Megillah 28a

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Rabbi Nehunia ben haKanah was asked by his disciples: By what merit have you lived such a long life? He replied: I never sought to gain honor at the cost of my fellow human’s [honor] being degraded…

“I never sought to gain honor at the cost of my fellow human’s being degraded” may be illustrated by Rabbi Huna, who was once carrying a plowshare on his shoulder. Rabbi Hana bar Hanilai came along and was about to take it away from Rabbi Huna, so Rabbi Huna said, If you regularly carry such a thing in your own city, carry it. But if not, I do not wish to gain honor at the cost of your being degraded. - Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 28a

Background Megillah is a tractate of the Babylonian Talmud, the quintessential collection of the rabbinic oral tradition, edited in Babylonia around the year 500 CE. Megillah is part of the order called Moed (Festivals or Appointed Times), and deals with the laws concerning the reading of Esther on Purim.

Questions for Discussion

1) Why would Rabbi Hana bar Hanilai’s honor be degraded if he carried the plowshare for Rabbi Huna?

2) How does the story of the plowshare illustrate Rabbi Nehunia’s comment?

3) Give modern examples of how a person could gain honor at the cost of another’s degradation.

4)

Jewish Day Schools for the 21st Century (JDS-21) is a project of the Rhea Hirsch School of Education of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles, and was funded by a grant from The AVI CHAI Foundation.