R. Elazar ben Shamua says: Let the honor of your disciple be as beloved by you as your own. [For thus do we find with Moses. He said to Joshua, his disciple (Exodus 17:9) "Choose men for us," making him (Joshua) equivalent to himself"], and the honor of your fellow as the fear of your master, [Aaron saying to Moses (Numbers 12:11): "Pray, my master." Although he (Aaron) was his (Moses') elder brother, he called him "my master"], and the fear of your teacher as the fear of Heaven, [Joshua saying to Moses (Ibid. 11:28): "My master, Moses, 'finish them' (from the world.)" Since they have rebelled against you, it is as if they have rebelled against the Holy One Blessed be He and they deserve to be destroyed.]
Chovat HaTalmidim
Good lads and young men, please judge for yourselves - you have begun to internalize our words up to this point, in which we have made you understand what a Jewish young man [actually] is, how God is inseparably connected to him and the yoke that he must bear in developing His holy people - please tell me, is there any greater grief than the grief from these haughty ones; is there any blemish like their blemish? Jewish young men, we do not need to warn you about this terrible character trait. We are certain that the words of God - "A man must fear his mother and father" (Leviticus 19:3); and "The fear of your teacher should be like the fear of the Heavens" (Avot 4:12) - are engraved upon your hearts. You know quite well that it is God who is teaching you Torah; and that the voice of God is encased in the voice and words of your rabbi when he speaks to you about matters of Torah, divine service and even about proper behavior according to the Torah. And the fear and joy, the fright and terror that the people of Israel experienced at the time they were at Mount Sinai and heard the voice of God in flames of fire - some of that is also with you now when you are in the yeshiva: When you remind yourselves that the room in which you are in now is full of angels and seraphim and that God's voice comes out from among them - encased in the voice of your rabbi entering your ears and your heart - fright and joy, fear and love shake your body and roil your heart, and you humble yourselves to the Torah of our God heard in the words of your rabbi.
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Chovat HaTalmidim
Pure-hearted students, you must love one another! Be careful about the words of the Mishnah (Avot 4:12), "Let the honor of your friend be beloved to you like your own." And your love for one another should not be forced - like one who only loves himself, but since he is warned and commanded to also love his fellow, forces himself not to hate him. That is like one who takes a tiny part of his love for himself and offers it as a voluntary sacrifice to his fellow. Such love is nothing even when it exists, and will quickly dissipate and melt away.
