Of Teaching and Chesed

About a month ago, I posted a question on this blog: "Is teaching a class an act of chesed (generosity)?" I received some insightful emails, as well as good comments on the post; thank you.

As I said on that post, teaching a class just doesn't feel like chesed. I'd like to unpack that here.

I can see three definitions of Chesed:
1) Filling the need of a recipient;
2) Sacrificing personal resources for a recipient;
3) Connecting with a recipient.

In truth, I believe that teaching a class does qualify as Chesed, within all three definitions. A good teacher:
(1) provides for the educational needs of the students;
(2) expends real effort and time in planning how best to convey Torah to the students; and
(3) connects and builds relationships with the students.

So why doesn't it feel like chesed? A few reasons, I think, all tied to the different definitions of chesed I mentioned above:
1) Filling a need - Rabbis need to advertise and recruit people to shiurim; if this were filling a need, would we need to work so hard to persuade people to take advantage? Further, however well-intentioned, a Rabbi may misunderstand or misstate his Torah. A shiur may be wrong without the teacher realizing it, but the benefits of a hospital visit, counseling, a relationship are often visible.

2) Sacrificing personal resources – If I am paid to teach classes, then whatever I do is a fulfillment of that job. It is equally true that a shul rabbi is paid for rabbinic chesed, but when a rabbi sacrifices to go above and beyond in chesed – as happens regularly – it feels more like an uncompensated "extra" than when I learn with a chavruta or give a shiur despite being exhausted.

3) Connecting with others - One can teach Torah without investing emotionally; I believe that such teaching is less successful, but it can be done. On the other hand, the relationship aspect of chesed requires at least sympathy, if not empathy.

I don't see a moral to this story; it may just be something I find interesting. But then again, this is a blog, so I suppose that's okay.

Nachas

This past week, our Beit Midrash held the first dedicated fundraiser we have ever had. Thank Gd, it was a great dinner, and I enjoyed seeing fruit from our Beit Midrash's work, in the way people responded to the cause.

We showed a video at the event, featuring the work of our Beit Midrash:



If you like it, please share it with others!

47 days

One November, back when I was a shul rabbi, a tzedakah collector commented to me that 'my time' was running out. He explained that after Chanukah people embark upon December vacations, and then winter sends snowbirds to warmer climates and renders others homebound. That's followed by Purim, then Pesach, and then people's minds enter summer vacation mode until Rosh HaShanah. Thus, he explained, a rabbi's main 'season' is in the seven-to-eight weeks between Succot and Chanukah.

That interesting observation, coupled with the imminent arrival of Chanukah, has led me to assess the accomplishments of our YU / Torah miTzion Beit Midrash here in Toronto since Succot. Working from class registration lists - which don't tell the whole story, naturally, but which do offer some data - I looked at the types of classes we offer, and the turnout for the classes. I am thrilled to say that we have been blessed by G-d with tremendous success in the first 47 days of our "season".

In truth, I have qualms about this sort of statistical study; true success is in the quality of relationships and in the quality of learning, not in a tally of class attendees. Imagine a rabbi who gauged his success by the number of seats occupied in shul, or the number of people he visited in the hospital, without pausing to consider what those people were receiving from their shul experience or from those visits! Nonetheless, in my pride in the accomplishments of our avreichim, as well as in the response of our Toronto Jewish community, here is an amateur video I have made from that study.

Life at a Jewish Funeral

A few weeks ago, I began a series of sessions on "Life in the Rabbinate" for my avreichim here in the Beit Midrash. In our sessions, we talk about practical issues that come up in the pulpit rabbinate; I generally present anecdotes and issues which came up in my shul years, and we talk about how to handle particular situations.

Our opening topic was "Chevra Kadisha and Funerals", and we had a lot to discuss; we've had two sessions and we're not done. Among the questions we have looked at already:

How do you help a chevra kadisha to codify their policies and customs?

Do we really put a body on the floor if someone dies in the hospital?

Would we perform a taharah before a cremation?

What's a taharah certificate?

What comes up when transporting a body across state or federal lines?

Who may see the body, and when?

What is a kosher casket?

How many eulogies, and who speaks?

Is it really okay to say, "Today is Rosh Chodesh and we don't give eulogies, but I just want to say" and then go on to present a eulogy?

How do you eulogize someone you have never met? Or should you decline?

How can you help a family get ready for a funeral?

What equipment should a rabbi always have at the ready?

Who is in charge at the cemetery – Rabbi? Funeral Director? Head of the Chevra Kadisha? Cemetery Employees?

Are we allowed to have cement liners in graves?

Who carries the casket?

And there is a lot more waiting for the third session…

Alcoholism: Do we avoid knowing about it?

We had a program Sunday night on Alcoholism in the Jewish Community [audio available here]. The speakers were credentialed, the flyer was attractive, but the turnout was not great (25-30 people).

Let me re-phrase: Those who turned out were great. But not many turned out.

There are many 'external' reasons we didn't have a strong showing, including:
* Father's Day
* Dinnertime
* Nice weather on a Sunday evening in June
* The program was not announced in many shuls [although it was Facebooked and tweeted, and there were flyers in many shuls]

In truth, I knew about the logistical challenges with our date and our publicity in advance, but the subject is important to me. I fear that Jewish communities enable addiction to alcohol. We provide wine and liquor at our tables and in our synagogues, we make people uncomfortable in refusing it, we often glorify it. We provide a convenient and comfortable place for people to drink, and we do all of that around our children. So I wanted this program, and I couldn't get any other date/time, so this was it.

But was it really just a case of bad timing, or weak PR? Given that JACS Toronto hosts programs serving hundreds of people each week, shouldn't we have been able to attract more attendees?

Might we be ducking the issue?

Might it be that:
* The topic is frightening?
* We think that by showing up at this sort of program, we might be broadcasting that we have a problem ourselves, or in our families?
* We want to think alcholism is someone else's problem, and so we dismiss anything with the word 'alcoholism' like we dismiss anything with the words 'Bosnia-Herzegovina'?

Do your communities get a better showing for this sort of program - and other than immediately after a specific, addiction-related catastrophe takes place?

Are you in Toronto for Shavuos?

If you are...





I always said that when I got out of the Shul Rabbinate I would stop staying up all night for Shavuos...

Two certainties: Death and Pesach

[Posts I’m thinking about: Intimacy with children and Autism at Everyone Needs Therapy and “Dear Son” at Jack]

It’s not so easy, this business of promoting programs. We need to come up with a coherent, catchy message that combines our various programs into a single, central, attention-grabbing marketable theme, or else the diverse offerings get lost.

Witness the challenge of publicizing our two major programs for this Sunday: A pre-Pesach smorgasbord of shiurim at one local shul in the morning, and then a panel discussion on Brain Death and Organ Donation at another local shul in the evening.



We don’t want multiple marketing campaigns, or people will stop reading our emails. So we want to combine them in one email. But what kind of tag line do you put on the email promoting both of these programs?

Here are my current thoughts (and if you couldn’t tell this was going to be tongue-in-cheek yet, it is):

Two things in life are guaranteed: Death and Pesach

Have a brain dead Pesach this Sunday!

Brain Death at the Seder

Die, Die-yenu

Determining the time of death: Maggid or Nirtzah?

Death by Matzah

Stay at the Seder or Donate a Kidney: Your Choice

How many cups of wine are needed to shut down the brain stem?

