{"id":9195,"date":"2000-12-01T00:17:09","date_gmt":"2000-11-30T22:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=9195"},"modified":"2019-05-14T12:43:32","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T09:43:32","slug":"12-01-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/12-01-17\/","title":{"rendered":"17. Visiting One\u2019s Rabbi"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cOne must visit his rabbi on the three pilgrimage festivals\u201d (RH 16b; <em>Sukka<\/em> 27b). This is so that he can honor his rabbi and learn Torah from him. Doing so allows a person to connect with his rabbi and receive spiritual guidance and inspiration from him. This mitzva shares something with the mitzva to make a pilgrimage to the Temple, as the Sages declare: \u201cVisiting one\u2019s rabbi is comparable to visiting the <em>Shekhina<\/em> (Divine Presence)\u201d (<em>y<\/em>. <em>Eruvin<\/em> 5:1). The holy days when people are off from work are the proper time to do this. Indeed, it is an age-old custom to do so, as we see from the words of the Shunamite woman\u2019s husband. When he saw his wife setting off to see Elisha the Prophet on a weekday, he asked: \u201cWhy are you going to him today? It is neither New Moon nor Shabbat\u201d (2 Melakhim 4:23). This implies that on holy days people visited the prophet (the current equivalent of whom would be the rabbi). (See <em>Peninei Halakha<\/em>: <em>Shabbat<\/em> 5:15.)<\/p>\n<p>The primary reason for visiting one\u2019s rabbi is to listen to his Torah classes. This tradition dates back to Moshe Rabbeinu. The Sages explain that Moshe instituted that: \u201cThey should enquire and discuss matters pertaining to the day \u2013 the laws of Pesa\u1e25 on Pesa\u1e25, the laws of Shavu\u2019ot on Shavu\u2019ot, and the laws of Sukkot on Sukkot\u201d (<em>Megilla<\/em> 32a). They further stated:<\/p>\n<p>God said to Moshe: \u201cGather together large groups and publicly teach them\u2026to teach and instruct Israel about what the Torah permits and forbids. Thus My great name will be glorified among My children.\u201d (<em>Yalkut Shimoni<\/em>, Vayak\u2019hel \u00a7408)<\/p>\n<p>People were very careful to attend these sermons, and in this way they fulfilled in an enhanced way the mitzva of visiting their rabbi. However, one who greets his rabbi after services by saying \u201c<em>\u1e24ag same\u2019a\u1e25<\/em>\u201d or \u201cGood Yom Tov\u201d has also fulfilled the mitzva, albeit <em>be-di\u2019avad<\/em>. Some enhance the mitzva by visiting their rabbis in their homes to hear their words of Torah and moral instruction as well as stories about Torah giants. If many students wish to do this, they should come in groups. This way, they will not burden the rabbi, take away from his personal Torah study time, or detract from his festival <em>sim\u1e25a<\/em> with his family.<\/p>\n<p>The Rishonim explain that the precise parameters of this mitzva depend upon geography. One who lives very close must visit his rabbi every Shabbat. One who lives a little further away should visit him at least once a month. A person who lives a great distance from his rabbi needs to visit him at a minimum on the three festivals, as R. Yitz\u1e25ak states (based on Rabbeinu \u1e24ananel and Ritva; see BHL 301:4 s.v. \u201cle-hakbil\u201d). All this is on condition that he will come home to sleep, because the mitzva of <em>sim\u1e25a<\/em> on the festival must be together with his wife. If, in order to visit his rabbi, he would have to sleep away from home, he is exempt from the mitzva (<em>Sukka<\/em> 27b). However, there are those who are lenient about this, and others who attempt to find some justification for the leniency. In any case, if it bothers his wife, then even those who are lenient concede that he is forbidden to leave home and make the trip. Furthermore, according to most <em>poskim<\/em>, even if the wife consents, this custom is unwarranted.<sup><a href='#_te01ftn1_9' id='_te01ftnref1_9' class='aup1'>[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<div>\n<hr size=\"1\" \/>\n<div>\n<a href='#_te01ftnref1_9' id='_te01ftn1_9'>[9]<\/a>. The Gemara formulates it as follows. \u201cThe Rabbis have taught: It once happened that R. Ila\u2019i went to visit his rabbi, R. Eliezer, in Lod on a festival. He said to him, \u2018Ila\u2019i, aren\u2019t you among those who rest on the festival?