פירוש על אבות 4:12

THE HONOR OF YOUR STUDENT SHOULD BE AS DEAR TO YOU AS YOUR OWN. Midrash Shmuel writes in the name of Meiri that the text is “as dear to you as your colleague’s.” R. Moshe Almosnino likewise writes that Rashi has “as your colleague’s” and that this is the correct version. Maharal in Derech Chaim agrees with our editions because for any given person it is unclear how dear a colleague’s honor is, so it should not be used for comparison. Cf. my comments on 2:10.

Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua says: Let the honor of your student be dear to you as your own, like the honor of your fellow: He wants to say each one according to his honor - that is known to be fitting for his fellow and for a student [respectively]. But he is not saying that he honor his student like his fellow, as this is not correct. But rather just like you are not allowed to subtract from the honor of your fellow that is fitting [for him], so [too] do you not have the right to lessen from the honor that is fit for your student.

"Like the reverence of your teacher": As we say in the Bava Metzia 33. And Rashi explained, "It is because they would sit together in the study hall and ask and answer each other and learn one from the other" To here [are his words]. And it is not that he equates them completely; as, if so, everything is equal. But rather [only] concerning the matter of love; which is to say that he should be beloved to him in the way he naturally loves - and it is beloved in his eyes to honor or to revere - one who is on a higher level than he. And the word "beloved" relates to all of them - Midrash Shmuel.

"Let the honor of your student be dear to you as your own": As so do we find with Moshe, who said to Yehoshua, his student (Exodus 17:9), "choose for us men" - he made him equal to him.

Introduction Rabbi Elazar was another student of Rabbi Akiva’s. In other places in the mishnah he is referred to as Rabbi Elazar without the name of his father, Shammua.

AND THE HONOR OF YOUR COLLEAGUE AS THE FEAR OF YOUR MASTER. As the Talmud says in Bava Metzia 33a: the Torah scholars in Babylon stand for one another, rend their garments in mourning for one another, and deliver eulogies for one another. Rashi ad loc. explains: as a student must do for his master; for they sit together in the study hall, raise difficulties and resolve them together, and learn from one another—Midrash Shmuel in the name of Abarbanel. He also writes in the name of the commentators that the mishna does not mean to totally equate the two things, for then any distinction would be erased; it equates them only in that the two things should be equally beloved. That is, honoring a colleague should be as dear to him as it is naturally beloved and dear to him to honor or fear someone at a greater level than he is. If so, the word “dear” applies to the entire mishna.¹⁶⁷I.e., when the mishna says “and the honor your colleague as the fear of your master” it means “and the honor of your colleague [should be as dear to you] as the fear of your master.”

and the honor of your fellow like the reverence of your teacher, and the reverence of your teacher like the reverence of Heaven: Honor is included in reverence, but reverence is not included in honor, as Malakhi stated (Malachi 1:6), "A son should honor his father, and a slave his master; and if I am a father, where is My honor, yet if I am a master, where is My reverence, etc.?" - he said "fear" with a slave and "honor" with a son, as the matter is like this. And here, it mentioned fear for the teacher and for Heaven - as one needs to fear [teachers], because fear of the teacher is the foundation of fear of Heaven. [This is] since he teaches him Torah and 'to fear the Lord, his God.' And one who loves the Torah, loves the sages and will fear the word of God. And to the one who teaches him, there is within him the fear of Heaven and walking in the good path - that is why it says, "the reverence of your teacher." But with the student and the fellow it [only] mentioned honor, as one is not obligated in their reverence. It comes out that you have learned that the honor of your student needs to be as dear in your eyes as the reverence of Heaven, that is incumbent upon you. And you may not negate the one, [just] like the other - as they are all dependent, one upon the other. And, if so, the four of them are all of one level - the honor, according to the honor [of each]; and the reverence, according to the reverence [of each].

