1. Why didn’t the sick student’s rabbis visit him?
2. What compelled Rabbi Akiva to go see him?
3. How did Rabbi Akiva give him “new life”?
1. What does this text imply about the responsibilities of the administrator of a Tzedakah fund? What does it imply about any other individual's responsibilities? Where are the limits of these responsibilities?
2. How do you think Binyamin HaTzaddik would have reacted had the petitioner asked for money for something other than food? If the petitioner had been only one person? If the petitioner had been male?
3. How does Binyamin's name relate to his position? To his actions in this story?
1. Do you agree with Rabbi Akiva? Why?
2. Why does this text specify that the two people are friends? How does this affect our understanding of the text?
1. What does it mean to judge someone favorably? What does this process entail?
2. Do you judge others favorably? Do we as a community judge others favorably? How would our society be different if we did?
1. Why should we always try to have peace between ourselves and others according to this text?
2. Why does God care how we treat others? What does this reflect about us?
3. Who are the people that we are least likely to greet today? How can we strive to be more like R. Johanan b. Zakkai?
1. What are the values communicated by this text?
2. What are the implications of our actions if we take seriously that every human being is the image of the Holy Blessed One?