Marror: How much is too much?

Please offer your own suggestions…

Let my leaders fail!

I did the weekly three-minute parshah video for the kollel this week; hope my cold isn't too obvious:



Here is the quote from Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, Oznayim laTorah for Vayyikra:

יש להליט בדברי חז״ל אלה רעיון מאלף: הנשיא או המנהיג, אם הוא בעל מרץ ומעוף, מחפש תמיד דרכים איך להיטב את מצב עמו או עדתו, ומרוב מעשים יש שהוא טועה ועושה דבר אשר מוטב היה שלא לעשותו; הוא חטא ב״קום זיעשה״, עשה מה שלא היה צריך לעשות, או אם נתבטא בלשון חז״ל — עבר ״על לא תעשה״. חטא כזה מתכפר אם זדונו כרת ע״י קרבן חטאת, שהרי שוגג הוא. לעומת זה יש נשיא או מנהיג, שהוא תמיד מסתפק, אם כדאי לעשות דבר זה או אחר לטובת עמו ועדתו ופן יצא מזה דבר שאינו לטובת העם, ומרוב הזהירות אינו עושה כלום ומזניח את עניני הכלל. ואח״כ כשהוא רואה, ששגג בזה ״שלא עשה״, שלא הקדים את פני הרעה — הרי הוא דומה לעובר על ״מצות עשה״, שקרבנו עולה... ויש, איפוא, למצוא רמז בדרשת חז״ל הנ״ל, שאשרי הדור, שהנשיא שלו, אם שגג באיזה דבר, הרי הוא ״מחייבי ׳חטאות״, היינו שמרוב מרצו ועבודתו לטובת הכלל נכשל פעם ועבר על ״לא תעשה״ על דבר שלא הי׳ ראוי לעשות, ויתרון לנשיא כזה על נשיא ״מלא ספקות״ ומפניהם הוא מזניח את עבודת הציבור, על נשיא ״ממחייבי עולות״

We can unveil in these words of the Sages an instructive ideal: The nasi or leader, if he is a person of energy and alacrity, continually seeks ways to improve the standing of his nation or group. As a result of his many deeds, sometimes he errs and does something when it would have been better had he not acted. He sins with an action, doing what he should not have done. To use the language of the Sages - he violated a 'Lo Taaseh'. for such a sin one atones with a chatat offering, granted that for intentional violation there would be a punishment of kareit, since this is not intentional.

Opposite this is a nasi or leader who is perpetually in doubt whether to do this or something else for the benefit of his nation or group, lest something emerge which does not benefit the nation. Due to his great care, he does nothing and he abandons the needs of the community. Then, when he sees that he erred through inaction, and did not act to prevent bad develops, he is like one who sins by failing to perform an ‘Aseh’, and who brings a korban olah.

There is a hint to this in the lesson of the sages (Horiyyos 10b), “Fortunate is the generation whose nasi, if he has sinned, is among those who are obligated to bring a chatat offering,” meaning that because of his great energy and work for the good of the community he stumbled on occasion and violated a ‘Lo Taaseh’, erring in doing something he ought not to have done. This nasi is greater than a nasi who is full of doubt, such that he abandons the work of the community, a nasi who must bring a korban olah.

The theme is important, beyond the material I could fit into two minutes and thirty seconds. For rabbis in shuls, for teachers and administration in schools, for boards of community institutions like UJA/UJC, Jewish Family and Children Services, JCCs and so on - we need leaders who have the latitude to act on educated instinct, and that latitude can only be granted by communities which are supportive.

Rabbi in search of a recipe

[Post I'm mulling: Loughner: Schizophrenia or Terrorist at Everyone Needs Therapy]

When I first married the Rebbetzin, I was a passable cook; my portfolio included basic chicken and beef, and a few sides and desserts. I even specialized in a homemade salsa. But all of that changed in the shul rabbinate; the frenzied and unpredictable schedule made cooking, and knowing whether I would be able to eat what I cooked, pretty much impossible.

Enter the kollel, and although I still work long hours – longer, actually, in some ways – the schedule is far more predictable. So I’m back in the cooking business, one day per week.

Why do I want to get back in?
• The Rebbetzin does enough for me, surely I can do something in return.

• I like to try unique tastes, but asking the Rebbetzin to cater to that would be unfair.

• It's a form of chesed for my family; certainly, I could just purchase ready-made food, but as Rav noted (Bava Metzia 86b) regarding Avraham, chesed is best when the hard work is performed personally.

• Tehillim 128:2 – יגיע כפיך כי תאכל אשריך וטוב לך – When you eat the work of your hands, you are fortunate and it is good for you.

The only catch is that I still have very little time: I have a one-hour window from the time my alarm goes off in the morning until the Daf starts, and I’m out from Daf until dinner, so all of the cooking must take place in that rather packed hour. Problem.

Solution: Slow-cooking, aka crockpot cooking. As long as the ingredients are simple, and the prep time is low, I can put it all together and get the food going, and then come back at dinnertime to turn it off and serve.

So far, I’ve tried the following:

• Chicken, apricot jam and salsa – Very good.

• Chicken, VH pad thai sauce – Eh.

• Chick peas (aka garbanzo beans), rice, various spices, soy sauce, horeseradish, a hot pepper, onion, carrot and a sweet potato - Very enterprising. Not very good.

• Chicken, tomato sauce, two quartered tomatoes, an orange pepper, a halved onion. This is in the crockpot as we speak.

So I’m looking for more recipes to try. I’ve bought a bunch of sauces to try, but I can go beyond that if the ingredients are few. I’m chicken-based, because it’s inexpensive and it’s a good anchor for a meal, and I like to avoid starches that stick to the pot, but I’d try vegetarian dishes as well. Please send your recipes my way!

[And while we're on the topic, Rafi at Life in Israel has a post asking Will cholent get people to go to shul?, reminding me that I did have one opportunity to cook over the years - my annual also-ran entry in our shul chulent contest.]

A visit to Detroit

[Post I’m mulling today: Book Review: Boys Adrift at Orthonomics]

Making good on my commitment to schedule an occasional break and see things new and different, I took some time this week to go with my family to Detroit. I know, it’s not exactly glamorous or dramatic, but this is where you go when you have 48 hours, cold weather, and a desire to daven with a minyan.

So what did we see, and what do we recommend?

First off, Young Israel of Southfield was great. The minyannaires are friendly and warm, they have a women’s section at the daily minyan, the davening is good, the rabbi is good. What more could you ask for?

We went to the Detroit Historical Museum, and that was fun for the kids. We were worried that there wouldn’t be much for the younger ones, but we need not have been concerned – plenty of buttons to push and screens to watch. Enjoyed the video of an actor playing a Polish Jewish immigrant who came over in 1880 – it gave me a chance to teach my kids a little Jewish history – but I didn’t get the “Mazel Tov” thrown in at the end of his shpiel. Guess it wasn’t scripted by a Jew. The model of an assembly line intrigued the kids, and, of course, they liked the Lionel train set. Good space to eat the food we brought with us - this is not a given in many museums. I suppose the museum could have included something about the economic collapse of recent decades, but then, I’m not surprised they didn’t.

Café One was a very good stop for dinner one night. We had a range of items, from ziti to French Onion soup to pancakes a la mode to eggs. All of the food (except perhaps the ice cream) was very good as well as inexpensive, and it was served with a smile.

