Old is Good: Ideas of Aging in Rabbinic Literature

To formulate an attitude toward aging that works for today, Rabbi Wechsler looks back almost two thousand years to the literature of the Talmud and the Midrash. While the Bible says: “Rise up before the white haired and give deference to the old,” the Talmud asks why. What is there about old age that should elicit such behavior? Rabbi Wechsler describes the unique role that learning and experience play in creating a society that venerates the old. Though we might assume that old age and its ailments are modern problems, Rabbi Wechsler shows that the sufferings of age are well described in the Rabbinic Literature nearly two millenia ago. By studying this literature, as well as placing it in the context of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, Rabbi Wechsler focuses on the need for a society to create values throughout the life cycle which picture aging positively rather than negatively. That is the challenge: to put people on a pedestal as they arrive at one of life's most challenging times, making certain that OLD IS GOOD.