\u2019 For R. Eliezer used to say, \u2018I praise the lazy ones who do not leave their houses on the festival, since it says (Devarim 14:26), \u2018Rejoice with your household\u2019\u201d (<em>Sukka<\/em> 27b). The Gemara then objects that this contradicts R. Yitz\u1e25ak\u2019s statement that \u201cOne must visit his rabbi on the three pilgrimage festivals.\u201d The Gemara then resolves the issue: \u201cThere is no difficulty. The latter refers to where he can go and return [home] on the same day; the former refers to where he cannot go and return on the same day.\u201d In other words, R. Eliezer\u2019s criticism is limited to a situation in which one does not return home. Many Rishonim rule this way, including Ra\u2019avya, <em>Or Zaru\u2019a<\/em>, <em>Sefer<\/em> <em>Ha-hashlama<\/em>, <em>Hagahot Maimoniyot<\/em>; Ritva, and Me\u2019iri. In contrast, Rif, Rambam, and Rosh do not mention the condition that he return home the same day. Some infer from this omission that they think that it is only R. Eliezer who obligates a same-day return, while in practice the mitzva applies even when one does not return home the same day (<em>Kesef Mishneh<\/em> commenting on MT, Laws of Torah Study 5:7; \u1e24ida; <em>Sefat Emet<\/em>). This is the basis of the lenient opinion (<em>Shevet Sofer<\/em> \u00a717). However, as we have seen, according to most Rishonim it is forbidden. Some even maintain that this is the opinion of all Rishonim, and that even those who left out the condition that they return the same day would agree with it (<em>Pri \u1e24adash<\/em>; <em>Mishnat Ya\u2019akov<\/em>). Therefore, it is preferable not to be lenient. Nevertheless, one who wishes to be lenient may do so, but only on condition that his wife agrees wholeheartedly to his trip. R. Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal writes this in <em>Mishneh Sakhir<\/em> 2:139. See <em>Har\u1e25avot<\/em> 17:5.<\/p>\n<p>It would seem that this mitzva is rabbinic. This is the approach of <em>Pri Megadim<\/em>, <em>Pnei Yehoshu\u2019a<\/em>, and many others. Some have written that it is a biblical obligation (<em>Sho\u2019el U-meshiv<\/em>; <em>Yehuda Ya\u2019aleh<\/em>). Perhaps what they mean is that honoring Torah scholars in general is a Torah commandment, and that since the Sages ordained that one should visit his rabbi on the festival, by doing so one he is fulfilling a Torah mandate. (<em>Bikurei Ya\u2019akov<\/em> 640:22 states something similar to this.) As to the reason for the mitzva, many write that it is in order to learn Torah (Ramban, Shemot 20:7; <em>Responsa Rama Mi-Fano<\/em> \u00a76; <em>Pri Megadim<\/em>; R. Charlap elaborates at length in <em>Beit Zevul<\/em> 3:28). One also fulfills the mitzva of honoring Torah scholars by doing this (Rashi, <em>\u1e24agiga<\/em> 3a; <em>Noda Bi-Yehuda <\/em>O\u1e24 2:94). R. Yonatan Eibeshutz suggests that based on the statement that \u201cVisiting one\u2019s rabbi is comparable to visiting the <em>Shekhina<\/em>\u201d (<em>y<\/em>. <em>Eruvin<\/em> 5:1), we can say that since the destruction of the Temple, visiting one\u2019s rabbi takes the place of making a pilgrimage to the Temple (<em>Ya\u2019arot Devash<\/em> 1:12). See <em>Har\u1e25avot<\/em> 17:1-4.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cOne must visit his rabbi on the three pilgrimage festivals\u201d (RH 16b; Sukka 27b). This is so that he can honor his rabbi and learn Torah from him. Doing so allows a person to connect with his rabbi and receive spiritual guidance and inspiration from him. This mitzva shares something with the mitzva to make [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[136],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-12-01"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>17. Visiting One\u2019s Rabbi - Peninei Halakha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/12-01-17\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"17. 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