The Rambam writes [based on Pirkei Avot 4:12, Keritot 28a and other places]:
Just as a person is commanded to honor and revere his father, so is he under an obligation to honor and revere his teacher, even to a greater extent than his father... There is no honor higher than that which is due to the teacher. [Mishneh Torah, Torah Study 5:1]
I understand the stated rationale (parents give you life in this world, teachers give you life in the World to Come), but still, how can that be? I know we don't rank commandments, but honoring parents is one of the Ten Commandments and honoring teachers is not.
You may say: He only said the father comes after the teacher. The mother comes before the teacher:
If he and his father and his teacher are captives, he himself comes before his teacher; and his teacher before his father; but his mother comes before all. [Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah 252:9]
But then we are also taught that father and mother and equal on the scale of honor and reverence:
You might think... the honor due to the father exceeds the honor due to the mother [because Exodus 20:12 says "Honor your father and your mother" with the father listed first] , [but] the Torah stated [later], "Every man shall revere his mother and his father." [Leviticus 19:3]", to teach that both are equal. [Keritot 28a; Genesis R. 1:15]
So what's the teaching here? Do we have a dispute? Are the rabbis engaging in hyperbole?
