Baba Meṣia 2.11: Salvation through wisdom as the justification for the priority of a teacher over a father

Abstract

The ability to transmit wisdom as a path to the world-to-come is the ground upon which Mishnah Baba Meṣia 2.11 attributes a teacher priority over a father, albeit under some specific conditions. This analysis takes its lead from the eschatological background of the pericope, with a focus upon Mishnaic references to the themes of the «two worlds», of the Messiah, and of the return of the prophet Elijah. It then argues that the subordination (and even the devaluation) of fatherhood, which accompanies the priority assigned to the teacher, rests on the eschatological function of rabbinic teaching, which is also expressed in the narrative parallel Sifre Deuteronomy §32. Finally, it examines the identification of the teacher who enjoys priority, as discussed in Tosefta Baba Meṣia 2.30 = Tosefta Horayot 2.5 —the parallel Toseftan sources to BM 2.11, which put the emphasis on rabbinic Torah-teaching.