Q&A: Standing in Honor of Those Performing a Commandment
Standing in Honor of Those Performing a Commandment
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I saw that the Turei Zahav wrote (Yoreh De’ah, sec. 361, subsec. 2) regarding what is ruled in the Shulchan Arukh (ibid., sec. 4): “Even in a place where one does not need to accompany the deceased, one must still stand in his honor,” and he wrote: “Nevertheless, it seems to me that we can learn from this that with regard to any commandment that a person is going and involving himself in, one should stand before him. And this also appears from the first chapter of tractate Kiddushin (page 33): ‘Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said: Come and see how beloved a commandment is at its proper time, for craftsmen stand before those engaged in it, whereas they do not stand before Torah scholars’—implying any commandment.” The Be’er Heitev also brings this (Yoreh De’ah there) in the name of Sefer Hasidim (sec. 580); see there.
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But in everyday life I don’t see people standing for those who are putting on tefillin, wrapping themselves in tzitzit, reciting Shema, giving charity, and so on. So this obligation seems very puzzling to me. What do you think about it? Is there really such an obligation?
Answer
The inference from the Talmud is very questionable, and the practical application is also very problematic, so in my opinion it is no surprise at all that people are not careful about this.