“Who is wise? The one who learns from everyone”

-Shimon ben Zoma

Today’s post is as sweet and simple as the maple syrup I’ll soon be making from the trees on my land.  Opportunities to learn are all around us, in nature, in our neighbors, in ourselves. There is a Native American story about two lost boys who discover a rock in the forest that tells them stories. They gather all the people to sit around the rock for days, hearing all the stories that there are in the world. No one person will remember them all, but everyone will  remember some of them, and if they share with each other, they will remember them all, collectively.

So it is with all learning. We can’t have it all within us, but by reaching out to people and creation around us, we can access the encyclopedia of the cosmos. We are all each other’s teachers and students, repositories of wisdom at just the right moment.

Who can you learn from today?

Simeon ben Zoma, also known as Simon ben Zoma, Shimon ben Zoma or simply Ben Zoma  was a Tanna of the first third of the 2nd century CE. His name is used without the title “Rabbi” because he died at a young age, remaining in the grade of “pupil” and never receiving rabbinical ordination.

Joe Laur is a father, husband, naturalist, executive consultant, and a lowly rabbinic student. He can be reached at joe.laur@godsdog.net.