Berakhot 28
Rabbi Gamliel reappears in today’s reading and we are introduced to Rabbi Elaza, the bright young upstart. Rabbi Gamliel is removed as head of the Yeshiva for humiliating a colleague and is replaced by Rabbi Elaza.
Egalitarianism is introduced to the Yeshiva by the eighteen-year old Rabbi Elaza ben Azarya (who grew white hair overnight in order to garner respect.) And this young Rabbi, who with the white hair had the appearance of a 70-year old, opened the doors to all the students who wanted to enter and overturned Rabbi Gamliel’s more traditionalist approach. What a wonderful story about youth turning the old ways on their head and creating a sense of inclusion; the younger Rabbi provided access to the Yeshiva to all those those who wanted study (at least the men.) He added 400 (or 700) benches to the study hall!
In order to ease the disposed Rabbi Gamliel’s fear that he had made bad decisions and prevented “Israel from engaging in Torah” he was shown a dream of white jugs filled with ash to ease his mind. This is compassionate consideration of the older Rabbi, who in the end did not hold a grudge for being displaced by the younger, more fashionable Rabbi.
All is good under the more liberal Rabbi, but Rabbi Gamliel is still in the picture, still has opinions, and is still vital. He is restored to his position, and Rabbi Elaza is not out, but downgraded to lecturing just one week a month. It is just not Rabbi Elaza’s time. It is possible that the now humbled Rabbi Gamliel was more open to newer ideas.
Today’s Talmud reading takes lots of twists and turns. And the lesson that I thought was in the text – about inclusivity – was not what it was only about in the end. Digging through even deeper there is a lesson about respecting elders – even the cranky ones who are mired in the old ways – and the generations working together as a community. In the end, the two Rabbis worked it out. And the story is not just about respecting elders, but also about making a place for the younger generation and their new ideas.
I am reading as fast as I can through the pages each morning before work. But it feels like a rush to get through each day’s text and I don’t have the time to go as deep as I would like to and to read all the background materials. Is anyone else struggling with the pace of trying to keep up?