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21 - Maḥal ‘al kevodo kevodo maḥul: renunciation of honour by one to whom it is due

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2010

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Summary

The sugya is Kiddushin 32a–b. It deals with the question, how far does the honour and respect due to certain persons extend? According to Rabbinic teaching there are four persons it is a religious obligation to honour: a father (and mother); a teacher (rav); the Prince (nasi), the leader of Palestinian Jewry, mainly of the House of Rabban Gamaliel; and the king (melekh). Now although to pay these honour is a religious injunction yet the honour is paid to another human being. Consequently, it can be argued that if that person is prepared to renounce the honour due to him, there is no longer any obligation to pay him honour, or, it can be argued, it does not lie in his power to renounce the honour since, after all, it is a religious obligation. Renouncing the honour is referred to as: maḥal ‘al kevodo : ‘he renounces his honour’. If he can renounce it, then we say: kevodo maḥul, ‘his honour is renounced’. If he cannot, then we say: eyn kevodo maḥul, ‘his honour is not renounced’. The sugya is based on a ruling by the third-century Babylonian Amora, R. Hisda. With regard to the father and the teacher the question was of practical significance in R. Hisda's day. With regard to the Prince and the king the whole question was purely academic. The sugya has been inserted here because this section of tractate Kiddushin considers the rules of honouring parents.

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The Talmudic Argument
A Study in Talmudic Reasoning and Methodology
, pp. 198 - 202
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1984

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