Kedoshim: Chapter 22

"You shall rise up before a hoary head"

Synopsis

Rabbi Yosi says that the "hoary head" in the title verse is a scroll of Torah for which one must stand up, and that a man should rise up before a scholar because he has the supernal holy image of the supernal priest on him. Rabbi Shimon says that the Torah scroll is the written Torah, and that the Torah scholar is in the state of the oral Torah. Lastly we are told that people should repent before they reach old age; it is more praiseworthy to act rightly when still in one's full strength.