The Detroit People Mover was fun, although I think older kids would be bored to tears. A fifteen-minute ride around an elevated track, covering a small section of midtown; my kids loved it enough to do it twice. Tip, though: Don’t get on at the Greektown stop. You need to enter through the casino, or take a circuitous route we didn’t enjoy in the bitter cold.

John K. King Used and Rare Books, the self-titled “biggest book store in Michigan”, was definitely worthwhile, both for the experience [four floors of a huge warehouse, jammed wall-to-wall with reading] and for the books we found. It’s hard to find good books for pre-adolescents; the pulp they churn out today tends to try too hard to be cool by putting in the sex I don’t want my kids reading. We discovered some great reads for kids, like a series called “The Boy Allies,” about American kids having adventures in Europe during World War I – written during World War I itself. [You can see the opening volume on Project Gutenberg here.]

The one dud of the trip was Campus Martius Park, which was supposed to have an open-air skating rink. What it actually had was a tiny oval of ice in dire need of a Zamboni. My kids are spoiled by the community centres in skate-happy Toronto; they turned up their noses and declined.

I wanted to take my kids to see the Charles H. Wright Museum of the African-American Experience, but the younger ones aren't old enough yet. They're old enough to vaguely understand what they're seeing, and then to walk up to likely-looking strangers on the street to ask them how they've been doing since they were freed. Next time, perhaps.

All in all, a good trip, thank Gd; I’m glad we went. I’m taking recommendations now for our next trip; must be within a reasonable drive of Toronto.

How long does it take to film a two-minute video?

The answer: A lot longer than you might think.

Several weeks ago, our kollel began producing two-minute parshah videos; you can find them here. Last week we started posting them on YouTube; our inaugural video is here.

This week was my turn; here it is:



Care to guess how many takes it took before I got to this one? How many cases of bad lighting, rapid blinking or wide-eyed non-blinking, situation too far down in the frame, and so on?

I was in too much of a rush, since we were about to go away on a family trip. And, in truth, after all of those takes I’m still not happy with it. I should have dropped the opening 45 seconds, treating that as a side reference and continuing to the main point. But addressing the question of when the Torah was written, and resolving a passage in which the Torah seems to refer to events that take place after its close, is just too interesting to me. Especially when it’s a chance to highlight the Ibn Ezra in action. So I went for it, and spent less time on the concluding part, with its recommendation for the viewer. Not necessarily a great bargain, but what can you do?

Maybe I should have xtranormal’d the whole thing, to avoid all of the lighting and position issues and permit a better focus on the content. Perhaps next time.

25 below in Toronto

It’s noon here in Toronto, and 25 degrees below zero, Celsius, with the wind-chill.

That’s 13 below, Fahrenheit.

Just how cold is that?

Cold enough that I could go sit in my kitchen freezer to warm up.

The sliding doors of our van remained frozen shut even after the car’s heater had been on full-blast for 20 minutes this morning.

My car was completely warm and de-iced before minyan this morning, but when I left minyan I needed ten minutes of full-blast heat before the windshield was clear.

I left my daily bottle of chocolate Boost Plus on my windshield before minyan, and came out to find a bottle of chocolate ice cream. [That was intended, though.]

And winter hasn’t even arrived yet.

Of course, it could be worse; we could be in Chicago, which I understand has been frozen and snowed in.

Looking on the bright side, here are some good points about the cold:
1. It’s too cold to snow. [No, that’s not really true.]
2. The cold keeps people in beis medrash longer. [That’s true.]
3. It encourages Torontonians to think more seriously about aliyah. [I hope that’s true.]
4. And… Umm….

That’s about it for the advantages of the cold.

Stay warm, folks.

Kollel Study

Gd-willing, I'll be delivering a shiur (first of two parts) on Wednesday evening, on the topic of Kollel Study. It's part of my series on Responsa that changed Jewish History (although I'll discuss in the shiur whether the responsa involved in this history actually changed anything).

Here is my source sheet for the shiur. There is nothing novel in it, but I suspect you won't find a translation of the Tashbetz, free of charge, anywhere else:

Responsa that changed Jewish History, Topic 4a: Rambam vs. Tashbetz on Kollel Support

R’ Mordechai Torczyner – torczyner@torontotorah.com

1. Rambam’s commentary to Avot 4:5

דע, כי זה כבר אמר: אל תעשה התורה קרדום לחפור בה, כלומר: אל תחשבה כלי לפרנסה, ובאר ואמר שכל מי שיהנה בזה העולם בכבוד תורה שהוא כורת נפשו מחיי העולם הבא. והעלימו בני אדם עיניהם מזו הלשון הגלויה, והשליכוה אחרי גוום, ונתלו בפשטי מאמרים שלא הבינום - אני אבארם - והטילו להם חוקים על היחידים ועל הקהילות, ועשו את המינויים התוריים לחוק מכסים, והביאו בני אדם לסבור שטות גמורה, שזה צריך ומחוייב, לעזור לחכמים ולתלמידים ולאנשים העוסקים בתורה ותורתן אומנותן. וכל זה טעות, אין בתורה מה שיאמת אותו, ולא רגל שישען עליה בשום פנים. לפי שאנו אם נעיין בתולדות החכמים, זכרם לברכה, לא נמצא אצלם לא הטלת חובות על בני אדם, ולא קיבוץ ממון לישיבות המרוממות הנכבדות, ולא לראשי גלויות ולא לדיינין ולא למרבצי תורה ולא לאחד מן הממונים ולא לשאר האנשים, אלא נמצא קהילותיהם כולן יש בהם עני בתכלית, ועשיר רב הממון בתכלית, וחלילה לה' שאומר שהם לא היו גומלי חסד ונותני צדקה, אלא זה העני אילו פשט ידו לקחת היו ממלאים ביתו זהב ומרגליות, אבל הוא לא היה עושה כן, אלא מסתפק במלאכה שיתפרנס ממנה, בין ברווח בין בדוחק, ובז למה שבידי בני אדם, הואיל והתורה מנעתו מזה. וכבר ידעת כי הלל הזקן היה חוטב, והיה חוטב עצים ולומד לפני שמעיה ואבטליון, והוא בתכלית העניות, ומעלתו - עד כי תלמידיו הם אשר הושוו למשה ויהושע, וקטן תלמידיו רבן יוחנן בן זכאי. ולא יסופק לבר דעת שאילו היה מסכים לקבל מבני דורו, לא היו מניחים אותו לחטוב עצים. וחנינה בן דוסא, אשר קול קורא עליו: "כל העולם כולו אינו ניזון אלא בשביל חנניה בני וחנניה בני דיו קב חרובין מערב שבת לערב שבת", ולא ביקש מבני אדם. וקרנא דיין בכל ארץ ישראל, והוא היה משקה שדות, וכשהיו באים בעלי הדין, היה אומר: או שתתנו לי מי שישקה במקומי כשאני מתעסק עמכם, או שתתנו לי שעור מה שאבטל מעבודתי, ואדון לכם. ולא היו ישראל בני דורם של אלו וזולתם לא אכזרים ולא שאינם גומלי חסדים, ולא מצאנו חכם מן החכמים שהיה מצבם דחוק שיגנה אנשי דורו שאינם מרחיבים לו, חלילה לה', אלא הם בעצמם היו חסידים, מאמינים באמת לעצמה, מאמינים בה' ובתורת משה, אשר בה הזכיה בעולם הבא, ולא יתירו לעצמם זה, ויסברו שהוא חלול השם אצל ההמון, לפי שהם יחשבו התורה למלאכה מן המלאכות אשר מתפרנסים בהן, ותתבזה אצלם, ויהיה עושה זה "דבר ה' בזה" +במדבר טו, לא+.

