“Reverence for Learning in Jewish Tradition”
(updated and revised from Kee Tisah 5763-2003)

In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tisah, we read of the fateful sin of the Jewish people with the Golden Calf. The sin of the Golden Calf is considered so grievous, that it eventually contributes to the Al-mighty’s decision to ban all male citizens of Israel who were alive at that time and were 20 years of age or above, from entering into the land of Israel.

When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, after receiving the two tablets from G-d, and heard and saw the enthusiastic celebration of the people for the Golden Calf, he smashed the tablets. Dramatically stopping the idolatrous festivities, Moses calls on his brethren, the tribe of Levi, to exact vengeance upon the leaders of the rebellion, and 3,000 Israelites perish in the confrontation.

Notwithstanding his deep disappointment with the people, Moses begs G-d to forgive them. G-d accedes to his request, but reminds Moses that when the people will sin again in the future, He will take the sin of the Golden Calf into account, which He does after the sin of the scouts who come back with an evil report concerning Israel.

To distance himself from the sinful people, Moses moves his tent outside the camp and proceeds to hold court from that location. Scripture tells us in Exodus 33:8 that, despite the rebelliousness of the people, whenever Moses would go out to his tent, יָקוּמוּ כָּל הָעָם וְנִצְּבוּ אִישׁ פֶּתַח אָהֳלוֹ , the entire nation would stand at the entrance of their tents, and gaze upon Moses until he reached his tent. Standing for Moses was an obvious gesture of the people’s respect for the leader and the mortal redeemer of Israel.

It is interesting to note that some of the traditional educational customs practiced by the “yeshiva world” today originate from this Torah portion. One of the virtually universal practices is that when a rabbi, leader or teacher enters a room, students are expected to stand and to remain standing until the exalted person has reached his designated place. Similarly, in some yeshiva elementary schools when a principal or a guest enters a classroom, students stand–as a gesture of respect. In many yeshivot, students speak to their teachers only in the third person, never referring to a teacher as “You.” So for instance, it is not unlikely to hear a student say, “Yesterday the Rebbe taught us such and such in the Talmud,” rather than say, “You taught us,” which is considered disrespectful. Certainly, no one would dream of walking through a door before the rabbi, or of not holding the door for their teacher or, during communal prayer, of not waiting for their teacher to finish his/her prayers before beginning the repetition of the Amidah (central prayer).

The Mishna, in tractate Baba Metziah 33a, teaches that if a person simultaneously happens upon the lost object of their parent and the lost object of their teacher, he is required to retrieve the lost object of his teacher even at the expense of the lost object of his parent. The sages explain that while a parent gives his child life in this world, the teacher gives his student life in this world, and (through the study of Torah) ensures his student’s eternal life in the World to Come. Therefore, the teacher’s lost object takes precedence over the parent’s lost object. However, if the parent is the child’s primary teacher of Torah, the child must show ultimate respect to the parent over a non-primary rabbi or teacher.

The determining factor that governs this relationship of ultimate reverence for a teacher is the primacy of Torah–which is regarded as the elixir of life! As our Maariv (evening) liturgy states (based on Deuteronomy 32:47)—“They [the words of the Torah] are our life and the length of our days, and upon them we must meditate day and night.”

It is, of course, this reverence for education which has permeated Jewish life throughout the ages. Historically, there was hardly a generation throughout the millennia, no matter how poor, how insecure or endangered, that was illiterate! In fact, the Talmud (Nedarim 81a) states boldly, “Take heed of the children of the poor, for from them Torah will emerge.”

Historically, the Jewish people, in the time of the first century sage Simeon ben Shatach, were the first to introduce formal compulsory education, and strict rules were set governing class size and the qualifications of teachers.

In the Code of Jewish Law there are abundant and exacting regulations concerning unfair business competition. Yet, when it comes to education, there are no competitive restrictions. The Code of Jewish Law (Yoreh Deah 245:22) posits that one may establish a competing school in the same neighborhood, in the same courtyard, even in the same building as an existing school, because according to Jewish tradition, (Baba Batra 21a) קִנְאַת סוֹפְרִים תַּרְבֶּה חָכְמָה, jealousy and competition between scholars are viewed as means to increase wisdom and scholarship.

One of the quaint Jewish customs that underscores the unmitigated reverence for learning is the practice of kissing a holy volume that falls accidentally to the floor, as if to atone for the negligence of allowing a holy tome to fall. Could anyone imagine, even in their wildest dreams, that a lifelong scholar and obsessive devotee of John Milton would kiss the cover of Paradise Lost that has fallen?! And, yet, the zeal and reverence that the Jewish people have for education does not allow for the slightest disrespect, implied or real, even to an inanimate object or volume.

It is this reverence for education that is at the core of Jewish educational success, and accounts for much of Jewish economic success. The scholar was always the most respected person in the Jewish community, far more than the wealthy business person. And, that is why the wealthy businessmen were always eager to marry their children to the rabbi’s or the scholar’s children.

In these challenging times, that are marked by the vast illiteracy of our people, the Jewish community and their leaders need to redouble their efforts to make Jewish education the sine qua non of Jewish life, and to make certain to devote their foremost efforts to assure the highest degree of Jewish literacy for all Jews.

May you be blessed.

Please note: This Shabbat is also known as “Shabbat Parashat Parah.” It is the third of four special Shabbatot that surround the holiday of Purim. On this Shabbat, a thematic Torah portion concerning the Red Heifer is read from Numbers 19:1-22.