Truman: On Kavod ha'Torah and Kavod ha'Briyos

Today is July 4th. As such, I thought it would be fitting to recognize the occasion with an appropriate blog post. In light of recent remarks made by our current president - and by "recent" I mean since January 20th, 2017 - I decided to re-post another tidbit of wisdom from President Truman. 

Note: The term "Kavod ha'Torah" (honor/dignity/respect of Torah) is being used analogously, as will be explained in the post. The term "Kavod ha'Brios" (honor/dignity/respect of human beings) is being used literally. 

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Truman: On Kavod ha'Torah and Kavod ha'Briyos

The mishnah in Avos 2:10 (or 2:14) says: 

Rabbi Eliezer says: (a) Let your fellow's honor be as dear to you as your own and do not anger easily; (b) repent one day before your death; and (c) warm yourself by the fire of the chachamim (wise men), but beware of their glowing coal lest you be burnt - for their bite is the bite of a fox, their sting is the sting of a scorpion, their hiss is the hiss of a serpent, and all their words are like fiery coals.

The meforshim (commentators) interpret the last clause as a warning not to behave too casually with the chachamim, lest you overstep your boundaries and neglect to treat them with the honor and respect they deserve. If you make this mistake, do not be surprised if you incur their wrath.

I recently finished my periodic re-reading of Merle Miller's Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman (1974), which I highly recommend. Towards the end (pp. 384-385) the author recounts an anecdote which illustrates this last point quite nicely, though the context is obviously different:

In 1964 Eric Sevareid in a conversation with Mr. Truman got on the same subject, and he quoted him as saying, "What you don't understand is the power of a President to hurt." 

Sevareid added, "An American President has the power to build, to set fateful events in motion, to destroy an enemy civilization, to win or lose a vast personal following. But the power of a President to hurt the feelings of another human being - this, I think, had scarcely occurred to me, and still less had it occurred to me that a President in office would have the time and the need to be aware of this particular power among so many others. 

"Mr. Truman went on to observe that a word, a harsh glance, a peremptory motion by a President of the United States, could so injure another man's pride that it would remain a scar on his emotional system all his life."  

Then Sevareid recalled an episode that the President had also told me, shortly after it happened, in the late winter or spring of 1962. He had given a lecture at, I believe, the University of Southern California, in any case at a college or university in Southern California; the lecture was on the subject he loved best, the Constitution and the Presidency. 

During the question period a boy got up and said, "Mr. President, what do you think of our local yokel?" He meant Pat Brown, then governor.  

Mr. Truman told the boy that he should be ashamed of himself, that to speak of the governor of a state in such a disrespectful way, even if he disagreed with him, was a shameful thing. The boy, close to tears, sat down. 

When the question period was over, Mr. Truman went to the boy and said that he hoped he would understand that what he had said had to do with the principle involved and that he meant nothing personal. The boy said that he did understand, and the two shook hands.  

Afterward Mr. Truman went to see the dean to ask him to send reports from time to time on the boy's progress in school. The dean said he would and had. 

I asked Mr. Truman if he had ever heard from the boy himself, and he said, "He's written me two or three times, and I've written him back. He's doing well."  

Sevareid said of the incident, "The simple point here is that Mr. Truman had instantly realized how a public scolding by a former President could mark and mar the boy's inner life and his standing in the community.

"I feel gratified to have heard this story. It has given me an insight into the responsibilities of a President that I did not have, and it has immeasurably added to my own residue of memories about the man from Missouri."

Aside from illustrating the consequence mentioned in the mishnah in Avos, this anecdote also provides a valuable lesson in the sensitivity a leader should have.

Now that I think about it, this story also exemplifies an interesting halacha. The last chapter of the Rambam's Hilchos Talmud Torah (Laws of Torah Study) is devoted to the laws of kavod talmidei chachamim (honoring Torah sages):

Even though a chacham may place a person under a ban of ostracism [to preserve] his honor, it is not praiseworthy for a chacham to accustom himself to this practice. Instead, he should turn his ears from the words of the ignoramuses and not pay attention to them, as Shlomo said in his wisdom: “Also, do not pay heed to all the words that are spoken” (Koheles 7:21). 

This was the practice of the Chasidim ha'Rishonim (pious of the early generations). They would hear their shame and not answer. Furthermore, they would pardon and forgive the person who insulted them. The great sages would take pride in their pleasant deeds, relating that they never issued a ban of ostracism or excommunication [to protect] their honor. This is the path of the talmidei chachamim which is worthy of being followed. 

When does the above apply? When [the person] spurned or embarrassed [the sage] in private. However, if one spurns or embarrasses a sage in public, it is forbidden for the sage to forgo his honor. Indeed, if he does so, he is punished, because the disrespect of the Torah is involved. Instead, he should seek vengeance and carry enmity over the matter like a snake until the offender requests to be pardoned. Then, he should forgive him.

The halacha differentiates between the talmid chacham's personal feelings and the Torah that he represents. The chacham has the right to forego his own honor and it is considered praiseworthy if he is able to do so, but if he is insulted in public, then the kavod ha'Torah (honor of Torah) is at stake, and it is forbidden for him to forgive the offender until the latter asks for forgiveness.

Truman took this very approach (albeit with the honor of the United States of America, rather than Torah). When the young man disrespected the governor, Truman reprimanded him harshly in order to preserve the honor of the nation as represented by the governor. But afterwards, Truman took care to make sure the offender understood "that what he had said had to do with the principle involved and that he meant nothing personal."

The talmid chacham must be also be able to distinguish between his personal feelings, on the one hand, and the kavod ha'Torah which he embodies, on the other. To equate the two in either direction would be a distortion.