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Ben Zoma would say:
Who is wise? One who learns from every man. As it is written:
“From all my teachers I have grown wise, for Your testimonials
(eidosecha) are my meditation.”[1]
Ethics of the Fathers,
4:1
It would seem that a wiser person is also a more critical
person, since he has the insight to see his fellow for what
he truly is. So why does Ben Zoma say “Who is wise --
One who learns from every man”? Perhaps to become wise,
a person should learn from everyone; but the wiser he becomes,
would he not find less value in those inferior to himself?
One possible answer is that the wise man gleans positive
knowledge and instruction also from negative traits and deeds.
Thus, Rabbi Zusya of Anipoli learned seven things from a thief:
a) What he does, he keeps to himself. b) He is ready to take
risks in order to achieve his goal. c) The smallest detail
is of great importance to him. d) He invests great effort
and toil in what he does. e) He is swift. f) He is confident
and optimistic. g) If at first he fails, he is back time and
again for another try.[2]
Another, deeper perception of every man as one’s teacher
is to be found in the verse from Psalm 119 quoted by Ben Zoma:
“From all my teachers I have grown wise, for Your testimonials
(eidosecha) are my meditation.” At first glance,
only the first half of the verse pertains to our mishnah’s
point. What pertinence does the fact that “Your testimonials
(i.e. the mitzvot) are my meditation” have with learning
from every man?
Indeed, the Hebrew word eidosecha, “Your testimonials,”
from the root eid, “witness” or “testifier,”
usually refers to the divine commandments, whose observance
attests to G-d’s sovereignty over the universe and His
relationship with us. But there is also another significance
to the term—that it refers to each and every one of us.
“‘You are My attesters (eidai),’ says
G-d”[3]
-- every single individual, by virtue of his being, bears
testimony to the greatness of his Creator.
It is in this context that Ben Zoma quotes the entire verse.
“From all my teachers I have grown wise,” says King
David, expressing the elementary lesson that to grow wise
one must learn from every man. Furthermore, the wiser he became,
the more teachers David had. Why? Because “Your testimonials
are my meditation.”
True, wisdom enables one to see past the veneer of conduct
and grasp the inner motives and desires of men. But the truly
wise individual looks even deeper, beyond personality and
character, to perceive the quintessence of humanity: man as
a testimonial to G-d, Who created him in His image.
Every human being expresses another of the infinite faces
of the Creator, and thus serves as a unique and unduplicated
insight into the all-embracing, all-pervading source of all
wisdom. It takes a truly wise man to look at his every fellow,
including the externally corrupt and despicable individual,
and perceive the testimony he bears about his Creator.
This is an excerpt from "Beyond the Letter of the
Law" by Yanki Tauber published by The Meaningful Life
Center.
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