SHOWING RESPECT
The Rambam writes that it is a mitzvas aseh to honor those who know Torah and teach it, for this shows an admiration for HaShem's Torah. In this spirit, it is paskened in the Shulchan Aruch that one is obligated to rise out of reverence for a talmid chacham, and even more so, for one's own rov.
(רמב"ם הל' ת"ת פ"ו ה"א, שו"ע יו"ד סי' רמ"ד)
Rava taught: "A person who loves talmidei chachomim will have children who will be talmidei chachomim. One who honors talmidei chachomim will have sons-in-law who will be talmidei chachomim. One who is in awe of talmidei chachomim will become a talmid chacham himself, and if he does not have the capacity to become a scholar, his words will be accepted like those of a talmid chacham." Rava further said: "How foolish are those people that stand up for a sefer Torah but not for a talmid chacham" – because of the degree to which the Torah empowers them to interpret its words.
(שבת כ"ג ע"ב, מכות כ"ב ע"ב)
When R. Zeira needed to rest from his learning, he would relax near the entrance of the beis midrash so that he could rise and thereby express his reverence for the chachomim passing by.
(עירובין כח ע"ב)
The two great geonim, Reb Akiva Eiger and Reb Yaakov of Lisa (author of the Nesivos), were once strolling together, when they passed two youngsters sitting on a bench. The young men noticed the two geonim but ignored them and did not stand up.
Reb Akiva Eiger shared his surprise with his colleague: "This is surely the era before the coming of Moshiach, when 'chutzpah will thrive...'"
Reb Yaakov responded, "Not yet! When we will be sitting on the bench and the two youngsters will pass by demanding that we stand up for them, then that 'chutzpah will thrive.'"
(טללי תשובה ע' 418)
In a letter to the yeshivah in Montreal, the Frierdiker Rebbe highlights essential values that must be transmitted to the children. One of those values: "It is especially vital to guide them to derech eretz and admiration towards those who study Torah and to elders in general, particularly their own parents."
(אג"ק ריי"צ ח"ו ע' קסט)
To be termed a talmid chacham, one must have yiras Shamayim and observe the mitzvos conscientiously. At another level, the Alter Rebbe adds that a true talmid chacham is a person who nullifies his own will before the Will of HaShem, and who, like a talmid, a humble student, is ready and willing to receive his directives from the level of Chochma in the world Above.
(שו"ע יו"ד סי' רמ"ג ס"ג, תו"א מג"א קיט, ג)
GENUINE ADMIRATION
The Frierdiker Rebbe once said: Chassidim are people of outstanding derech eretz; they love and appreciate those who study Torah. With people educated in the chassidic tradition, these feelings are vibrant and deep-seated, and are expressed in genuine respect.
(סה"מ תש"י ע' 90)
The Tzemach Tzedek once said, "The level of chassidishkeit has gone down."
He went on to explain that in the days of the Mitteler Rebbe, first the melamdim and rabbonim were admitted for yechidus, and only then would the baalei-batim take their turn. Now, he said, the baalei-batim enter first. (After all, they have important matters to discuss; besides, they are the ones who support the rabbonim....) Only afterwards are the rabbonim and melamdim admitted.
When the elder mashpia, Reb Groinem, related this story, the temimim in Lubavitch asked him why the Tzemach Tzedek did not reverse the order to the way it had been in the past. Reb Groinem, in true chassidic tradition, explained with a story:
"There was once a villager, a simple yishuvnik, who would occasionally visit the rov of the nearby town and ask him all his shaylos. One day he arrived at the home of the rov and found him at a meeting discussing a serious matter with his colleagues. When the meeting ended, the villager presented his shaylos, and then asked the rov if he could know what was the matter of such great concern.
"The rov explained that since it hadn’t rained for a while, they were deliberating whether they should declare a day of fasting and davening for the much-needed rain, to save them from possible famine. The villager, astonished, offered his counsel.
" 'I have a far simpler solution,' he said. 'Whenever my cat runs into the house and crouches near the oven, rain begins to fall shortly after. All we must do is grab the cat, place it near the oven, and the rain will surely follow!' "
The mashpia concluded: "In the days of the Mitteler Rebbe, the baalei-batim admired and respected the melamdim and rabbonim and gave them precedence. But now that the situation has declined and they no longer respect them, rearranging them in the correct order is no more helpful than putting the cat near the oven to bring the rain...."
(רשימות דברים ח"א ע' קלז)
CONSIDER
What is the difference between showing respect and genuine appreciation? Which of them is necessary?
