In this article, Rabbi Dr. Nachum Amsel argues that Jewish sources present old age as, primarily, a state of mind. He explains the way in which younger generations should regard the elderly and offers a Jewish view on retirement. A longer version of this article is included in The Jewish Encyclopedia of Moral and Ethical Issues. An updated article on this topic is coming out next year in The Encyclopedia of Jewish Values: Between Man and Man.
Modern medical discoveries allow more people than ever before to reach old age in good health, as new techniques and discoveries attack, arrest and often eliminate disease. This new phenomenon is ostensibly a positive development. Yet, the increasing numbers of seniors, especially after retirement age, seem to also cause new problems for society. How should all these people react to old age? How should others treat these elders who are reaching higher ages in greater numbers and greater health than ever before? Judaism has much to say about these questions.
The Talmud[1] describes all the negative aspects of aging. In old age, the mind begins to deteriorate, a person’s lips do not function and a person’s hearing begins to fade. On the other hand, there are also many positive statements about becoming elderly. The Mishna[2] says that learning from an old person is like eating very ripe grapes and drinking aged wine, as compared to learning from the young where the grapes and wine do not taste as good. Therefore, learning from the elderly is preferred over learning from a younger person. The Talmud[3] says that the older a scholar gets, the greater his scholarship and wisdom, not less. Then, the Talmud[4] describes the amazing story of Rabbi Chanina. When he was eighty years old, he was still so spry that he would stand on one foot, change his shoe and then tie his shoe, all while still standing on the one foot. There are very few younger people who could accomplish this feat! This shows us that age is only a number and that there are no fixed rules about whom or what is considered old.
Which approach, then, is the authentic Jewish approach? Is it a positive or negative to become old, in the Jewish view? Evidently, it depends on the individual person. Each person handles the advancement of age differently. Old age in Judaism is clearly a state of mind. The Midrash[5] says that some people have years and other people have old age. Apparently, the Midrash wants to tell us that you can have advanced years without old age and you can have old age without advance years! There are certain people who can feel young even though they have reached advanced years. This was shown in the case of Rabbi Chanina, who behaved as a youngster while at age eighty. On the other hand, there are certain individuals who feel old, even though they are young in years.
The Talmud[6] analyzes the verse[7] indicating that Samuel was old. But the Talmud asks how could he be old when we know he died at age 52? It answers that he aged greatly despite his relatively young years. Samuel felt badly about the fact that he had made Saul king and then witnessed Saul’s moral character deteriorate and his rule collapse. Apparently, this anguish caused Samuel to age and he felt old. It seems clear, then, that if you can feel and act young like Rabbi Chanina, then aging need not be a difficult problem. If you feel old and act old like Samuel, then, indeed, the aging process will take its toll on a person and is a time to be dreaded. It is true that Judaism defines old age in objective terms, using seventy years as a benchmark.[8] Nevertheless, the idea of old age, as seen by Samuel, is truly a subjective one in Judaism, unrelated to physical age.
This same concept can be demonstrated from another Talmudic statement[9] that describes a woman’s age, a touchy subject not only today, but even in the time of the Talmud. It asks how we can know when a woman is old. The answer is that she is old only when her friends call her old. Again, we see that the definition of old age (in calling a person old) is a subjective one, based on how the individual feels and acts. If a woman feels and acts young, her friends would never call her old. Only when she presents herself as old, will her friends think of her as old. Truly, then, in Judaism, old age is a state of mind.
COMING TO TERMS WITH OLD AGE
Rabbi Soloveitchik,[10] in describing the war with Amalek prior to the giving of the Torah, says that this war was necessary before the Jewish people could receive the Torah. Only after a near defeat, did the people realize they were vulnerable and truly needed God and the Torah to overcome life’s difficulties. This is alluded to in the verse[11] that connects the battle with Amalek at Refidim with the coming to Mount Sinai (see Rashi on this verse). Rabbi Soloveitchik expanded on this concept and said each person has his own “Refidim,” the challenge in life that seems to defeat him. He used the specific example of old age, showing that some people let it defeat them and beat them down, while others, understanding that they no longer do some of the things they had done previously, are able to cope and make the most out of their new situation. Understanding Torah and its values can help the Jew cope with old age.