ואמנם טעות אלו המתגברים כנגד האמת והלשונות המפורשים, בלקיחת ממון בני אדם ברצונם או על כורחם - הן המעשיות אשר ימצאו בתלמוד באנשים בעלי מומים בגופותיהם, או זקנים באו בימים עד שלא יוכלו לעשות מלאכה, שאין תחבולה להם אלא לקחת, ואם לא - מה יעשו, הימותו? זה לא ציוותו התורה...

וכבר שמעתים, הניפתים, נתלים באומרם: "הרוצה להנות יהנה כאלישע, ושלא להנות אל יהנה כשמואל הרמתי". וזה אינו דומה לזה כלל, ואמנם זה אצלי סילוף ממי שמביא ראיה ממנו, הואיל והוא מבואר ואין בו מקום לטעות. כי אלישע לא היה מקבל ממון מבני אדם, כל שכן שלא היה מטיל עליהם ומחייבם בחוקים, חלילה לה' מזה, ואמנם היה מקבל הכיבוד בלבד, כגון שיארחו איש אחד, והוא בדרך, נוסע, וילון אצלו ויאכל אצלו בלילה ההוא או ביום, וילך לעסקיו. ושמואל לא היה נכנס בבית איש, ולא אוכל ממזונו. ובכגון זה אמרו החכמים, שתלמיד חכמים, אם רצה להדמות לזה, עד שלא יכנס אצל איש - יש לו לעשות כן, וכמו כן אם רצה להתארח אצל איש בהכרח נסיעה או כיוצא בה - יש לו לעשות כן. לפי שכבר הזהירו מן האכילה ללא הכרח, ואמרו: "כל תלמיד חכמים המרבה סעודותיו בכל מקום" וכו', ואמרו: "כל סעודה שאינה שלמצוה אסור לתלמיד חכמים להנות ממנה".

ולמה אאריך בזה הענין, אני אזכור המעשה אשר התבאר בתלמוד, והמתעקש יעשה כרצונו: היה איש שהיה לו כרם, והיו באים בו גנבים, וכל אשר היה פוקדו בכל יום, היה מוצא ענביו מתמעטים וחסרים, ולא היה לו ספק שאיש מן הגנבים שמהו מטרה. והיה מצטער מזה תמיד כל ימי הענבים, עד שבצר ממנו מה שבצר, ושטחו עד אשר יבש, ואסף הצמוקים. ומדרך בני אדם, שכאשר יאספו הפירות המיובשים, יפלו גרגרים מן התאנים והצמוקים, ומותר לאוכלם, מפני שהם הפקר, וכבר הניחום בעליהם למיעוטם. ובא ר' טרפון במקרה יום אחד לזה הכרם, וישב, והיה מלקט מן הצמוקים הנופלים ואוכלם. ובא בעל הכרם, וחשב שזה הוא אשר היה גונב ממנו כל השנה, ולא היה מכירו, אבל שמע שמו. ומיהר אליו ותפשו, והתגבר עליו, ושמהו בשק, ורץ עמו על גבו להשליכו בנהר. וכאשר ראה ר' טרפון עצמו אובד, צעק: "אוי לו לטרפון שזה הורגו". וכאשר שמע זה בעל הכרם, הניחו וברח, ליודעו כי חטא חטא גדול. והיה ר' טרפון בשארית ימיו מאותו היום דואב ומיליל על מה שארע לו, בהצילו נפשו בכבוד התורה, והוא היה בעל ממון, והיה יכול לומר לו: הניחני, ואני אשלם לך כך וכך דינרים, וישלם לו, ולא יודיעהו שהוא טרפון, ויציל נפשו בממונו, לא בתורה. אמרו: "כל ימיו שלאותו צדיק היה מצטער על דבר זה ואומר: אוי לי שנשתמשתי בכתרה שלתורה, שכל המשתמש בכתרה שלתורה נעקר מן העולם". ואמרו בזה: "משום דר' טרפון עשיר גדול הוה, והוה ליה לפיוסיה בדמים".

ופתח רבנו הקדוש, עליו השלום, אוצרות חיטה בשנת רעבון, ואמר: כל מי שרוצה לקחת פרנסתו יבוא ויקח פרנסתו, ובתנאי שיהיה תלמיד חכמים. ובא ר' יונתן בן עמרם ועמד לפניו, והוא אינו מכירו, ואמר לו: פרנסני, ואמר לו: באיזו גדר אתה מבחינת הלימוד? ואמר לו: פרנסני ככלב וכעורב, רצונו לומר: אפילו אין לי חכמה, וכמו שיפרנס ה' חיה טמאה ועוף טמא פרנסני, שאין עם הארץ פחות מהם. ונתן לו...

ואמנם הדבר אשר התירתו התורה לתלמידי חכמים הוא, שיתנו ממון לאדם, יעשה להם סחורה בו בבחירתו, אם ירצה - ועושה זה יש לו שכר על כך, וזה הוא מטיל מלאי לכיס תלמידי חכמים - ושתמכר סחורתם תחילה למה שיימכר, ותתפס להם ראשית השוק דוקא. אלו חוקים שקבע ה' להם, כמו שקבע המתנות לכהן והמעשרות ללוי, לפי מה שבאה בו הקבלה. כי שתי הפעולות האלה יש שיעשו אותן הסוחרים קצתם עם קצתם על דרך הכבוד, ואפילו לא היתה שם חכמה, ולכל הפחות יהיה תלמיד חכמים כמו עם ארץ מכובד. וכן פטרה התורה את כל תלמידי החכמים מחובות השלטון כולן, מן המיסים, והאכסניות, ומיסי הנפש, והם אשר יקראו כסף גולגלתא, יפרעום בעבורם הקהל, ובנין החומות וכיוצא בהן. ואפילו היה תלמיד החכמים בעל ממון רב לא יחוייב בדבר מזה. וכבר הורה בזה רבנא יוסף הלוי זצ"ל לאיש באנדלוס, שהיו לו גנות וכרמים שהיה מחוייב עבורם אלף דינרים, והורה לפוטרו מהמס, להיותו תלמיד חכמים, אף על פי שהיה משלם המס ההוא אפילו העני שביהודים. וזה דין תורה, כמו שפטרה התורה הכהנים ממחצית השקל, כמו שבארנו במקומו, ומה שדומה לזה.

Know that the mishnah already stated, “Do not make Torah into a blade with which to dig,” meaning, “Do not consider Torah a tool for support.” The text explained that anyone who benefits from the honor of Torah in this world is cutting off his soul from life in the next world.

People have hidden their eyes from this clear language, casting it after their bodies, relying on interpretations of passages they do not understand, but I will explain. They have placed laws upon individuals and communities, and they have turned the Torah’s positions into the law of tax collectors, and they have brought people to believe total foolishness, that it is necessary and mandatory for them to aid sages and students and people who are involved in Torah and whose trade is Torah.

