We now reach the final Mishnah in the chapter of "Elu Metzios" - tractate Bava Metzia, chapter 2, Mishnah 11. The subject of the Mishnah is the order of precedence: when a person is only able to save one lost object, and the other will inevitably be lost - who comes first?
His lost object and his father's lost object:
The Mishnah begins: "Avedaso va'avedas aviv - avedaso kodemes" - his lost object and his father's lost object, his lost object takes precedence. When a person is faced with the decision between returning his own lost object and returning his father's lost object, his own lost object takes precedence: he must save his own, and his father's lost object will be lost. This certainly applies in the case of another person who is not his father.
The source for this law is the verse: "However, there shall be no needy among you" - that a person must ensure that there is no needy person within his midst. From the exegesis of the verse we learn that there is a distinct obligation upon every person to ensure that he himself does not become needy, and therefore his responsibility for his own money takes precedence over his obligation toward the money of others, similar to the principle of "your life takes precedence". There is therefore no obligation to lose money in order to save one's father's property.
His lost object and his teacher's lost object:
The Mishnah adds: "Avedaso va'avedas rabbo - shelo kodemes" - his lost object and his teacher's lost object, his own takes precedence. Here too, for the exact same reason, his own lost object takes precedence over his teacher's lost object.
Who is a "rabbo muvhak"?
When this Mishnah speaks of his "teacher", and throughout the rest of the Mishnah, the reference is to a rabbo muvhak (primary teacher) - the person from whom he learned most of his Torah knowledge. In our days, such a reality almost does not exist, as learning is done from books; one could perhaps say that Rashi is considered a primary teacher, but certainly not a flesh-and-blood person. During the time of the Mishnah, however, there were no printed books, and the Torah was transmitted from teacher to student orally, so a person would receive the tradition from a specific individual. The one who taught him most of his Torah has an extremely special status. Nevertheless, the teacher's property comes second after the student's property, by virtue of the exegesis of the verse "However, there shall be no needy among you".
His father's lost object and his teacher's lost object:
And when the person himself is not in the picture, and he must decide between his father's lost object and his primary teacher's lost object - "shel rabbo kodemes" - his teacher's takes precedence. His teacher takes precedence over his father, and in the words of the Mishnah: "she'aviv hevio la'olam hazeh, verabbo shelimdo chochmah mevio lechayei ha'olam haba" - for his father brought him into this world, and his teacher who taught him wisdom brings him to the life of the World to Come. It is true that a father deserves abundant honor for bringing him into this world, but the teacher who taught him wisdom brings him into the World to Come, and this virtue is greater.
It must be clarified that this refers to a case where the father did not pay his tuition. If the father paid for the learning, the merit is credited in his favor, and the father takes precedence over the teacher even if he is his primary teacher. But if his primary teacher taught him most of his Torah for free, he takes precedence over his father. The Mishnah adds: "ve'im hayah aviv chacham - shel aviv kodemes" - and if his father was a Torah scholar, his father's takes precedence. If his father is also a Torah scholar, he presumably taught him something as well, and therefore he deserves gratitude not only for bringing him into this world but also to the life of the World to Come, and therefore his father's lost object takes precedence.
However, this is not the practical Halachah. The Rif has a slightly different version of the Mishnah's text, and that is the one accepted in the Shulchan Aruch. According to the Rif's version, the law does not depend on his father being a Torah scholar, but rather: "if his father was equal to his teacher" - meaning, if his father stands on the same level of wisdom as his teacher, then his father's lost object takes precedence. But if his father is a Torah scholar and even taught him things, yet his teacher is his primary teacher who taught him most of his Torah, his teacher takes precedence, provided that the father did not pay for the learning.
The reason for this is: a separate mitzvah is incumbent upon the father as well to honor a Torah scholar. Therefore, when the teacher is greater than the father, the father is obligated to honor him, which means that the father himself is theoretically required to forgo his lost item out of respect for the teacher. This is the practical halachah - assuming the concept of a primary teacher exists in our times, and assuming the father did not pay for the instruction: the teacher takes precedence, unless the father and teacher are equal in Torah greatness.
Extending the Principle to Other Areas:
The Mishnah concludes by teaching that these principles apply not only to a lost item, but to other areas as well:
"Hayah aviv verabbo nos'im masa" - If one meets his father and his teacher when they are carrying a burden, and he must decide whom to help first: "mani'ach et shel rabbo ve'achar kach mani'ach et shel aviv" - he first helps his teacher, and afterward his father. Here too, this refers to his primary teacher, subject to all the conditions explained above.
"Hayah aviv verabbo beveit hashevi" - If both were taken captive and are being held for ransom, and he only has funds to redeem one of them: "podeh et rabbo ve'achar kach podeh et aviv" - he first redeems his teacher, and when he acquires additional funds he will redeem his father. "Im hayah aviv chacham - podeh et aviv ve'achar kach podeh et rabbo": According to the text of the Mishnah, if his father is not only his father but also a Torah scholar, and presumably taught him some wisdom as well - his father takes precedence, and his teacher is redeemed after him.
In summary: The halachah follows the text of the Rif. Therefore, if it is his primary teacher, and his father did not pay for the instruction, and the father, even if he possesses some wisdom, is not equal to the teacher - the teacher takes precedence in all of these cases. In any other case - his father takes precedence over his teacher.