(יא) ... ראהו עובר על דברי תורה לא יאמר לו אבא עברת על דברי תורה אלא יאמר לו אבא כתוב בתורה כך וכך כאילו הוא שואל ממנו ולא כמזהירו.
... One who sees [his/her parent] violate a Torah matter should not say to him, "Father, you have violated a Torah matter!" Rather, s/he should say to him, "Father, does it not say such and such in the Torah?" as if s/he were asking him and not warning him.
The Mishneh Torah is a code of Jewish religious law (Halakha) authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, also known as "Rambam"), one of history's foremost rabbis. The Mishneh Torah was compiled between 1170 and 1180, while Maimonides was living in Egypt. It is the only Medieval-era work that details all of Jewish observance.
1. How does the child here "manage up"? Why?
2. What are the difficulties in confronting a person with higher status with their bad behavior? Have you ever had to do this?
3. Compare and contrast the parent-child relationship to the supervision relationship in a professional context? Is the comparison helpful?
רב שימי בר אשי אתא לקמיה דאבה' אמר ליה לותבן מר בעידנא אמר ליה אית לי עידנא לדידי ולותבן מר בליליא א"ל אית לי מיא לאשקוה' א"ל אנא משקינא ליה למר מיא ביממא ולותבן מר בליליא א"ל לחה' אזל לעילאי אמר להו תתאי שתו מיא ברישא אזל לתתאי אמר להו עילאי שתו מיא ברישא אדהכי סכר מיסכר ואשקי כי אתא לקמיה דאבה' אמר ליה כבי תרי עבדת לי ולא טעמינהו אבה' לפירי דההיא שתא
Rabbi Shimi ben Ashi presented himself before Abaye and asked him: Will the master give me private instruction? He replied: I use my private time for my own studies. Shimi: Will the master teach me at night? Abaye: I have to do some irrigation then. Shimi: I will irrigate for the master by day, and let the master teach me by night. Abaye: Very well. So Shimi went to the people higher up and said to them: The people lower down have the right to draw water first. Then he went to those lower down and said, The people higher up have the right to draw water first. Meanwhile he had dammed the watercourse and irrigated Abaye's fields. 'When Shimi presented himself before Abaye, Abaye said to him: You abused two contradictory opinions to act on my behalf; and Abaye would not taste of the produce of that year.
The Talmud (Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד talmūd "instruction, learning") is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It contains the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects, including Halakha (law), Jewish ethics, philosophy, customs, history, lore and many other topics. The Talmud is the basis for all codes of Jewish law, and is widely quoted in rabbinic literature.
The context of this particular passage is a legal discussion of whether the farmers higher up or lower down on a hill have the right to draw water first from a common source, which features in the story.
1. What did Rabbi Shimi want from Abaye, who is one of the Talmud's foremost personalities? What was he willing to do to get it? What doesn't he understand?
2. Why was Abaye so upset with Rabbi Shimi's actions? Do you agree with how he responded?
3. Think of a similar situation in a professional supervision context. What can we learn from this story?
(יב) רבי אלעזר בן שמוע אומר, יהי כבוד תלמידך חביב עליך כשלך, וכבוד חברך כמורא רבך , ומורא רבך כמורא שמים.
(12) Rabbi Elazar son of Shamua said: Let the honor of your students be as your own, and the honor of your colleague be like the reverence of your teacher, and the reverence of your teacher be like the reverence of Heaven.
Pirkei Avot (Hebrew: פרקי אבות), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims of the Rabbis of the Mishnaic period. Pirkei Avot is the only tractate of the Mishnah dealing almost exclusively with ethical and moral principles.
1. What model of relationships within a hierarchy does this text present?
2. Have you ever been in an environment that exemplified this teaching? How did it feel?
THE TURKEY-PRINCE (Sipurim Niflaim, Rebbe Nachman)
Once the king's son went mad. He thought he was a turkey. He felt compelled to sit under the table without any clothes on, pulling at bits of bread and bones like a turkey. None of the doctors could do anything to help him or cure him, and they gave up in despair. The king was very sad...
Until a Wise Man came and said "I can cure him."
What did the Wise Man do? He took off all his clothes, and sat down naked under the table next to the king's son, and also pulled at crumbs and bones.
The Prince asked him, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"And what are you doing here?" replied the Wise Man.
"I am a turkey," said the Prince.
"Well I'm also a turkey," said the Wise Man.
The two of them sat there together like this for some time, until they were used to one another.
Then the Wise Man gave a sign, and they threw them shirts. The Wise Man-Turkey said to the king's son, "Do you think a turkey can't wear a shirt? You can wear a shirt and still be a turkey." The two of them put on shirts.
After a while he gave another sign, and they threw them some trousers. Again the Wise Man said, "Do you think if you wear trousers you can't be a turkey?" They put on the trousers.
One by one they put on the rest of their clothes in the same way.
Afterwards, the Wise Man gave a sign and they put down human food from the table. The Wise Man said to the Prince, "Do you think that if you eat good food you can't be a turkey any more? You can eat this food and still be a turkey." They ate.
Then he said to him, "Do you think a turkey has to sit under the table? You can be a turkey and sit up at the table."
This was how the Wise Man dealt with the Prince, until in the end he cured him completely.
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Nachman of Breslov (נחמן מברסלב) (1772 – 1810), was the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement. He breathed new life into the Hasidic movement by combining the esoteric secrets of Judaism (the Kabbalah) with in-depth Torah scholarship. He attracted thousands of followers during his lifetime and his influence continues until today through many Hasidic movements such as Breslov Hasidism. He often expressed his teachings in parables and stories, of which this is among the most famous.
1. How did the Wise Man manage the prince? Why did this work when everything else failed? What does this teach us about supervision?
2. "You can be a turkey and sit up at the table." For what is this a metaphor?
3. Have you ever been in a situation where someone acted in what you considered a completely ridiculous manner? How did you respond?