91快播

Who deserves our respect and why?

This vital question is encoded in the verse:

This verse perhaps seems clear on the surface, but immediately raises many questions. Who counts as an 鈥渆lder鈥� or a 鈥済rey hair鈥�? Is it just age or other criteria? (Note that 鈥渆lder鈥�, even in English, has connotations of authority and respect beyond age.) What does the last part of the verse (鈥淵ou should fear your God; I am YHVH鈥�) have to do with the first part? What is the connection between honoring elders and fearing God?

Overall, the reader is left puzzled about how to implement this mitzvah in their daily life.

A lengthy passage in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Bikkurim 3:3 / 65c鈥揹) deals with these questions and brings the mitzvah to life in our Rabbis鈥� own reality.* A few excerpts will illustrate this.

讗诪专 专讘讬 住讬诪讜谉: 讗诪专 讛拽讘”讛 “诪驻谞讬 砖讬讘讛 转拽讜诐 讜讛讚专转 驻谞讬 讝拽谉 讜讬专讗转 诪讗诇讛讬讱 讗谞讬 讛’” (讜讬拽专讗 讬讟:诇讘), 讗谞讬 讛讜讗 砖拽讬讬诪转讬 注诪讬讚转 讝拽谉 转讞讬诇讛.

Said Rabbi Simon: 鈥淏efore grey hair, you should stand, you should honor the face of an elder, you should fear your God, I, YHVH鈥濃�擨 am the One who put 鈥渟tanding before an elder鈥� first.

So vital is honoring the elder that, according to Rabbi Simon, God puts the elder鈥檚 honor before God鈥檚 own. But (the earlier Sage) Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar understands the verse to mean something almost entirely contrary to Rabbi Simon鈥檚 interpretation:

转谞讬: 专讘讬 砖诪注讜谉 讘谉 讗诇注讝专 讗讜诪专: 诪谞讬谉 诇讝拽谉 砖诇讗 讬讟专讬讞? 转诇诪讜讚 诇讜诪专 “讝拽谉 讜讬专讗转 诪讗诇讛讬讱 讗谞讬 讛’”.

It is taught: Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: From where do we know that one doesn鈥檛 have to go to trouble for an elder? That鈥檚 why the verse says: 鈥淓lder! Fear your God, I am YHVH.鈥�

He repunctuates the verse. While before we assumed that the verse was being directed at non-elders, Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar makes the elder the addressee so that God is telling elders specifically to fear God. In other words, the last part of the verse actually comes to temper the mitzvah: elders are only elders, they are not God. You should focus on honoring God, not on honoring human beings.

I would suggest that part of this disagreement may ultimately come down to who counts as an 鈥渆lder.鈥� While the Talmud does entertain the possibility that 鈥渆lder鈥� retains its literal meaning, the word is so bound up with authority that this interpretative question becomes fertile ground for exploring power conflicts between the multiple Jewish leaders who claimed that title (our Rabbis sometimes use the word zaken to be equivalent to Rabbi, but synagogue leaders are also often called 鈥減resbyter鈥� in inscriptions, which is Greek for elder). It is this question of who has rightful claim to the title 鈥渆lder鈥� that occupies the Talmud:

专讘讬 讬讜住讬 讘讬专’ 讘讜谉 讘砖诐 专’ 讞讜谞讗 讘专 讞讬讬讗: 讘讜讗 讜专讗讛 讻诪讛 讙讚讜诇 讻讜讞谉 砖诇注讜砖讬 诪爪讜讜转. 砖诪驻谞讬 讝拽谉 讗讬谉 注讜诪讚讬谉 讜讘驻谞讬 注讜砖讬 诪爪讜讜转 注讜诪讚讬谉.

Rabbi Yose bar Rabbi Bun in the name of Rabbi Huna bar Hiyya: Come and see how great is the strength of those who do mitzvot, since before an elder they do not stand, but before those who do mitzvot they stand!

