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Daily Mitzvah (Rambam)

Day 12: Positive Commandment 209

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Positive Commandment 209 (Digest)
Respecting the Sages

"You shall stand up before an elderly person and give respect to a sage"Leviticus 19:32.

We are commanded to accord respect to Torah scholars and respectfully rise for them. Although everyone is required to respect sages, even one Torah scholar must respect another of equal stature, this mitzvah is compounded with regard to the respect a student is expected to have for his teacher.

A student is required to respect and revere his teacher, he is forbidden to challenge his teachings, and always must give him the benefit of the doubt. Indeed, our Sages tell us, "Your reverence for your teacher must be akin to your reverence for G‑d."

From Sefer Hamitzvot, published and copyright by Sichos in English. To purchase the Sefer Hamitzvot two-volume set, please click here.
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Daily Quote
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed, their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the viper's nest. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of G-d, as the waters cover the sea
  –From Isaiah's prophesy on Moshiach, read on the 8th day of Passover
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