<b>And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord (Exod. 4:29).</b> Moses began to reveal to him everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, had told him, and that he was to go perform the miracles. Whereupon the two of them went to the elders, as it is said: <i>And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel</i> (Exod. 4:39). The elders are always held responsible for the survival of Israel. That is why Scripture says: <i>And all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark and on that side</i> (Josh. 8:33). When do (the people of) Israel survive? When they have elders among them. Thus, when the Temple was erected, they consulted the elders, as is said: <i>Ask thy father, and he will declare unto thee, thine elders, and they will tell thee</i> (Deut. 32:7). Any one who consults his elders will not blunder. This is confirmed in the episode wherein Ben-hadad sent messengers to the king of Israel. “<i>Thus saith Ben-hadad: Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also, and thy children, even the goodliest are mine.” The king of Israel answered and said: “It is according to thy saying, my lord, O king; I am thine, and all that I have”</i> (I Kings 20:3). Later He sent another messenger to him saying: <i>But I will send my servants unto thee tomorrow about this time, and thy shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants, and it shall be that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand and take it away</i> (I Kings 20:6). Does this verse imply that the things he (Ben-hadad) demanded at first were not desirable? He had asked for silver and gold, and surely they are desirable, as it is said: <i>And the choicest things of all nations shall come</i> (Hag. 2:7). He had demanded women, and that, indeed, is good to possess, as it is said: <i>Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes in a plague</i> (Ezek. 24:16).<sup class="footnote-marker">34</sup><i class="footnote">Ezekiel’s wife was taken from him.</i> He desired their children, and they surely are precious, as is said: <i>Yet will I slay the beloved fruit of their womb</i> (Hos. 9:6). The fact is that everything he wanted was desirable. What, then, is meant by <i>And it shall be that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes</i>? It refers to that which is most pleasant, the Torah, as it is said: <i>More to be desired are they then gold, yea, then much fine gold</i> (Ps. 19:11).
When the king of Israel heard these words, he said: This matter does not concern me alone. The elders must make the decision. Thereupon, <i>the king of Israel assembled all the elders of the land and said: “Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief; for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not.” And all the elders and all the people said unto him: “Hearken thou not, neither consent”</i> (I Kings 20:8). He followed the advice of the elders, and <i>the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Arameans with a great slaughter</i> (ibid., v. 21). Therefore, one must always consult with elders. And thus it is written: <i>Moses … and Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel</i> (Lev. 9:1).
R. Akiba said: Why is Israel likened to a bird? Just as a bird cannot fly without wings, so Israel cannot survive without its elders. The influence of the elders is exceedingly great; if they are old, they are beloved by the Holy One, blessed be He, and if they are young, the children are attracted to them.
R. Simeon the son of Yohai taught: In numerous places we learn that the Holy One, blessed be He, paid homage to the elders. At the thornbush, since it is written: <i>Go, and gather the elders of Israel</i> (Exod. 3:16). And that is followed by: <i>And they shall hearken unto thy voice. And thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt</i> (ibid., v. 18). At Sinai, as it is written: <i>And unto Moses he said: “Come up unto the Lord, thou, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel”</i> (ibid. 24:1). <i>In the Tent of Meeting whither Moses called Aaron, his sons, and the elders of Israel</i> (Lev. 9:1). In the time-to-come, as it is said: <i>For the Lord of hosts will reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His elders shall be glory</i> (Isa. 24:23).
R. Abin declared: In the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will establish the elders of Israel as a court, and He will appoint their head as chief judge of the Beth Din, and with them will judge the heathens, as it is said: <i>The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and the princes thereof</i> (ibid. 3:14). It is not written “over the elders of His people” but <i>with the elders of His people</i>. That is, He will sit with them and judge the heathens. What will He say to them? You have eaten up the vineyard, namely, Israel, as it is said: <i>For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel</i> (Isa. 5:7); <i>The spoil of the poor is in your houses</i> (ibid. 3:14), for it is said: <i>That the Lord hath founded Zion, and in her shall the poor of His people take refuge</i> (ibid. 14:32).
It was customary for kings to preside in a circular courtroom, as it says: <i>And now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, in a threshing floor</i> (I Kings 22:10). Did they actually sit on a threshing floor? No. We have learned that the Sanhedrin met in a semicircle, in order that each member might be able to see the others, while the two scribes sat before them to write down the testimony. Solomon said: I see him sitting with them and judging in their midst, as it is said: <i>Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land</i> (Prov. 31:23).