בִּנְיָן יְלָדִים סְתִירָה וּסְתִירַת זְקֵנִים בִּנְיָן

ביטוי (אנגלית)

The tearing down of the old is building, the building of the young is tearing down

הגדרה (אנגלית)

The inexperienced young wish to build, yet they destroy what exists and cause damage. The experienced elders, when they destroy something, do so to create something new and good. Praise is given to the wisdom of the elders and the experienced. Or: the young choose to do good by tearing down what seems bad to them, while the elders combat evil by adding good. The act of building itself inherently destroys what needs to be destroyed (see also: “The pure righteous do not complain about evil but add righteousness”).

(“If the young tell you to build, and the elders to destroy, listen to the elders and do not listen to the young, for the building of the young is tearing down, and the tearing down of the elders is building” – Nedarim 40a)