STANDING FOR THE ELDER OR THE ELDERLY?
Nahmanides and Rashi disagree on the meaning of the wor ashmai. Nahmanides states that it means a boor. In this he agrees with the Tosafot in Kedushin ad loc. Rashi explains the word to mean an evil-doer, not a boor. This difference in the meaning of ashmai carries important connotations for the interpretation of the Halakhah as codified in the legal codes, as we shall see below.
It is a mitzvah to honor a scholar, even if he is not his rabbi. As it is stated:“You shall rise before the aged, and show deference to the old.” A zaken is one that acquired wisdom. ®
He does not cite the laws regarding respect for the elderly until later in the same chapter:
One stands for one who is an elder by virtue of old age, even though he is not a scholar. Even a scholar, that is, a child, stands before one who is an elder by virtue of old age, but he[the scholar] is not required to stand up to his full height, only to rise enough to acknowledge him. We even revere an elderly Kutite (non-Jew) with words and give him a helping hand to support him as the verse states:“You shall rise before the aged, and show deference to the old.”®
The first thing that stands out in Maimonides ’ codificatio? is the placement of the laws: they are found in Talmud Torah. NO
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