Meaning to say that even though Moshe was his teacher, behold also to Aharon there is a greater status, as he was his older brother. And we expound in Ketuvot 103, "'[Honor your father] and et your mother' - [the word et comes] to include your big brother." And hence according to the law, they were even and treated like fellows and, nonetheless, he called him, "my master." And all of this is just from the way of piety. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"and the honor of your fellow like the reverence of your teacher": As Aharon said to Moshe (Numbers 12:11), "my apologies to my master" - his brother was older than him in years and he [still] called him, "my master."

Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua said: let the honor of your student be as dear to you as your own, and the honor of your colleague as the reverence for your teacher, and the reverence for your teacher as the reverence of heaven. Rabbi Elazar’s statement ranks the honor that a person would customarily give to others, and says that in each case one should give even more honor than is expected. A teacher should respect students as if they were teachers themselves. This is learned from Moses’s conduct, for in Exodus 17:9 he says to Joshua, “choose for us men”. He does not say, “choose for me” but rather “us” even though he is clearly Joshua’s superior. Similarly, one should treat a colleague with the same reverence one would give a teacher, who is one step higher. This is learned from Aaron who says to Moses in Numbers 12:11, “O my lord”, even though he was Moses’s brother. Finally, a person should have as much reverence for one’s teacher as he has for God. This is learned from Joshua in Numbers 11:28, who tells Moses to execute Eldad and Medad, who Joshua believes are rebelling against Moses. Joshua considers their rebellion against Moses to be like a rebellion against God, because Moses is Joshua’s teacher.

AND THE HONOR OF YOUR COLLEAGUE AS THE FEAR OF YOUR MASTER. Rav: for Aaron said to Moses, “I beg you, my lord” (Numbers 12:11). He was older than Moses, and yet called him “my lord”. So also in Avot deRabbi Natan 27. Rashi also quotes this at the end of parsahat Beshalach. These sources do not use the earlier verse “let my lord not be angry” from parashat Ki Tisa (Exodus 32:22) as one could deflect the proof by saying that perhaps Aaron called Moses “my lord” at that point because he was afraid of his wrath. But when he said “I beg you, my lord” he was speaking not for himself but on account of his sister, at which point there was no reason to call Moses “lord”; it is clear, then, that the honor of a colleague should be as the fear of the master.
As for what Rav writes about Aaron being older, which is also mentioned in Avot deRabbi Natan, the intent is that even though Moses was his master Aaron had the point of being his older brother, and the Talmud says in Ketubot 103a that “[honor your father] and your mother” (Exodus 20:11) means to include an older brother. Moses and Aaron then come out equal in terms of honor and would have the status of colleagues with regards to one another, and yet Aaron calls Moses “my lord”.
And it seems that all of this is merely drash and asmachta¹⁶⁸Meaning, these laws are not actually a straightforward interpretation of the verses; they are a pious behavior for which a hint has been found in the verses. and a teaching for the pious. As such, the Talmud asks in Kiddushin 33b whether a person whose son is his master should stand before the son or vice versa and does not bring any conclusive proof one way or another; if our mishna were saying a full-fledged halacha the Talmud should have quoted it as proof.¹⁶⁹For even though Aaron was Moses’ older brother, since Moses was his master he treated him as such. Rambam’s ruling in Hilchot Mamrim 6:4 that a father does not stand for his son who is his master would be even more difficult, as it would be a contradiction¹⁷⁰Whereas the Talmud in Kiddushin simply does not quote our mishna, Rambam would be openly contradicting it. to our mishna, which would seem to obligate the older brother to honor and fear the younger brother who is his master.
It is possible that the obligation to honor one’s father, which is explicit in the verse, differs from the obligation to honor one’s older brother, which is only midrashically read into the verse; indeed, Rambam calls this latter obligation “the words of the Scribes” in that same chapter. This is consistent with his approach in labeling any law that emerges from a midrashic reading of a verse as “the words of the Scribes”, as I have written on Eruvin 1:2.

"and the reverence of your teacher like the reverence of Heaven": As it is written (Numbers 11:28), "my master Moshe, destroy them" - destroy them from the world. [He meant by this to say,] "Since they rebelled against you, it is as if they rebelled against the Holy One, blessed be He and they are liable for destruction."