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Poster Commentary

"Who is wise? One who learns from all people. Who is honored? One who honors everyone."Ben-Zoma, Pirke Avot 4:1

Poster design:Alan Peckolick

Commentary

by Irving Greenberg

Who is wise? One who learns from all people.

Is the supply of knowledge limited? If so, to be wise would be to master a body of information.

Judaism teaches that life is dynamic and growing. The world is infinite, evolving, as yet unfinished. Therefore, what we know today is but a fraction of what there is to know. Whatever wisdom we accrue can guide us—but cannot account for all that is new and emerging. What is wise in one situation may be foolish in another. To attain wisdom, then, is to know our limits.

Wisdom is a process, not an answer. The wise man knows how much he does not know, so he constantly seeks to learn new things. The wise woman has developed understanding by listening to and learning from others.

Who is honored? One who honors others.

The direct pursuit of honor cannot produce successful results. In grasping for honor, in trying to impress others of how worthy we are, we are tempted to do the dishonorable. We exaggerate our own importance and minimize that of others, thereby diminishing ourselves.

Like happiness, honor is often the outcome of a process that involves others. Bringing goodness into the world, working constructively, or loving in a meaningful relationship are all keys to both happiness and honor. The best way to obtain happiness or honor is to give it to others.

Conversation Guide

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

These famous teachings of the second-century sage Ben-Zoma emphasize the mutuality in human relationships. The commentary suggests that, according to Ben-Zoma, both wisdom and honor can be attained only when we involve others—learning from them or honoring them.

What other answers could you compose to Ben-Zoma’s questions, “who is wise?” and “who is honored?” How do Ben-Zoma’s answers differ from yours?

Why might Ben-Zoma emphasize that the wise person must learn “from all people”? Why not just from other wise people?

Similarly, Ben-Zoma teaches that to be honored, you must honor everyone. Why doesn’t it suffice to honor those who deserve it?

Can you share a personal experience with one of these teachings?

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

Each image calls out to us to examine it, to note our thoughts and feelings, and relate these impressions to the quotation. Often clues in the artwork suggest meaning and invite interpretation.

Alan Peckolick’s work uses a simple design, minimal images, and a variety of fonts and colors to depict Ben-Zoma’s teachings.

How does the image present the quotation? Was this how you interpreted the quotation without the image?

How do fonts and colors play a role in depicting the quotation?

What is the significance of the two yads (Torah pointers)? Why are they pointing in opposite directions?

Please use this guide creatively in your programs. We’d also love to see what you’re doing and share it with others, so please post on our website using the Share button in The Exchange.

Credits

Harold Grinspoon Foundation, West Springfield, MA

Author

Ben-Zoma, Pirke Avot 4:1

2nd century CE

Lived in Palestine

Scholar of Mishnah period

About

Simon Ben-Zoma (Simon, son of Zoma) was a Tanna, a scholar whose opinions are recorded in the first compiled work of the Oral Tradition—the Mishnah. Ben-Zoma was not officially a rabbi but was a distinguished student of Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah.

The portrait of Ben-Zoma that we gain through his teachings in the Mishnah is of a man with a philosophical bent (he often “pondered Creation”) and a profound gratitude for the simple gifts of life.

Ben-Zoma is a central figure in two well-known literary dramas. One is recorded in the Passover Haggadah, right before the passage about the Four Children. In this story four rabbis are attending a Seder in B’nei B’rak, and their students interrupt to announce that it is time for morning prayers (possibly a coded warning that Roman guards were approaching). Reflecting on how long the Seder has continued, one of the rabbis cites an interpretation of Ben-Zoma that we are instructed to recount the story of the Exodus all through the night.

The second is a Talmudic parable that describes four great scholars who entered the “orchard”—that is, the realm of esoteric learning. A different outcome awaits each: Ben Azzai died, Ben-Zoma went mad, Elisha Ben Abuya abandoned his faith, and Akiba entered in peace and departed in peace.

Links

An introduction to Pirke Avot