To Honor the old and wise מִפְּנֵ֤י שֵׂיבָה֙ תָּק֔וּם וְהָדַרְתָּ֖ פְּנֵ֣י זָקֵ֑ן

BySharon Brooks

Vav Zayin Students of Adath Israel Religious School

ויקרא י״ט:ל׳

(ל) אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֣י תִּשְׁמֹ֔רוּ וּמִקְדָּשִׁ֖י תִּירָ֑אוּ אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָֽה׃

Leviticus 19:30

(30) You shall keep My sabbaths and venerate My sanctuary: I am the LORD.

ויקרא י״ט:ל״ב

(לב) מִפְּנֵ֤י שֵׂיבָה֙ תָּק֔וּם וְהָדַרְתָּ֖ פְּנֵ֣י זָקֵ֑ן וְיָרֵ֥אתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃ {ס}

Leviticus 19:32

(32) You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old; you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

דברים ל״ב:ז׳

(ז) זְכֹר֙ יְמ֣וֹת עוֹלָ֔ם בִּ֖ינוּ שְׁנ֣וֹת דֹּר־וָדֹ֑ר {ס} שְׁאַ֤ל אָבִ֙יךָ֙ וְיַגֵּ֔דְךָ זְקֵנֶ֖יךָ וְיֹ֥אמְרוּ לָֽךְ׃

Deuteronomy 32:7

(7) Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of ages past;
Ask your father, he will inform you,
Your elders, they will tell you:

Elisha ben Avuya said: “One who studies Torah as a child, to what can he be likened? To ink written on fresh paper. And one who studies Torah as an old man, to what can he be likened? To ink written on smudged paper.” Rabbi Yose bar Yehudah of Kfar HaBavli says: “One who learns Torah from the young, to what can he be likened? To one who eats unripe grapes or drinks unfermented wine from his vat. But one who learns Torah from the old, to what can he be likened? To one who eats ripe grapes or drinks aged wine.” Rabi says: “Do not look at the vessel, but what is in it; there is a new vessel filled with old wine and an old vessel that does not even contain new wine” (Pirkei Avot 4:20).

Jewish tradition regards honoring and respecting senior citizens, kibud zekaynim, as a value that reminds us to learn from those who have come before us. The earliest discussion of honoring the aged derives from Leviticus 19:32 which instructs, “You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old; you shall revere [fear?] your God, I am the Eternal.” The implications of this instruction are clear: recognition and demonstration of respect for age and life experience. - Rosenfeld community of Practice

ברכות ח׳ ב

וַעַד שֶׁיִּשְׁחוֹט אֶת הַוְּרִידִין. וְהִזָּהֲרוּ בְּזָקֵן שֶׁשָּׁכַח תַּלְמוּדוֹ מֵחֲמַת אוֹנְסוֹ. דְּאָמְרִינַן: לוּחוֹת וְשִׁבְרֵי לוּחוֹת מוּנָּחוֹת בָּאָרוֹן.

Berakhot 8b

And be careful to continue to respect an elder who has forgotten his Torah knowledge due to circumstances beyond his control. Even though he is no longer a Torah scholar, he must still be respected for the Torah that he once possessed. As we say: Both the tablets of the Covenant and the broken tablets are placed in the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple. Even though the first tablets were broken, their sanctity obligates one not to treat them with contempt. An elder who forgot the Torah knowledge he once possessed is likened to these broken tablets.

Adam: Respect and honor your elders for they may have had lots of Torah knowledge and may have lost it for uncontrollable reasons. Their knowledge must not be forgotten and must be passed down to the next generation.

Jackson: You have this shirt or any piece of clothing and you use it for years and then you keep the shirt even though it is torn and doesn't feel great. You then get a new shirt, But one day you go into your drawer and you see that old shirt and the memories come back from the times you used that shirt. Old or torn still have stories that still have memories that must be passed down from generation to generation;

Micah: Even if you lose something about yourself physically or mentally it doesn't mean other people think differently about you - who you are and who you were.

שבת קנ״ב א

וְ״בִּשְׁפַל . תַּנְיָא, רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל בְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר: תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים כׇּל זְמַן שֶׁמַּזְקִינִין — חָכְמָה נִתּוֹסֶפֶת בָּהֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״בִּישִׁישִׁים חׇכְמָה וְאוֹרֶךְ יָמִים תְּבוּנָה״. וְעַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ כׇּל זְמַן שֶׁמַּזְקִינִין — טִפְּשׁוּת נִתּוֹסֶפֶת בָּהֶן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״מֵסִיר שָׂפָה לְנֶאֱמָנִים וְטַעַם זְקֵנִים יִקָּח״.

Shabbat 152a

It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, says: As Torah scholars grow older, wisdom is increased in them, as it is stated: “With aged men is wisdom; and length of days brings understanding” (Job 12:12). And as ignoramuses grow older, foolishness is increased in them, as it is stated: “He removes the speech of men of trust and takes away the understanding of the aged” (Job 12:20).

Miya: you have to not just see elders as old people, you have to see them as storytellers to the past. They have so much knowledge about stuff you will probably not experience in your life. All of the information that you will learn from elders is stuff that holds deep meaning to the people who are telling its