COPING WITH THE TAKEOVER OF THE NEXT GENERATION
As people get old, they often have difficulty coping with the reality of death and the cycle of life. It is the nature of the world that, as the old become older, the young must take over. Judaism clearly recognizes this as well. Abraham possessed a special coin. On one side was a picture of an old man and old women. On the other side was a picture of a young boy and girl.[12] Abraham understood that both are necessary for the Jewish community to thrive. In the famous story of the Binding of Isaac, the Torah specifically says twice[13] that Abraham and Isaac went together, both generations united. So, too, Moses understood the importance of uniting the elderly with the young.[14] While both are important to the Jewish community, the elderly must understand that gradually the next generation will grow into positions of authority and must replace those of the previous generation.
HOW OTHERS SHOULD TREAT OLD PEOPLE
When the average adult or even a youngster is asked how an old person should be treated, the usual answer is “with respect.” When the same person is asked why this should be so, they usually do not have an answer. Judaism has very specific answers. The reason a Jew must respect an old person is because the Torah says so as a commandment.[15] The Talmud[16] explains the reason by stating that the Hebrew word Zaken (old person) is actually an acronym for the words “he who has acquired wisdom.” Apparently, according to the Talmud, every old person, even with a limited education, has acquired wisdom, simply by living and experiencing life. Book knowledge is not required for a person to acquire wisdom. Although many people have knowledge, they do not possess the wisdom how to apply that knowledge to life’s situations. This is the type of wisdom an old person necessarily achieves because of his or her experience. Thus, the Torah requires that an old person receive the respect of all.
IS THERE RETIREMENT IN JUDAISM?
Whether the age is 65 or 70, there is a concept in almost every society that at a certain age, one retires from employment. Some professions in the United States (police, fire, teachers) allow retirement after twenty or twenty five years of service, when most people are young enough to begin entire new careers. How does Judaism view retirement?
From a religious perspective, just as there are no vacations from Judaism — a Jew is obligated to practice the commandments and act Jewishly 24 hours a day, 365 days a year — so, too, there is no Jewish concept of retiring from Judaism. There is a concept of stopping physical labor on Shabbat, of course, and during the Sabbatical year in order to learn Torah, but no “time off” from being a Jew. The classic story about a Jew who wished to “retire” was Jacob in the Bible. After experiencing all the turmoil of fighting with his brother, running away from home, working for 20 years and having a family, then running away again, this time from his uncle, the Torah says that Jacob dwelled in the land of his fathers.[17] On this verse, Rashi comments[18] that Jacob wished to rest peacefully for the remainder of his life, i.e. retire. God said that this is not the lot of the righteous, and, subsequently, the entire episode of Joseph and the brothers transpired, causing great anguish for twenty-two years until the family was reunited after relocating to Egypt. It seems that the Torah does not want Jacob or any other Jew to simply “retire,” whether it be from Judaism, from work or from life itself.
[1] Shabbat 152a
[2] Avot 4:20
[3] Shabbat 152a
[4] Chullin 24b
[5] Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 59:1
[6] Taanit 5b
[7] Samuel I 8:1
[8] Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 244:1
[9] Niddah 9a
[10] Oral address to students in May 1981
[11] Exodus 19:2
[12] Bava Kama 97b
[13] Genesis 22:6-8
[14] Exodus 10:9
[15] Leviticus 19:32
[16] Kiddushin 32b
[17] Genesis 37:1
[18] Rashi on Genesis 37:2
For another article on Jewish attitudes toward aging, see Jewish Perspectives on Ageing Enrichment by Rabbi David Sedley.