All of this is in error, and there is nothing in Torah to validate it, and there is no leg upon which they could rely in any way. Were we to examine the chronicles of the sages of blessed memory, we would not find that they ever placed obligations upon people, or gathered money for the exalted and honored yeshivot, or for the exilarchs or judges or spreaders of Torah or appointed leaders or others.

In all of their communities there were people at the height of poverty and people at the height of wealth; Gd forbid to say that those wealthy people were not generous and were not philanthropic! Rather, had this pauper extended his hand they would have filled his house with gold and gems, but he did not do so. Rather, he survived with the work from which he was supported, whether with ease or under strain, and he disdained that which came by the hand of man, since the Torah prevented it.

You already know that Hillel the Elder was a woodchopper, chopping wood and studying before Shemayah and Avtalyon. He was at the height of poverty, and he was so great that his students were compared to Moshe and Yehoshua, and the least of his students was Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai! Let no intelligent person be in doubt that had Hillel agreed to receive from the people of his time, they would not have allowed him to chop wood…

In truth, the error of these people who rally opposite truth and opposite the clear expressions [of the law], taking people’s money with their agreement or against their will – these are deeds found in the gemara regarding men who are physically wounded, or elderly people who could no longer work, who had no means other than to take. Otherwise, what could they do? Should they die? This is not the Torah’s command…

I have already heard what the fools depend upon when they cite, “One who wishes to benefit may benefit like Elisha, and one who wishes not to benefit may not benefit like Shemuel haRamati.” But this is not relevant, and to me this is corruption for one who uses it as his proof, since the matter is clear and there is no room for error. Elisha did not accept money from people, and he certainly did not put upon them and obligate them in his portion. Gd forbid! He did accept the kibbud, that one would host him when he was travelling on the road, and he would stay there and eat that night or that day and then go about his business. And Shemuel did not enter anyone’s home or eat his food. Regarding this the sages said that Torah scholars who wish to imitate this, not to enter anyone’s home, may do so, and if they wish to be hosted by someone because of the needs of travel or similar needs they may do so. They were already careful not to eat when unnecessary, as it says, “A Torah scholar who increases his meals everywhere…” and “A Torah scholar may not benefit from a meal which is not a mitzvah meal.”

Why do I go on at length on this matter? I will mention the Talmudic account, and one who is stubborn will do as he wishes: A man had a vineyard, and thieves would enter it. Daily, he found the grapes reduced, and he was certain that thieves had targeted it. He was upset all through the season, until he finally harvested what he could collect, and he laid it out to dry, and he collected the raisins. Generally, when people gather dried fruit some of the figs and raisins fall away, and one may eat them for they are hefker, abandoned by their owners because they are few. R’ Tarfon happened by this vineyard one day, and he sat and collected the fallen raisins, and he ate them. The owner of the vineyard came, thought he was the thief and did not recognize him, although he knew the name of R’ Tarfon. He rushed to catch him, overpowered him, put him in a sack and rushed with R’ Tarfon on his back to throw him in the river. When R’ Tarfon saw he would be lost, he cried out, “Woe to Tarfon, that this man would kill him!” When the vineyard owner heard this, he put down R’ Tarfon and fled, knowing he had committed a great sin. And for the rest of his life, R’ Tarfon mourned and wailed for what had happened, that he had saved his life through the honor of Torah. He was a person of means, and he could have said, “Leave me be and I will pay you X dinar,” and he could have paid without letting the man know that he was Tarfon, and so he could have saved his life through his wealth rather than through Torah…

And Rabbeinu haKadosh opened stores of wheat during a famine and declared, “Any who wish to take their means may come and do so, if they are Torah scholars.” R’ Yonatan ben Amram stood before him, and Rabbeinu haKadosh did not recognize him, and he said, “Support me.” Rabbeinu haKadosh asked him, “What is your level of learning?” And he said, “Feed me as a dog or raven,” meaning, “Feed me even if I have no wisdom, just as Gd feeds non-kosher animals and birds, for an am ha’aretz is no worse than them.” And so Rabbeinu haKadosh fed him…

That which the Torah permitted for Torah scholars is that they may give a person money and have him engage in business of his choosing on their behalf. One who does this for them receives reward, and this is the meaning of, “putting merchandise into the wallet of Torah scholars.” Their merchandise is sold to whomever, and they receive the first of the market, specifically. These are the portions Gd established for the sages, just as He established gifts for the kohen and tithes for the levi, as is our tradition. Merchants already engage in these activities for each other, as a show of respect, even if there is no greater wisdom involved; let Torah scholars be no less than a respected am ha’aretz.

And the Torah also exempted Torah scholars from the obligations of the ruler, from taxes and billeting and head-taxes, which the community pays on their behalf, and the construction of walls and the like. Even a wealthy Torah scholar would not be obligated in this. Ravna Yosef haLevi aleady ruled thus for a man in Andalusia who owned gardens and vineyards which required [tax of] one thousand dinar, and he exempted the man from the tax because he was a Torah scholar, although even the poorest Jew paid that tax. This is the law of the Torah, just as it exempted kohanim from the half-shekel.

2. Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Talmud Torah 3:10-11

כל המשים על לבו שיעסוק בתורה ולא יעשה מלאכה ויתפרנס מן הצדקה הרי זה חלל את השם ובזה את התורה וכבה מאור הדת וגרם רעה לעצמו ונטל חייו מן העולם הבא, לפי שאסור ליהנות מדברי תורה בעולם הזה, אמרו חכמים כל הנהנה מדברי תורה נטל חייו מן העולם, ועוד צוו ואמרו אל תעשם עטרה להתגדל בהן ולא קרדום לחפור בהן, ועוד צוו ואמרו אהוב את המלאכה ושנא את הרבנות וכל תורה שאין עמה מלאכה סופה בטילה וגוררת עון, וסוף אדם זה שיהא מלסטם את הבריות.

מעלה גדולה היא למי שהוא מתפרנס ממעשה ידיו, ומדת חסידים הראשונים היא, ובזה זוכה לכל כבוד וטובה שבעולם הזה ולעולם הבא שנאמר יגיע כפיך כי תאכל אשריך וטוב לך אשריך בעולם הזה וטוב לך לעולם הבא שכולו טוב.

One who sets his goal to involve himself in Torah and not engage in work, and to be supported by tzedakah, desecrates Gd’s Name, disgraces the Torah, extinguishes the light of religion and causes evil for himself and removes his life from the next world, for one may not benefit from words of Torah in this world. The sages said: One who benefits from words of Torah removes his life from the world. They further instructed, “Do not make them a crown in which to be elevated or a blade with which to dig.” They further instructed, “Love work and hate authority,” and, “All Torah that does not include work with it will be nullified and will lead to sin, and in the end one will become a bandit.”

There is a great level in supporting one’s self with the work of one’s hands, and this was the trait of the early pious ones, and through this one merits all honor and goodness in this world and the next, as it is written, “When you eat the labor of your hands, you are fortunate and it is good for you.” You are fortunate in this world, and it is good for you in the next world, which is entirely good.