According to Rabbi Huna bar Hiyya, the people before whom you should stand are not elders per se, but those who do mitzvot鈥攊t is ethical merit that earns respect, not age. Having dealt with those who deserve honor, the Talmud moves onto those to who claim honor but do not deserve it:

专讘讬 讝注讬专讗 讜讞讚 诪谉 专讘谞谉 讛讜讜谉 讬转讬讘讬谉, 注讘专 讞讚 诪谉 讗讬诇讬谉 讚诪讬转诪谞讬 讘讻住祝. 讗诪专 讬转讬讛 讚诪谉 专讘谞讬谉 诇专讘讬 讝注讬专讗: 谞注讘讬讚 谞驻砖讬谉 转谞讬讬 讜诇讗 谞讬拽讜诐 诇讜谉 诪谉 拽诪讜讬.

Rabbi Ze鈥檈ira and one of the Rabbis were sitting [and learning]. One of those who was appointed for money passed by. That one of the Rabbis said to Rabbi Ze鈥檈ira: 鈥淲e shall occupy ourselves in our learning and not stand before him.鈥�

鈥淭hose ones who are appointed for money,鈥� who claim their respect only through their wealth, seems remarkably consonant with what we know of late antique synagogue structure. In order to get your position of authority in a synagogue鈥攋ust like in most ancient Roman institutions鈥攜ou would most likely have to donate a large amount of money (Rajak and Noy, 鈥淎rchisynagogoi: Office, Title and Social Status in the Greco-Jewish Synagogue,鈥� The Journal of Roman Studies, 83 [1993]). One needed no merit at all to claim respect, only wealth. Consequently, Rabbi Ze鈥檈ira and his colleague, instead of showing honor to this so-called 鈥渆lder,鈥� continue their learning, showing honor to what matters鈥擥od鈥檚 Torah.

The ancient mitzvah is here dramatized by the Talmud in a contemporary conflict, between the Torah-based values of our Rabbis and the Roman-based values of synagogues that they didn鈥檛 control and, perhaps, only reluctantly attended (e.g. PT Bava Metzia 2:8/8d where Yehudah bar Rabbi, having had his shoes stolen in a synagogue, laments going there in the first place).

The most dangerous part of claiming honor is the belief that, because someone has a certain position of authority, that person deserves it, as raised in this (possibly humorous) anecdote:

专’ 讝注讬专讗 讛讜讜谉 讘注讬讬谉 诪诪谞讬转讬讛 讜诇讗 讘注讬 诪拽讘诇 注诇讜讬, 讻讚 砖诪注 讛讛谉 转谞讬讬讗 转谞讬: 讞讻诐, 讞转谉, 谞砖讬讗 – 讙讚讜诇讛 诪讻驻专转. 拽讘讬诇 注诇讬讛 诪诪谞讬转讬讛.

They wanted to appoint Rabbi Ze鈥檈ira [to a position of authority] but he did not want to accept it. When he heard this teaching: 鈥淔or a Sage, bridegroom or nasi鈥攇reatness atones鈥�, he accepted his appointment.

Rabbi Ze鈥檈ira didn鈥檛 want the bother that an appointment would entail, so he declined the honor. But then he learnt a principle that 鈥済reatness atones鈥濃�攁s the Talmud goes on to explain鈥攖hat when you are appointed as a Sage, you are in some way a new person with your sins wiped clean. Once he realized that it was in his self-interest to be appointed鈥攚ho wouldn鈥檛 want their sins wiped away?!鈥攈e accepted his new role.

This idea that 鈥済reatness atones鈥� is still true today in a real way. How many times have you seen analysis of someone holding public office that withholds criticism of them precisely because of that office? This is based on the implicit assumption that someone who holds office in some way deserves that office.

But the question is deeper than this. The whole discussion of the Talmud assumes male office-holders, as you can see from the word 鈥渂ridegroom鈥� in the teaching Rabbi Ze鈥檈ira heard, and this is true even though we know for a fact that there were female synagogue officers. So the Talmud prompts us to ask further: Who gets the benefit of the doubt from the power invested in them and who does not?

Unfortunately, this conflict of wealth- vs. merit-based honor is only too real in our lives today, forcing us to ask again the fundamental question of this mitzvah: Who counts as an 鈥渆lder鈥� that we should stand before them? Who deserves our respect and why?

Let us use this verse and its discussion in the Talmud Yerushalmi to refocus us on these important questions, to honor those who deserve it, but to remind ourselves that it is God to whom ultimate honor is owed.

The publication and distribution of the 91快播 Commentary are made possible by a generous grant from Rita Dee (锄鈥漧) and Harold Hassenfeld (锄鈥漧).