What about honor for the government/sovereignty after all (a minister in Israel, in any case)?

That applies only to one who is “of your people in deed.” To the wicked you need not give any honor. In any case, this wasn’t specifically about a minister.

As best I remember, honor for the government also includes the rule of wicked gentiles, like the Romans.

In my opinion, not when they are wicked even by their own standards.

With Heaven’s help, 22 Sivan 5782

To Y.D. — greetings,

From the standpoint of honoring the government, may its glory be exalted, it is certainly proper not to pass the cup from hand to hand, for regarding a king it is said, “You shall surely set over yourself a king”—that his fear should be upon you. If so, there is a concern that his hands may tremble from fear of the government, may its glory be exalted, and then the water may spill—to disgrace and anger.

And even for an ordinary person, it is not proper to hand him the cup directly, for it is explained in the Shulchan Arukh that one does not hand the slice of the ha-motzi bread from hand to hand, because that is the way mourners do it; rather, one places the slice before him. Seemingly the same applies to serving a cup: one should not hand it directly from hand to hand, but place it on the table before him.

As for Matan Kahana, who openly declared that he does not rely on the kashrut of city rabbis—one could also say that when a rabbi places a cup of water into the hands of someone who does not rely on rabbis in matters of kashrut, this constitutes causing the recipient to stumble in what he has made into a self-imposed prohibition (“shavya anafshei chatikha de-isura”) 🙂

Therefore Rabbi Aviad Gadot acted well in not placing the cup into the hands of the honorable deputy minister, may his glory be exalted, but rather setting it on the table before him.

With blessings, Yekutiel Shneur Zehavi

What is puzzling about Rabbi Gadot is this: why did he see fit to publicize his conduct on Twitter? A rabbi’s revulsion toward a political crook and bully who brazenly speaks publicly against the rabbis of Israel is understandable and justified—but why publicize it in public and “fuel” the insolence of the “sons of Korach” of our generation with new excuses to heap abuse upon and attack the rabbis of Israel?

And one may further wonder about the rabbi: why did he sit at all next to that insolent man who bears the name of a “priest of Baal,” who showed contempt not merely for an “agent of the religious court” but for the rabbis of Israel in general and their religious courts? After all, the Arukh HaShulchan wrote in Yoreh De’ah, section 334, that although nowadays they do not practice excommunication of transgressors, still it is fitting for one who fears Heaven to refrain from standing or sitting within four cubits of the brazen transgressor.

And the great wonder is about the family member who honored a rabbi by making him a “delivery agent” to bring a cup of water to a guest. It is not a rabbi’s honor to serve as a waiter, just as it is not a minister’s honor to serve as a waiter.

Just as no one would think of asking a president or prime minister to be his messenger to serve his guests, so too it is not proper conduct for a host to ask one of the “kings among the rabbis” to be a “delivery agent” to another guest—and certainly it is not fitting for a Torah scholar to serve someone who is not a Torah scholar.

If the Torah scholar waives his honor and serves his guests, that is the trait of Rabban Gamliel, who followed in the footsteps of Abraham our father, who served his guests. But to make a Torah scholar into the one serving? Unthinkable.

True, in our degraded state, when everyone is all buddy-buddy and relates to Torah scholars as just one of the guys—one should not make an issue of this, for “better that they remain unwitting…” But at least let us be aware that a lack of respectful treatment toward Torah scholars is not an acceptable norm in the world of Torah.

With blessings, Yekashnaz