It's iconic, this idealized meeting. The young, inexperienced and confused person embarks on a quest for knowledge and Self, and encounters the wise, all-knowing authority. Usually, this is an elder who bestows pearls of knowledge upon the initiate. At every stage of advancement, the youngling becomes stronger, and the elder entrusts and invests the neophyte with ever-growing amounts of knowledge, power and authority. At its best, the image is literary, and represents the best of mentorship. At its worst, it's a stereotype and a cliche. I'm not writing this about anyone in particular, but we see the dynamic throughout our culture.
The truths are somewhere in between. There are elder authorities who are recognized as such, and invested with power, and there are those who prefer not to lead. Some young people have a wisdom deeper than their years would betray. In the main, however, it might be said that the process is relative. The old can learn from the young, and vice-versa. In my experience, those who set themselves up as ultimate authorities lose out because they're then afraid of admitting they don't know something. That would involve losing face, so they stop asking questions, and their learning remains frozen in time.
Those who know me well probably also know that I've generally shunned the idea of authority. I've never much trusted the concept, and I am leery of power and its ability to corrupt. This is why I've never been able to latch onto a guru, a specific elder or a path with clearly defined lines of authority for very long. When I notice draining power-plays or authority games, I make myself scarce and go elsewhere.
Why am I writing this right before Shavuot? Well, this is a holiday traditionally commemorating the giving of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites. This is the ultimate in authority -- authorship and leadership combined. It's a real top-down mode of imposing belief and control on a society. In a top-down system, the law is given and the individuals obey. We are almost-Borg. Resistance is futile.
By contrast, in a bottom-up system, religious authority is given from below (if at all), and invested in those who have proven themselves trustworthy and competent. The ideas, beliefs and goals of the individuals within the system are the guiding forces, and plurality is embraced. I like structure, but I also need to know that my individuality is not overshadowed by a cult of personality, or indeed, by a cult. And perhaps this is why, at Shavuot, I think not so much of the Ten Commandments, but of the
bikkurim, the first fruits of thought I bring to the table -- about my own relationship to authority, and ultimately, of the order required to achieve a good, ethical life.
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