he paradigm in the Torah for respecting the elderly
is found in Leviticus 19:32.“You shall rise before
the aged(seivah), and show deference to the old (zaken); you shall fear your God , I am the Lord .” The simple meaning of the verse is obvious. This is a positive commandment to revere the elderly. The development of the Halakhah regarding the elderly here, as in other places, however, goes beyond the simple meaning of the verse.
In this paper I will comment on one aspect of this development and examine the implications the rabbinic understanding of the verse has for an appreciation of the position of the rabbi as well as of the aged in contemporary society.
RABBINIC SOURCES
“You shall rise before the aged”—possibly[one would think] even a sinner(ashmai)—therefore we learn[the verse continues]) zaken. A zaken is only a scholar, as it is said“Gather unto me seventy men from the Elders(miziknei) of Israel ”[Num. 11:16]. Yosi HaGalili says: An elder(zaken) is only one that acquired wisdom, as it states[Prov. 8:22]:“The Lord created me at the beginning of His course as the first of His works of old.”