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“Ben Zoma said, ‘Who is wise? One who learns from everyone.’” Talmud Avot 4:1
The sages of the Talmud are constant sources of inspiration, wisdom, and life lessons. Among the most profound are those attributed to Ben Zoma, a sage of the 1st and 2nd centuries who was known for his vast intellectual capacity and ability to interpret Torah. His teachings have been passed down to us in the form of short, pithy sayings that reveal profound wisdom, reminiscent of the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching. Ben Zoma’s teachings took the dialogic form of an apparently innocent question followed by a profound and often life-changing answer. Among his brilliant teachings are: “Who is wise? One who learns from everyone,” “Who is strong? One who conquers his/her passions,“Who is rich? One who rejoices in what he/she already has.”
Too often we identify wisdom as the attainment of great knowledge: getting a PhD or authoring many books. We look to university professors, experts who are recognized in their fields, or pundits that appear on national television shows or who command vast audiences.
Ben Zoma reminds us that true wisdom is the recognition that everyone we meet knows more than we do about something, that every human being has their unique experiences of life and, as a result, has something that only they can teach us. The truly wise individual is the one who has the humility to recognize that all we have to do is open our minds and hearts and withhold the snap judgments we are so quick to make about others based on how they look, their age or gender, their race or culture, their level of formal education or training. Then, our lives will be forever enriched. Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan once wrote, “The essence of all knowledge is the awareness of our ignorance.” Only those of us willing to let go of our own arrogance and accept that whether rich or poor, young or old, having gained our knowledge from books or from the streets, our challenge each day is to recognize every person we meet as a gift waiting to be unwrapped.
Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben, Home Shalom and Naomi Ackerman The Advot Project
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