Higher and lower.
More knowledgeable and less knowledgeable.
Richer and poorer.
There seems to be a vertical scale in so much of life. In most cases, those at the lower end of the scale would like to reach the higher pole, while those ‘on top’ seem fine right where they are.
But life isn’t actually so linear.
‘Higher’ isn’t absolute. Even when you’re ‘on top’ in an area of life, if you want your strengths and advantages to truly ‘shine’, you need to share them with those ‘lower’ on the scale. Perhaps counter-intuitively, those ‘higher’ on society’s imaginary totem pole can do themselves lots of good by constructively interfacing with those ‘lower’ on the scale.
The Talmud quotes Rabbi Chanina, one of our Talmudic greats, as saying, “I have learned much from my teachers, more from my peers and from my students most of all.” He wasn’t spouting poetic flattery of some youngsters. He meant it.
How can Rabbi Chanina, lucky enough to have studied with some of history’s greatest minds, say that he has learned more from his students who are [presumably] significantly ‘lower’ on the knowledge continuum? One answer is that Rabbi Chanina’s knowledge – his facts and data - became more lucid to him through his teaching. He learned a lot from his teachers, and UNDERSTOOD them more through his students.
This aligns with another Talmudic quote: “When a student approaches a teacher and says ‘teach me Torah’, and the teacher accedes, ‘G-d illuminates the eyes of both.’”
When a teacher conveys knowledge, he/she receives added insight into the subject.
How?
When we want to share knowledge with someone who has less of it, we need to first crystallize our own understanding. I can be convinced that I understand something, but I may get a reality wake-up call when I need to teach it. You can’t properly teach what you don’t really understand. The teaching process, from the preparation to the delivery, brings insight – illumination – to the teacher’s own intellectual grasp. Nothing brings more insight to an idea than successfully teaching it.
And, it’s not only about refining our knowledge. The Talmud tells us that “the pauper bestows upon the benefactor more than the benefactor bestows upon the pauper.” The wealthy person needs something beyond money: meaning and inner satisfaction. And they aren’t available for easy purchase.
Happiness comes with the meaningful SHARING of wealth. When we use wealth – or any other of our gifts – to actually improve others’ lives, our individual worlds can literally light up.
Appreciate your gifts. Share them.
And feel the glow.