3. Tashbetz 1:142

לפי שראיתי הרבה בני אדם מגמגמין על מה שנהגו בכל קהלות ישראל בכל הדורות לתת פרס לחכמיהם ונתלים בזה במ"ש בזה הענין הרמב"ם ז"ל בפירושיו למסכ' אבות (פ"ד מ"ה) על כן אחקור בזה הענין כאשר יראוני מן השמים ומהגמ' וממקומות אחרים אם הדבר הזה רשות או מצוה או חובה או יש שם נדנוד עבירה ואני בטוח בכחן של ראשונים שנהגו לעצמן היתר בדבר זה שלא אכשל בדבר הלכה ושיתבררו ושיתלבנו הדברים בענין הספק הזה:

ואומר כי חובה על כל ישראל לפרנס דרך כבוד לחכמיהם ולדייניהם שתורתם אומנות' כדי שלא יצטרכו להתבטל ממלאכת שמים בשביל מלאכתם וכדי שלא יזדלזלו בפני עמי הארץ מפני עניים ושינהגו בהם כבוד ושורש דבר זה יוצא לנו מן התור' ע"פ מדרש חכמים. אמרו בפ"ק דיומא (י"ח ע"א) ובהוריות פ' כהן משיח (ט' ע"א) הכהן הגדול מאחיו שיהא גדול מאחיו בנוי ובכח ובחכמה ובעושר אחרים אומרי' מנין שאם אין לו שאחיו הכהנים מגדלין אותו ת"ל והכהן הגדול מאחיו גדלהו משל אחיו... וכן למדו מזה לתלמיד חכם שיכול ליטול מעצמו ממון שיתעשר בו ואין גנאי בדבר דאמרי' בפ' הזרוע (קל"ד ע"ב) ההוא שקא דדינרא דאתא לבי מדרשא קדים רבי אמי זכה ביה והיכי עביד הכי והתניא ונתן ולא שיטול מעצמו ואסיקנא אדם חשוב שאני ותני' והכהן הגדול מאחיו שיהא גדול מאחיו בכח ובנוי בעושר ובחכמה אחרים אומרי' מנין שאם אין לו שאחיו הכהנים מגדלין אותו שנא' והכהן הגדול מאחיו גדלהו משל אחיו. השוו בעלי הגמ' דין אדם חשוב שחייבין ישראל להעשירו לדין כ"ג. וכן מדת הדין נותנת מק"ו שהרי הוא קודם לכל דבר להחיות ולהשיב אבדה לכל אדם שהרי משנ' שלימה שנינו בפ' בתרא דהוריות (י"ג ע"א) כהן קודם ללוי לוי קודם לישראל וגו' אימתי בזמן שכל' שוים אבל אם הי' ממזר חכם וכ"ג עם הארץ ממזר ת"ח הוא קוד' לכ"ג ע"ה... ובפ' סדר תעניו /תעניות/ אלו (כ"א ע"א) במעשה דאלפא ור' יוחנן אמרינן התם מלך ר' יוחנן פי' שעשאוהו ראש ישיב' וכתב שם מאיר עיני הגולה רש"י ז"ל בלשון הזה מי שהוא ראש ישיבה היו נותנים לו הרבה כדאמרי' גבי הכהן הגדול מאחיו גדלהו משל אחיו עכ"ל ולפ"ז כשהיו פרנסי הדורות רואים ת"ח דדחיק להו עלמא טובא היו משתדלי' למנותם בראש כדי שיפרנסו' הצבור דרך כבוד כדאמרי' בהוריות פ' בתרא (י' ע"א) דר"ג ור' יהושע הוו קאזלי בספינתא בהדי רבי יהושע הוה פתא דסולתא בהדי ר"ג הוה פתא שלים פתא דר"ג סמך אסלתא דר"י א"ל מי הות ידעת דאית לך עכובא דאייתית נמי סולתא א"ל כוכב אחד יש שעולה לשבעים שנה ומתעה את הספנין אמרתי שמא יעלה ויתענו א"ל כ"כ יש בידך ואתה יורד לספינה אמר לו עד שאתה תמה עלי תמה על ב' תלמידים שיש לך ביבשה ר"א חסמא ור' אלעזר בן גדגדה שיודעים לשער כל טיפות שבים ואין להם פת לאכול ובגד ללבוש נתן דעתו להושיבם בראש כשעלה ליבשה שלח להם ולא באו חזר ושלח להם ובאו אמר להם כמדומין אתם ששרר' אני נותן לכם עבדות אני נותן לכם שנא' וידברו אליו לאמר אם היום הזה תהיה עבד לעם הזה ועבדתם. הרי שר"ג שהיה פרנסן של ישראל לפי שידע דחקן של ת"ח וכל אותו פלפול שלהם בכל אות' השיעורי' לא עמד להם לפרנס עצמם הושיבם בראש כדי שיגדלו' ישראל בעושר משלהם וכן פי' שם רש"י ז"ל והם לא רצו לקבל מפני חשש קבלת שררה עד שדרש להם ר"ג שאין להם לחוש ליוהרא מפני השררה כי אינ' אלא עבדות וכיון שאינה אלא עבדות ולא שררה יש להם לישב בראש כדי שיתפרנסו בכבוד כראוי להם ולפי שדבר זה מוטל על פרנסי הדורות אמר ר' יהושע לר"ג אוי לו לדור שאתה פרנסו שאי אתה יודע צערן של ת"ח במה הן מתפרנסין כדאיתא בפ' תפלת השחר (כ"ח ע"א) דמשמע התם דר' יהושע היה מתפרנס בדוחק ור"ג חזא אשייתא דביתי' דמשחרן א"ל מכותלי ביתך ניכר שפחמי אתה כלומר שעושה פחמין או נפח שאין שחרות הכותלים מדבר אחר ונראה שר' יהושע היה עושה מלאכתו בצנעה שהרי בפרהסיא היה אסור לו שהרי אב ב"ד היה כדאיתא התם (שם) וכדאיתא בפ' החובל שמנהגם היה שהנשיא היה ראש ישיבה וממנה תחתיו אב ב"ד לכל ישראל כדמוכח הת' בשלהי הוריות (י"ג ע"ב) וכיון שאב ב"ד היה לא היה אפשר לו לעשות מלאכה בפרהסיא כדאמרי' בפ' עשרה יוחסין (ע' ע"א) כיון שנתמנה אדם פרנס על הצבור אסור לו לעשות מלאכה בפני שלשה ופרש"י ז"ל שגנאי הוא לצבור שיהיו נצרכין לזה וכיון שבפרהסיא לא הי' עושה אלא בצנע' משום הכי לא היה יודע ר"ג שאומנותו פחמי שאם היה יודע חלילה לו לרבן גמליאל שלא היה משתדל עם הצבור לגדלו משלהם שהרי לרבי אלעזר בן חסמא ולר"א בן גדגדה... והרי דבר זה הרבה מפורש בתלמוד שהצבור חייבין להושיב בראש לחכמיה' כדי לפרנס' דרך כבוד ודבר זה מוטל על פרנסיהם ומנהיגיהם להתעסק בעניניה' עם הצבור ולא יוכל אדם לחלוק בזה כלל ואפי' התלמידים העוסקים בתורה כל ימיהם אע"פ שאינן ראשי ישיבות חייבין הצבור לפרנסם דרך כבודם כדאמרינן בפרק ואלו קשרים (קי"ד ע"א) איזהו ת"ח שבני עירו מצוין לעשו' מלאכתו כל שמניח עסקיו ועוסק בחפצי שמי' למאי נ"מ למיטרח לי' בריפתיה. ואמרי' ביומא (ע"ב ע"ב) ר' יוחנן רמי כתיב ועשית לך ארון עץ וכתיב ועשית ארון עצי שטים מכאן לת"ח שמצוון /שמצווין/ בני עירו לעשות מלאכתו. וכבר היתה להם קופה מיוחדת לקבץ בה ממון לחלק לתלמידי' לפרנסם דרך כבוד' כדמוכח בפ' הנזקין (ס' ע"ב) כדאיתא התם ההוא שיפורא דמעיקר' הוה בי רב יוסף ולבסוף בי רבה ולבסוף בי ר' יוסף ולבסוף בי אביי ולבסוף בי רבא. וראיתי בתשובה לר' שרירא גאון ז"ל שכ' שפירש שיפורא תיב' כמו י"ג שופרות דשקלים ואמר הגאון ז"ל שהיתה תיבה לקבץ בה ממון לחלק לתלמידי' ופירושו יותר נכון מפרש"י ז"ל שפי' שופר של תקיעות ערב שבת והביא הרב ז"ל ג"כ פי' הגאון ז"ל בפירושיו והוא הראוי לסמוך עליו שדברי הגאונים ז"ל קבלה הם והרי ענין זה נהוג בימי חכמי התלמוד ז"ל כפירוש קבלתנו ולמה יקשה עלינו זה והלא אפי' למלמדי תינוקות אמרי' בבתרא פ' השותפין דמסייע להו ממתא ולמה לא נלמוד ק"ו מזה לת"ח ואף לראשי הישיבות זה מצינו בתלמוד מפורש... ומצינו שבימות הגאונים ז"ל היתה קופה מיוחדת לישיבות משלחין מכל הקהלות ממון קצוב לראשי הישיבות ותלמידיהם. מצינו כתוב בס' רב עמרם גאון בתחלתו וז"ל שגר לפנינו רבנא יעקב בן רבנא יצחק כ' זהובים ששגרת לישיבה חמשה שלנו וחמשה עשר לקופה של ישיבה וצונו וברכנו אותך ברכות שיתקיימו בך ובזרעך ובזרע זרעך ע"כ ונרא' שרבנא יעקב כששגרם כך כתב לו בפי' שיתנו לו חמשה לראש ישיבה וט"ו לקופה שאל"כ אלא כך שלח שינתנו לראש ישיבה ולכל הישיבה מן הדין הי' יוכל /יכול/ רב עמרם ליקח עשרה זהובים וכמו שדרש ר"ע בפ"ק דע"ז (י' ע"ב) והיתה לאהרן ובניו מחצה לאהרן ומחצה לבניו ובפ"ק דיומא (י"ז ע"ב) איתה והכי קי"ל בפ' מי שמת (קמ"ג ע"א). אי נמי מנהג חסידות נהג בעצמו רב עמרם ז"ל שלא ליטול אלא חמשה זהובים אבל מ"מ מכאן נראה שמנהג הי' ג"כ בימות הגאונים ז"ל ליחד קופה של ישיבה וגם בימות האחרונים ז"ל מצינו זה המנהג מתפשט. וכתב הר' יהודה אלבר'גלוני ז"ל והביאן בספר החשן סי' ט' ונהגו ברוב מקומות לעשות לב"ד קופה שפוסקין מזון ב"ד ופרנסם לכמה עול' בשנה ומגבין אותו בתחלת השנה או בסופה ואין בזה משום תורת שוחד ותורת אגרא כי חוב' על כל ישראל לפרנס דייניהון וחכימיהון ע"כ. גם בדורות שלפנינו עד דורינו זה ראינו הדבר ממשמש והולך ומנהגן של ישראל תורה היא וכ"ש שהדברים מפורשים בתלמוד ובמדרשות ואין בדבר ספק ונר' שהחכם עצמו יכול לתבוע חלקו בפיו והכי מוכחא ההיא דרבי אמי דפ' הזרוע (קל"ד ע"ב) כדלעיל ואפי' למישרי תיגרא ברישא אמרינן בפ' קונם (ס"ב ע"א) דשרי לי' למימר צורבא מרבנן אנא שרי לי תגראי ברישא שנ' ובני דוד כהני' היו מה כהן נוטל חלק בראש דכתיב וקדשתו לכל דבר שבקדושה אף ת"ח נוטל חלק בראש כ"ש בדבר שיש בו חיי נפש וכבוד תורתו שיש לו לתבוע בפיו ואין בזה משום יהורא כלל. והנה נתבאר צד אחד של חיוב בענין הזה והוא שהצבור חייבין לפרנס חכמי דורם לפי כבודם וכבוד תורתם וזה דבר תורה:

