Avos chapter 4, mishnah 3 - here is another mishnah from Ben Azzai. To begin, let us look at a famous dispute recorded in the Jerusalem Talmud: Rabbi Akiva says that the great principle of the Torah is "v'ahavta l'rei'acha kamocha" - the mitzvah to love your fellow as yourself. Ben Azzai, the author of our mishnah, disagrees and holds that the verse to focus on is not "v'ahavta l'rei'acha kamocha," but rather the verse in Bereishis: "This is the book of the generations of man, on the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God."
According to Ben Azzai, the great principle is not focused specifically on "your fellow" - your fellow Jew - but rather all of humanity is placed by the Torah, to a certain degree, on equal footing, and every person is obligated to respect every human being. Ben Azzai certainly means to include non-Jews as well, and there is basis to say that he intends to place men and women on equal footing too:
In the mishnah in Maseches Sotah, it is Ben Azzai who says that a person is obligated to teach his daughter Torah.
In the Jerusalem Talmud at the beginning of Maseches Chagigah, Ben Azzai again champions the standing of women.
One could argue, then, that Ben Azzai advocates placing men and women on equal footing, even with regard to learning Torah with them. In any case, his words here speak to a certain extent to the egalitarian sensibilities of the twenty-first century.
The text of the mishnah:
He used to say:
"Al tehi vaz l'chol adam" - do not be scornful of any person.
"V'al tehi mafl
i g l'chol davar" - do not dismiss anything."She'ein lecha adam she'ein lo sha'ah" - there is no person who does not have his hour.
"V'ein lecha davar she'ein lo makom" - there is no thing that does not have its place.
The approach of the Bartenura:
The Bartenura's approach is very specific: this is about a person protecting himself from harm. The mishnah warns against belittling another person and against deluding yourself with the thought, "This fellow is nothing, he has no power to do anything to me." Do not think this way, because he may come back and hurt you - for there is no person who does not have his hour, and everyone's moment eventually arrives. When the stars line up in his favor, he will be able to exact his revenge.
The continuation is explained along the same lines: "mafl
The approach of the Tiferes Yisrael:
There is another approach, one that is perhaps somewhat more compelling, and that is the approach of the Tiferes Yisrael, who understands the mishnah in a broader sense: every person in this world is here for a reason. We are all created in the image of God, as in the verse Ben Azzai cited in the Jerusalem Talmud in Nedarim. And even a person who is a fool and a simpleton, and even a wicked and evil person, is here on this earth for some reason, for otherwise the Holy One, blessed is He, would remove him.
As Rabbi Noach Orlowek used to say thirty years ago, back when the analogy still worked: "Mr. Sony does not put unnecessary wires into his tape recorders, and the Holy One, Blessed is He, is a better engineer than Mr. Sony." The point is clear: there are no unnecessary parts. If you are here, it is because the Holy One, Blessed is He, wants you here, and you have a role to fill - and just as this is true of you, it is true of every other person as well. Therefore, when you see a person on the face of the earth, even if he looks like a fool, like someone worthless, or like a bad person, he is here for a reason. Do not treat him with contempt, for contempt for the image of God is contempt for the Holy One, Blessed is He, Himself. And even if it is questionable whether this applies to a wicked person, certainly even the wicked person is here for a reason, and his existence cannot be dismissed entirely, for he accomplishes something.
The same is true of everything on the face of the earth and everything in the universe: "Al tehi maflig lechol davar" - do not dismiss anything, because everything is here for a reason. "Ein lecha davar she'ein lo makom" - and therefore everything must be given the respect it deserves. A person should not be arrogant and should not think that he knows how things will unfold. The Holy One, Blessed is He, runs the show, He is the One who wrote the script, and a person needs to be aware that He is capable of doing countless things.
The halachah in Maseches Derech Eretz Rabbah:
There is an important halachah in Maseches Derech Eretz Rabbah - a tractate that is not studied every day - which deals with the importance of giving proper respect to every human being: Jew and non-Jew, man and woman. This includes even someone you are afraid of, a person who is not part of your group. In Israel, a person might be wary of an Arab; in America, he might feel that way about a black man he does not know. Even if you are afraid of them - and whether that fear is warranted or not is a separate discussion - you may not treat them badly, God forbid, simply because they are different.
And this is what it says there in the fifth chapter: "L'olam yihyu kol bnei adam b'einecha k'listim" - one should view every unfamiliar person as a potential threat (listim are robbers), and this applies to Jew and non-Jew alike. However, "mechabdan k'Rabban Gamliel" - you must give them honor, treating them as you would treat Rabban Gamliel himself, the greatest man of the generation and the Nasi. This is the point we saw in the first Mishnah of the chapter: "Eizehu mechubad? Hamechabed es habrios" - the person deserving of honor is the one who honors others, and he must honor everyone, Jew and non-Jew alike.
In summary: When people are afraid of someone foreign to them, it brings out the worst in them, and that has to be overcome. This does not mean you are obligated to trust him - an unfamiliar person may be a threat, and any person may be a threat, Jew and non-Jew alike. But when it comes to giving people the respect they deserve, that is a must. This is why the Mishnah says "Al tehi baz lechol adam" - do not treat anyone with contempt, because every single person is in the image of God, and every single person has his place and his role to fill here in creation.