talmud's discussion of whether a scholar can waive his honor
(Kiddushin 32a).
Rav Yitzchak bar Shila
quoted Rav Mattena in the name of Rav Chisda: A father who has waived his
honor, his honor is forgone. If, however, a rabbi waives the honor due to him,
his honor is not forgone.
Rav Yosef said: Even a
rabbi who waives his honor, his honor is forgone, as it is stated: And God went
before them by day (Shemot 13:21)."
Rava said: This is not a
valid comparison. The Holy One, Blessed be He, since the world is His and the
Torah is His, may waive His honor. Here, however, in the case of a rabbi, is the
Torah his that he can waive his honor? Rava then reconsidered and said himself:
Yes, the rabbis Torah is his, as it is written: And in his Torah he meditates
day and night (Tehillim 1:2)."
The inference from this
verse is explained by Rashi, in both his Talmudic and biblical commentaries (ad
loc.). The entire verse, speaking about a praiseworthy individual, reads as
follows: "But his desire is in the Torah of God, and in his Torah he meditates
day and night. Rashi explains that at first the Torah is called the "Torah of
God" but as he meditates in it day and night, it becomes "his Torah". Learning,
studying, and toiling in the acquisition of Torah actually allows the Torah to
become part and parcel of one's personality.
According to the first
opinion and Rava's initial understanding, the honor due to a scholar is
essentially the honor due to the Torah that he knows, and therefore, it is not
the scholar's prerogative to waive this honor. The conclusion, however, seems to
be that the honor does belong to the scholar, as the Torah which he learns
becomes part and parcel of him, "his."
In some instances, the
scholar must act to protect his honor with the understanding that it is
essentially the Torah which is being honored through him (see Year 2, Lesson
30). However, the essential obligation of honoring the scholar is for the Torah
he has acquired, so that others may follow his lead.
Responsibility
The element of fear of
God involved in this mitzva creates added responsibility for all involved, both
the scholar himself and the bystander who sees him. The Talmud deduces from this
part of the verse the obligation to stand even when the scholar is unaware that
others have noticed him and also that the scholar must not overburden others by
making them stand in his presence. The Rambam formulates it as follows (Hilkhot
Talmud Torah 6:2):
What is the source [which teaches that]
a person should not divert his eyes from the sage so that he will not see him,
lest he be required to stand before him? It is written, "And you shall fear your
God." With regard to all matters dependent on one's conscience, the Torah
states: "And you shall fear your God."
The fact that And you
shall fear your God" mandates rising for a sage who is not aware of
having been seen indicates that this is not only an interpersonal mitzva, but a
religious one as well. God wants us to be accustomed to honoring the Torah and
those who represent it not only for them but for what it can do to us.
The Rambam (op. cit.
11) continues:
It is a great sin to disgrace Torah sages or to hate
them. Jerusalem was not destroyed until [its inhabitants] disgraced its sages,
as it says: (II
Divrei Ha-yamim
36:16): "And they would mock
the messengers of God, despise His words and scoff at His prophets" i.e., they
would scorn those who taught His words. Similarly, the Torah's prophecy
(Vayikra 26:16): "If you despise My statutes" [should be
interpreted]: "If you despise the teachers of My statutes." Whoever disgraces
the sages has no portion in the world to come and is included in the category of
those who "scorn the word of God"
(Bamidbar 15:31).
The scholar also has an
obligation, as the Rambam rules (op. cit. 3):
It is not proper for a sage to trouble
the people and position himself before them so that they will have to stand for
him. Rather, he should take shortcuts and have the intent that they should not
see him, so that he will not trouble them to stand. The Sages would take
circuitous routes through the outskirts [of their cities], where people who
recognized them would not be found, in order not to trouble them.
At first glance, this
would seem to contradict the passage from Bamidbar Rabba which we saw
above: isnt it better for the scholar to encounter people, giving them the
opportunity to express their fear of God?
The Benei Binyamin is quoted as
explaining that everything depends on the scholar's intention. If he is not
motivated by self-interest in any way, then he may appear before crowds.
However, one concerned with his own pride should avoid them.
The scholar has the
potential of modeling his commitment and his successful attainment of Torah
knowledge as a mere expression of everyone's latent potential being actualized.
All Jews are taught Torah in their mother's womb (Nidda 30b) and
dedication to the cause can make anyone worthy of the same honor as the scholar.
Not everyone may merit length of years and old age, but all can strive to attain
length of days by maximizing one's time for spiritual growth and Torah
scholarship.
This might have practical
ramifications for a situation when it is unclear if the person is old enough or
enough of a scholar to honor. (See Yechaveh Daat 3:70).
Some authorities differentiate between a
scholar and a senior, as they note that all people age while not everyone
becomes a Torah scholar, and therefore one might have to stand when in doubt of
anothers age, but unless known otherwise, one would not be obligated to stand
for a putative scholar. However, if part of the mitzva is the recognition that
there is latent potential in each of us to reach the milestone of being a real
Torah scholar, then even in cases of doubt, one should treat the supposed
scholar with respect.
A Man of Good Deeds
Before we conclude, it is
important to point out that the scholar's greatness is not only based on the
wisdom he knows, but on the way it causes him to act. The Talmud (Kiddushin
33b) relates that even scholars stood for Rav Yechezkel; although he was not a
sage in his own right, Rav Yechezkel was a person of good deeds (baal maasim).
The Ran in his commentary on the Rif (Kiddushin
14b) explains that the real reason why one must stand before a learned person is
that "wisdom brings to action." One does not honor what the scholar knows, but
how he acts due to that knowledge. Generally speaking, the unlearned will not be
able to act with such righteousness; however, a baal maasim should be
treated the same way as a scholar, because part of the essence of the Torah's
wisdom is to bring one to holy action. (See also Torah Temima on our
verse, note 241.)
This verses mandate
reflects not only the recognition of an individuals scholarship, but the
aspiration of each and every one of us to be holier. The latent Torah potential
in all of us is waiting to be actualized and transformed into actions, as we
recognize that good deeds are part and parcel of interpersonal holiness. Doing
so will allow all to achieve the blessing recorded in the psalm for Shabbat (Tehillim
92:15):
They shall still bear
fruit even in old age; they shall be fresh and fragrant.
Up to this point, we have
discussed the honor one must accord a Torah sage even without a prior
relationship. In next week's lesson, we will conclude the discussion of this
verse by focusing on the honor due to one's own rabbi and teacher.
This website is constantly being improved. We would appreciate hearing from you. Questions and comments on the classes are welcome, as is help in tagging, categorizing, and creating brief summaries of the classes. Thank you for being part of the Torat Har Etzion community!