Because I have seen many people hesitate regarding the practice of all Jewish communities, in all generations, of paying their sages, and in this they depend upon what the Rambam wrote in his commentary to Avot, therefore I will examine this issue as Heaven guides me, from gemara and other sources, to see whether this is permissible, mitzvah or obligatory, or whether it involves some element of sin. I am confident in the strength of the early authorities who customarily permitted this, so that I will not stumble in a matter of law, and all of the relevant issues will be cleansed and clarified.

I say that the Jewish people are obligated to support, with honor, their sages and judges whose livelihoods are their Torah, so that they will not need to cease their heavenly work for the sake of melachah, and so they will not be disgraced before amei ha’aretz because of their poverty, and so they will be treated with honor.

The root of this comes from Torah, as explained by the sages. They explained in Yoma 18a and Horiyyot 9a: “It is written, ‘The kohen who is greater than his brethren’ – He should be greater than his brethren in beauty, strength, knowledge and wealth. Others said: If he lacks this, then his brother kohanim elevate him, as it is written, ‘The kohen who is greater than his brethren’ – elevate him from that which belongs to his brethren.”… They also deduced from this passage that a Torah scholar may take money to enrich himself, and there is no disgrace in it, in Chullin 134b: “A sack of coins was brought to the beit midrash [for the students’ use]; R’ Ami took it first. How could he do this? Did we not learn, “‘And he shall give’ – And not that one should take [the gifts for the kohanim] for himself!”” And they answer, “An important person is different, as we learned, ‘The kohen who is greater’… The sages equated the law of an important person, whom Israel are obligated to enrich, with the law of a kohen gadol.

This is also logical, for he precedes others to be given life and to have his lost property restored to him, as it is learned (Horiyyot 13a), “Kohen precedes Levi, Levi precedes Yisrael… This is when all involved are equal, but a mamzer who is a Torah scholar precedes a kohen gadol who is an am ha’aretz.”…

And in Taanit 21a, the story of Ilfa and R’ Yochanan, they say that R’ Yochanan reigned, meaning he was made head of the yeshiva, and Rashi, who illuminates the eyes of the diaspora, explained thus: “They would give much to the one who was head of the yeshiva, as is seen regarding the kohen gadol…”

Because of this, when the leaders of the generations saw Torah scholars who were in tight straits, they appointed the scholars as leaders so that the community would support them in an honorable way, as is seen in Horiyyot 10a, “Rabban Gamliel and R’ Yehoshua were travelling on a boat. Rabban Gamliel had bread, R’ Yehoshua had flour. Rabban Gamliel’s bread was finished, and he depended on R’ Yehoshua’s flour. He said to R’ Yehoshua: Did you know we would take this long, that you brought flour? He replied: There is a star which ascends every seventy years, and it fools the sailors. I said, ‘Perhaps it might ascend and fool us.’ Rabban Gamliel said: You knew all this, and still you entered the boat?! He replied: Before you express shock at me, express shock at your two students on land, R’ Elazar Chisma and R’ Yochanan ben Gudgida, who can estimate the drops in the sea but who lack bread to eat and clothes to wear! Rabban Gamliel decided to appoint them at the head…”

