EXOD947 Judaism does demand that society and all individuals still give respect to senile people, as recorded in the Talmud Berachot 8b. Why is this so…? The same talmudic passage explains, implying that we respect someone for what he or she once was and not for what he or she is today. The talmudic imagery is given as that of the first Tablets, shattered by Moses when he witnessed the people worshiping the Golden Calf. Exodus 32:19 Later, God asks Moses to write a second set of Tablets for the people Exodus 34:1, which were stored in the Holy Ark [this verse]. What happened to the fragments from the first Tablets after they were broken? Were they simply discarded and thrown away? No. They were stored in the Holy Ark as well, along with the second set of Tablets. Berachot 8b. Why were these bits of broken stone placed inside the Holy Ark--they certainly were no longer functioning and would have been no use to anyone? We learn from this an important Jewish concept: even something that no longer has any function today, but that did once have use and was once worthy of respect, must still be respected and is considered special. Thus, the original fragments were saved and stored in the Holy Ark for what they once were and not because of their present value to Jews. For the same reason, an individual who is senile must still be respected. While that individual may no longer function in society and may no longer be the object of respect for current wisdom, the person must still be respected for the wisdom he or she had in the past. In a similar manner, a Torah scroll that was once usable and holy must be treated with respect, even if it is now invalid. It must be given the same respect a human body is accorded upon death, when it loses its soul. The invalid Torah scroll is not thrown away, but must be buried in the ground next to a scholar Maimonides, Hilchot Tefillin 10:3. Thus, Judaism treats anything in Judaism that once had value and holiness with respect, even though its condition has now deteriorated.