We Should All Be Students of Life

 Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski recounts that once the Chasidic master Reb Meir Premishlan met the great sage Rav Shlomo Kluger. Reb Meir Took leave of Rav Kluger by sharing the following Dvar Torah based on a pasuk in Parshat Lech Lecha: After Avraham helps the four kings defeat the five kings, we are introduced to Malkitzedek, a priest (14:18):  וּמַלְכִּי־צֶ֨דֶק֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ שָׁלֵ֔ם הוֹצִ֖יא לֶ֣חֶם וָיָ֑יִן וְה֥וּא כֹהֵ֖ן לְאֵ֣-ל עֶלְיֽוֹן" “ “And Malkizedek the king of Salem brought out bread and wine, and he was a priest to the Most High God.” The Talmud teaches (Nedarim 32) that Malkitzedek was Shem, the son of Noach. He founded the yeshiva of Shem & Ever, where Yaakov studied for 14 years. Malkitzedek / Shem was a great scholar. Avraham was known for his exemplary chesed, especially excelling in the area of hospitality. When these giants met, as great as each one was in their area of expertise, they tried to learn something from the other one. Malkitzedek was looking to learn from Avraham’s kindness and Avraham wanted to learn from Malkitzedek’s piety. This is how Reb Meir explained the above referenced verse. “Malkitzedek brought out bread and wine” means that he learned hospitality from Avraham. “And he was a priest to the Most High God” alludes to the fact that Avraham sought to learn Torah and piety from Malkitzedek. The point Reb Meir Premishlan was making is that even the smartest and pious person can learn from others. In fact, it is very possible that they became learned and pious because they looked for opportunities and ways to learn from everyone and every situation. As Ben Zoma teaches (Pirkei Avot 4:1) “Who is wise? One who learns from every person.” While we normally assume that students learn from teachers, Rav Nachman Bar Yitzchak encourages us to think more broadly about the opportunities that even teachers have for continuing education. Quoting the pasuk  עֵץ חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ he notes that the Torah is compared to a tree because just as a small piece of wood can ignite a large piece, so too, minor Torah scholars can sharpen great Torah scholars and enable them to advance in their studies. This idea led the Talmud (Taanit 7a) to quote the famous words of Rabbi Chanina: “I have learned much from my teachers and even more from my friends, but from my students I have learned more than from all of them.” וּמִתַּלְמִידַי יוֹתֵר מִכּוּלָּן. There are opportunities to learn from not just people. In Pirkei Avot (5:20) Rabbi Yehuda Ben Teima taught “Be strong like a leopard, and swift like an eagle, agile like a gazelle, and brave like a lion.” And in Eiruvin 100b Rabbi Yochanan makes the case for natural morality by noting that we can learn modesty from the cat, industry from the ant, and fidelity from the dove. To be a student of life means not just learning from teachers or those who are universally considered to be wise. The true student finds something to learn from every person, every situation, and every natural phenomenon. And when there seems to be nothing positive to learn from a person, then there’s always the option of learning what not to do. Tanach, the Talmud and Jewish history are full of stories and anecdotes that are meant to serve as cautionary tales. The Torah itself makes this point explicit when at the end of the Korach debacle it states (Bamidbar 17:5) “Do not be like Korach and his group.” There are lessons to be learned all the time and all around us. We just need to keep our eyes open and be committed to always gleaning as many life lessons as we can.