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Teaching

Bringing Honor to our Elders

In the Torah's laws of holiness, we read:

מִפְּנֵי שֵׂיבָה תָּקוּם, וְהָדַרְתָּ פְּנֵי זָקֵן; וְיָרֵאתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶיךָ, אֲנִי ה׳.

Mipenei seivah takum, vehadarta penei zaken; veyareita me'eloheicha, ani HASHEM.

You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:32)

Rashi comments that this passage speaks of honor for Torah scholars: אין זקן אלא שקנה חכמה (ein zaken ella shekanah chochmah), "elder" can only refer to one who has acquired wisdom.

As modern Messianic Judaism has matured, we have learned to honor and respect the words of past sages in Judaism throughout the centuries. Judaism teaches that one's personal Torah teacher should be given even greater respect. Obviously, our Master Yeshua the Messiah deserves our utmost honor. However, there are several other elders of Messianic Judaism, pioneers of our movement, teachers and scholars whose words deserve our attention.

These men authored volumes of fascinating and insightful books, periodicals, essays, and commentaries in numerous languages on the words of our Master and the Torah, drawn from their intimate knowledge of Judaism and the traditional sources. They bring to light the words of our Master and model discipleship and faith in its proper Jewish context. But with the passage of time, many of these men, who lived in past centuries, are barely known in our movement. Their names and memories have all but faded away.

We have an ethical and spiritual responsibility to bring the words of our forebears to light and pass on their legacy to the next generation. Not only will this bring honor to our spiritual forefathers, but it will preserve a sense of rootedness and a place in history for our children and grandchildren.

The verse says, vehadarta penei zaken - honor the face of an old man. This word for "honor" connotes beauty and majesty. Not only must the words of our elders be disseminated to the world, but they deserve to be given hiddur (beauty, honor, majesty) by being published at the highest level of quality possible. From the cover and binding to the printing, layout, and design, Vine of David desires to bring these important and essential works to light in a way befitting the words of our predecessors and our Master Yeshua.