Maya: You should respect the wise because they have many things that they can pass on to you., So do your grandparents, like their stories and life lessons. Make sure you take care of them in their old age.
From PJ Library, Honoring Elders: Honoring elders, kibud zekaynim, is important not only as a Jewish value, but for society as a whole. We value the wisdom of past generations, our ancestors, and older family members. Treating everyone with respect, but paying particular attention to how we treat seniors, is a building block of Jewish life.
From Kriyat Moshe, Parashat Kedoshim, Honoring the Elderly and the Wise:
Judaism is a religion of values, drawing its strength and inspiration from the world of Torah. It is precisely the opposite of the pagan world, that which developed over time into the Greek and Roman civilizations - cultures that admired physical strength and body development, as boasted by their sports competitions and beauty contests. Youth is idealized in these foreign cultures, while the period of old age is unnecessary and disposable.
Judaism, however, and its scale of pure values, teaches not only acceptance of the elderly, but respect and admiration for them. The young are bidden to stand and honor the elderly who pass before them:
מִפְּנֵי שֵׂיבָה תָּקוּם וְהָדַרְתָּ פְּנֵי זָקֵן וְיָרֵאתָ מֵּאֱ-לֹהֶיךָ אֲנִי ה'.
Rise before the aged [one with gray hair], and give honor to the elderly.
Samantha: The Jewx had it right in comparison to the Greeks and the Romans in that they only respected as one perfect body. There is not just one type of perfect person, but everyone is perfect in their way, Judaism respects both the mind and the body,
From NY Jewish Week, "Have we Forgotten Our Seniors? The Mitzvah to Honor the Elderly", Shmuoy Yanklowitz:
In the Jewish tradition, there is a mitzvah from the Torah to honor the elderly (Leviticus 19:32). Rashi, on this verse, writes that this mitzvah applies not only to wise elders but applies equally to the ignorant. The Rabbis also suggest that although many elderly may have forgotten much of their wisdom in their later years that this does not diminish their value:
Be mindful of the elderly person who has forgotten his teaching for reasons that are not his fault, as it is said that the broken tablets rested with the tablets in the ark (Brachot 8b).
From Torah.org, Mitzvah 20: Honoring Sages and the Elderly:
It is a mitzvah to stand up for the elderly (anyone over the age of sixty), even if they are not learned, and to honor them. We are also commanded to stand up for Torah sages.
Besides the general mitzvah to honor and fear every Torah scholar, there is a specific mitzvah to honor and fear one’s rebbe. The Tur teaches (Yorah Dei’ah 242) that one is obligated to honor and revere one’s rebbe to an even greater degree than he honors and reveres his parents. Parents bring a person into this world, but one’s rebbe teaches him Torah, enabling him to be worthy of the World to Come. Our sages say: “Fear your rebbe like you fear Hashem” (Avos 4:12).