Talmud Bavli
Talmud Bavli

Commentary for Kiddushin 65:19

א"ר אייבו אמר ר' ינאי

R'Johanan used to rise before the heathen<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'Aramean'.');"><sup>28</sup></span> aged, saying: 'How many troubles have passed over these!' Raba would not rise up, yet he shewed them respect.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In speech.');"><sup>29</sup></span> Abaye used to give his hand to the aged. Raba sent his messengers.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' To help up the aged. tbt hf tct rc');"><sup>30</sup></span> R'Nahman sent his guardsmen, [for] he said: 'But for the Torah, how many Nahman B'Abba<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [Read with MS.M., ,' 'like me', instead of , 'b. Abba'.]');"><sup>31</sup></span> are there in the market place!'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., his pre-eminence was due solely to his learning, and therefore it was not meet that he himself should help up the aged.');"><sup>32</sup></span> R'Aibu said in R'Jannai's name:

Daf Shevui to Kiddushin

Jews recite the Shema in praise of God twice a day. A Torah scholar should not rise before his teacher more than twice a day so that the teacher’s honor not supersede that of God. I think we can sense here that rabbis were accorded a high level of honor, and that there was a fear that this honor would exceed proper boundaries and perhaps the students would revere their teacher’s more than God. It is this mentality that R. Yannai is trying to curb.
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