Question:
What are the Halachos regarding standing up for a Talmud Chacham or elderly person?
Answer:
There is a positive mitzvah Deorissa to stand up for a Jew who is 70 years old. This is from the posuk in the Torah (Vayikra 19:32) מפני שיבה תקום והדרת פני זקן. Kitzur S”A 144:2, Chaye Adam 69:2, and Aruch HaShulchan 244:1 agree. Birkei Yosef 244:4, however, quotes the Arizal who says that one should stand for a person of age 60. Many sefardim poskim writes that while the halacha follows S”A, one who is strict for the Arizal will be blessed.
If one is unsure if the person is 70, one should stand up based on the principle of Sofek Deorissa LeChumra. Tosefes Chaim on Chaye Adam 69:2
One should offer support to a non-Jewish elderly person but technically one doesn’t have the same obligation to stand as one does for a Jewish elderly person. Shulchan Aruch 244:7 writes that for a non-Jewish elder one should speak respectfully and offer one’s hand to support him. Levush 244:7, Chaye Adam 69:2, and Kitzur S”A 144:2 agree. Kesef Mishna writes explicitly that there is no mitzvah to stand for a non-Jewish elder.
One should stand for an elderly person even if he isn’t wise in Torah as long as he isn’t a wicked person according to Rama YD 244:1. According to Rav Wosner (Shevet Halevi 9:198) and Rav Nissan Karelitz (Kibud Vehidur page 447) one need not stand up before modern day non-observant Jews, who desecrate Shabbos and do not adhere to halacha.
There is a positive mitzvah to stand for a Talmid Chacham who is more knowledgeable in Torah than most people and not simply a Yeshiva Bachur.
One should stand for a Talmid Chacham once he enters one’s 4 amos until he leaves one’s view.
One should stand for one’s Rebbe Muvhak once he enters one’s eyesight until he leaves one’s eyesight. A Rebbe Muvhak is defined as a teacher that one learned a majority of one’s learning from.
A Gadol HaDor is considered like one’s Rebbe Muvhak even if one didn’t learn from him directly.
For an elder or Talmid Chacham, one should stand up completely, not just partially. One should stand from the time the elder or Talmid Chacham enters one’s 4 amos until he passes from before one’s face; some say that one should stand until the elder or Talmid Chacham leaves one’s 4 amos.
According to Ashkenazic minhag, one has to stand for a particular Talmid Chacham or elder only once in the daytime and once at night unless one is in the presence of people who don’t know he stood previously; Sephardim, however, hold that one must stand up every time.
One should stand up even if one is middle of learning. In Kiddushin 33b, Rabbi Elazar and Abaye argue whether or not a student should stand up for his Rabbi when he is in middle of learning. Bet Yosef YD 244:11 writes that it seems we hold like Abaye since he has the last word in the gemara.
If one is middle of davening, one should stand up except for if one is middle of the first posuk of Shema and according to some any part of Shema.Two talmidei chachamim do not have to stand for one another.
There are some who try to justify a minhag of being lenient regarding standing for an elder and Talmid Chacham. The Rogachover in Salmat Yosef 1:3 writes that the biblical mitzvah of standing for a Talmid Chacham only applies to someone who has semicha going back to Moshe Rabbenu.
Regarding elders, Kavod VeHiddur p. 64 quotes Rav Elyashiv saying that the minhag of standing slightly has what to rely on, since we assume that elders forgo the respect due to them, but does not say |
