Rabban Gamliel the son of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi said:
Excellent is the study of the Torah together with a worldly pursuit; for the
exertion [expended] in both of them causes sin to be forgotten. If it is all
Torah and it does not have with it a craft, in the end it comes to nothing and
causes sin.
רַבָּן
גַּמְלִיאֵל בְּנוֹ שֶׁל רַבִּי יְהוּדָה הַנָּשִׂיא אוֹמֵר, יָפֶה תַלְמוּד
תּוֹרָה עִם דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ, שֶׁיְּגִיעַת שְׁנֵיהֶם מְשַׁכַּחַת עָוֹן. וְכָל
תּוֹרָה שֶׁאֵין עִמָּהּ מְלָאכָה, סוֹפָהּ בְּטֵלָה וְגוֹרֶרֶת עָוֹן.
Rabban Gamliel (Ethics of our
Fathers 2:2) praises learning Torah in combination with a worldly pursuit. The
Hebrew expression, דֶּרֶךְ
אֶרֶץ, literally means the way of
the world and usually means courtesy. The general understanding of this
Mishna follows the interpretation of Rabbi Ovadia of Bartenura who renders it
as merchandise or a craft meaning a way of financial support. Following this
approach to the Mishna, he reasons that one who learns Torah without concern
for life’s necessities will eventually become a thief and forget it all.
The idea of proper allocation
of time between business and study is an ancient one. From the Chumash all
Israel was required to learn Torah, however the obligation placed on the tribe
of Levy was greater. They were not given a tribal province. Rather they had
scattered cities with some surrounding land that could be used for agriculture.
The rest of Israel was required to give them a portion of their crops to
support them in their Temple service. The restrictions on the cohanim were
greater but the financial support mandated for them was also greater.
The general point of view
seems to be that a Jew should view learning Torah as his prime occupation and
his craft as a secondary occupation as brought in the Ramam (Halachos of
Learning Torah 3:6). However the issue
seems to be more than just getting money. Rather it seems to be the balance
needed between spiritual and worldly pursuits. In line with this Rabbi Shimon
ben Gamliel says, “Study is not the essence, rather it is the deed”, (Avot
1:17).
This is similar to the
Kabalistic concept of running and returning (רצו ושוב).
The idea is that one runs to Hashem by way of learning, then returns to earth
to apply his lessons there. In line with this Maimonides in his book, “Guide
for the Perplexed” compares religious studies to the mistress and secular studies
to the servant. In effect they complement each other even though religious
studies are a higher pursuit. It seems that the modern equivalents of the seven
branches of classical wisdom are mathematics, science, symbolism, grammar,
literature, philosophy, and the fine arts. Religion is determining what is
morally right and knowledge of G-d. If one uses this paradigm a craft is
important to a talmid chacham even if he is wealthy and has no need to work to
support himself. In fact one who is engaged in pure learning can be supported
by others as is the case with university researchers and kollel students.
A point of this mishna seems
to be that Torah without courtesy and craft can be a harmful. The problem is
that without respect for others and knowledge of the world, sacred studies can
become a meaningless abstraction. Very high ideals can be captured by the evil
inclination found in one’s imagination. As a result frivolous conclusions are
drawn by means of frivolous logic. Instead of the Torah making life happy and
meaningful it makes like miserable and pointless. Even worse Torah that is
unconnected to morality and reality, instead of being a sanctification of G-d’s
name becomes a desecration (חַס וְשָׁלוֹם) of his name.
On the other hand the greater a
person’s knowledge of the world and the greater his good deeds are, the greater
he can progress in faith. An example of this would be position of Maimonides that to truly believe that G-d
created the world in six days one needs knowledge of science, good character,
and faith in G-d. Sadly there are people who are chasing after the evil
inclination and others who are easily seduced by the vanities of this world.
For them secular knowledge is a path to denial. However a good person with
faith will use knowledge of G-d and knowledge of the world to sanctify and
elevate the mundane.
לע"נ האמא מלכה
בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז בנוסן תשנ"ח
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