The vivid imagery suggested by this week’s pasuk, is that of eager pupils sitting so close to their teachers that they are dusted with the dust of the Sage’s feet, and the words they receive are like water to one dying of thirst. It makes sense for a Sage such as Yosei ben Yoezer to encourage an eager audience, from graciously a goal to pass along his received wisdom, and ungraciously so that he’d always have an audience and a place to grab a bite as a guest in someone’s home. Still today, many are honored by a visit from their Rabbi in their home, and sitting in a place of honor, the guests wait eagerly around the Shabbat table, if not in the dust of their feet to learn words of wisdom.

During COVID, Rabbis rarely visited homes, and moreover all learning moved online. Studies have consistently shown that the result, on average, was decreased student performance, decreased mental health and wellbeing for students, parents, and teachers. Not only was online learning bad for students, but also for teachers whose retention rates plummeted. Perhaps in this we can see that Rabbi Yosei was also acknowledging that Sages too need in-person interactions to survive. In this very activity, we have experienced the flow of conversation that facilitated the sharing of knowledge, wisdom, and approaches which is rarely matched in online meetings. In part, this is because each of signals not only with our words, but our eyes, our postures, our breathing, our shifts, and our motions when we are eager to share and to receive, to agree and to debate as the metaphorical conch shell is passed from person to person and threads are picked up, discarded, and revisited to weave a collective tapestry of conversation. Sitting so close to your teachers, be they Sages, colleagues and friends, or students and children, that we are in the very dust of their feed, lets you signal with your body language to yourself and others that you are thirsty for knowledge and eager to engage. May we seek to live up to this ideal, and create a welcoming space where all are comfortable to be both Sages and students.

Yose ben Yoezer (a man) of Zeredah and Yose ben Yohanan (a man) of Jerusalem received [the oral tradition] from them [i.e. Shimon the Righteous and Antigonus]. Yose ben Yoezer used to say: let thy house be a house of meeting for the Sages and sit in the very dust of their feet, and drink in their words with thirst.

Open Mishnah

Jose, Sohn Joësers, aus Zereda und Jose, Sohn Jochanans, aus Jerusalem empfingen von ihnen. für Weise, bestäube Dich mit dem Staube ihrer Füße, und trinke mit Durst ihre Worte.

Mischnajot mit deutscher Übersetzung und Erklärung. Berlin 1887-1933 [de]
Source: talmud.de
Digitization: Sefaria License: [missing]

JOSE B. JOE͑ZER AUS ÇEREDA UND JOSE B. JOḤANAN AUS JERUŠALEM EMPFINGEN SIE VON JENEN. JOSE B. JOE͑ZER SPRACH: DEIN HAUS SEI EINE VERSAMMLUNGSSTÄTTE FÜR DIE WEISEN, BESTÄUBE DICH MIT DEM STAUBE IHRER FÜSSE, UND MIT DURST TRINKE IHRE WORTE.

Talmud Bavli. Lazarus Goldschmidt. 1929 [de]
Source: nli.org.il
Digitization: Sefaria License: Public Domain

Yossé, fils de Yoêzèr de Tsréda, et Yossé, fils de Yohanan de Jérusalem, furent les disciples des précédents. Yossé, fils de Yoêzèr de Tsréda, disait: «Que ta maison soit un lieu de réunion pour les Sages; attache-toi à la poussière de leurs pieds, et bois leurs paroles avec grande soif.»

Iosé Ben Ioezer de Tseredá y Iosé Ben Ioajanán de Jerusalem, recibieron la tradición oral de los anteriores. Iosé Ben Ioezer de Tseredá dice: sea tu casa lugar de reunión para los sabios y adhiérete a ellos bebiendo ávidamente sus sabias palabras.

Yose ben Yoezer, homem de Tsreida, e Yose ben Yochanan, homem de Jerusalém, recebeu deles. Yose ben Yoezer diz: “Que a tua casa seja uma casa de reunião para os Sábios, torna-te sujo no pó dos seus pés e bebe as suas palavras com sede.”