And because this was a matter for the leaders of the generations, R’ Yehoshua said to Rabban Gamliel, ‘Woe to the generation you lead, for you do not know the pain of the Torah scholars, how they are supported,’ as is seen in Berachot 28a where it seems that R’ Yehoshua was narrowly supported, and Rabban Gamliel saw that the walls of his home were dark. Rabban Gamliel said, ‘From the walls of your home it seems you are a charcoaler,’ meaning that you make charcoal or you are a smith, for nothing else would blacken the walls. It appears that R’ Yehoshua performed his labors in private, for he was head of the Beit Din and he would have been prohibited from working in public… as Kiddushin 70a says that when one is appointed as leader, he may not engage in melachah before three people. Rashi there explained that it is disgraceful for the community if its leaders need to do this. So because he engaged in this in private and not in public, Rabban Gamliel did not know he was a charcoaler. Had Rabban Gamliel known, it would be a desecration to suggest that he would not have worked with the community to elevate R’ Yehoshua, given what he did for R’ Elazar Chisma and R’ Elazar ben Gudgida…

The gemara is explicit, then, that the community must establish their scholars at the head in order to support them in an honorable way. This obligation rests upon their leaders and directors to take care of matters for them with the community. None can disagree with this at all.

The community is even obligated to support students who learn Torah all of their days, even though they are not heads of yeshivot, as seen in Shabbat 114a, “Who are Torah scholars, such that the people of their city must perform their melachah? Any who leave their affairs and involve themselves in the needs of Heaven. What is the practical application of this? To work to provide bread for him.” And in Yoma 72b, “R’ Yochanan asked: It is written, ‘And you shall make an ark of wood for yourself,’ and, ‘And they shall make an ark of shittim wood!’ This teaches that the people of a Torah scholar’s city must perform his melachah.”

They had a box designated for collecting funds to distribute to students, to support them in an honorable manner, as is found in Gittin 60b, “The shipura was in the house of Rav Yehudah, then the house of Rabbah, then the house of Rav Yosef, then the house of Abbaye, then the house of Rava.” I saw a responsum of Rav Sherira Gaon stating that the shipura was a box, like the 13 shofarot used to collect half-shekalim, and this box was used to collect funds to distribute to the students. This seems more correct than Rashi’s explanation that it was the shofar used to blow [warnings] before Shabbat, and Rashi also cited the view of the Gaon in his commentary, and upon this we should depend for the words of the Gaonim are received tradition. This practice dates back to the Talmud.

And why should this be difficult for us – even teachers of children, per Bava Batra 21a, were helped by the city, so why should we not deduce logically to a Torah scholar?...

We have found that in the days of the Gaonim they had a collection box designated for the yeshivot, and they sent it to all communities to provide a fixed amount for the heads of the yeshivot and their students. We found recorded in the siddur of Rav Amram Gaon, at the start, “Ravna Yaakov ben Ravna Yitzchak sent us twenty gold coins which you sent to the yeshiva; five are ours, and fifteen went to the yeshiva’s box. We have instructed and blessed you with enduring blessings, for you and your children and your children’s children.” It appears that Ravna Yaakov must have written to him to give five to the head of the yeshiva and fifteen to the general box, for [had he not specified this,] Rav Amram could have taken ten for himself, as R’ Akiva taught (Avodah Zarah 10b), “‘And it shall be for Aharon and his sons’ – half for Aharon and half for his sons.”… Alternatively, perhaps Rav Amram acted with extra piety. In any case, we see that the custom in Gaonic times was to designate a box for the yeshiva.

We also found this common practice in the days of later ones. Rav Yehuda Albergeloni (11^th century Spain, aka Al-Barceloni), cited in (Tur) Choshen Mishpat 9, wrote, “In most places the practice is to prepare a box for the beit din, to provide food and support them annually. They collect it in the start of the year or its end. There is no issue of bribery or payment, for all Israel are obligated to support their judges and sages.”

Also, in the generations before us, until our own day, we saw this practice continue, and the practice of Israel is Torah, certainly when it is explicit in Talmud and midrash, and there is no doubt in the matter.

It appears that a sage may even demand his portion verbally, as is seen in the case of R’ Ami cited earlier.

Kollel Vacation

Revelation: I am not good at everything. Among the things I don’t do well: Vacation.

I’ve known about this problem for a long time; almost two years ago, I posted here about my inadequate vacation skills. That was okay, though; since there was no local substitute to teach the Daf Yomi, not to mention to run the halachic aspects of the vaad hakashrut, eruv, mikvah, and so on, my inability to properly vacate dovetailed nicely with the requirements of my pulpit.

But with my transition to running a kollel, I thought I might manage to ratchet it down a bit during the month of summer bein hazemanim. [See also my post on vacations from this past Pesach.]

So far this year, no such luck; the learning and administration are still going at full steam, and then some.

Part of that is practical – I still have some shiur responsibilities, and I have a few articles to write. I’m also working on setting things up for next year, upgrading our website, modifying budget, meeting with people, answering email, keeping track of office and personnel issues and so on.

But another part of it is the guilt that comes with stepping back. You’re a Rosh Kollel, for goodness sake – how can you stop learning? (Well, a Rosh Beit Midrash, by title, but we’ll skip the nuance for now.) Are you not supposed to be תורתו אומנתו, immersed in Torah as your lifeblood around the clock? Don't you breathe, eat and sleep Torah? Since when does Torah take a vacation, pal?

Yes, I know that taking a break is healthy in the long run, that human beings need to breathe, etc. I’m not intellectually opposed to the idea of closing a sefer to pause and regenerate. And I see the effect – poor judgment, slow emotional reflexes – when I don’t take a break. But it’s hard to carry this out.

The solution: Israel. Gd-willing, and through the wonderful kindness of babysitting relatives, the Rebbetzin’s Husband’s Rebbetzin and I will spend 11 days in the greatest place on Earth.

Of course, I’ll still be Net-connected, and there will still be some work to do. I’ll have my sefarim with me. But we’re planning a full travel schedule that will keep me away from the computer (No Blackberry! Hooray!), and the time difference between Israel and Toronto will further slow communication. A vacation will be had, by gum.

Last note: This will not, of course, keep me from blogging. A guy’s got to have priorities, you know.

Did you see My Central Park?

I found two silver hairs in my beard a couple of weeks ago, a discovery which has unnerved me considerably. Certainly, I’ve been gaining Reed Richards silver at the temples for a year or more, but beard silver – all right, beard gray – seems somehow older to me. And I can’t write these hairs off to my vitiligo, either. I feel like a disqualified parah adumah.

I informed my family on my last birthday that I have decided to start subtracting years rather than adding them, but my body seems to have missed the memo.

On the whole, I shouldn’t complain. Thank Gd a million million times over, I can lift more weight now than at any time since college and I carry my kids all over the place, I am free of chronic illness, I have no bald spot and my hairline hasn’t receded (much). All the same, I can feel the age coming on.

And going to Central Park yesterday added to that feeling, when I realized that despite going to high school in Manhattan, and dorming in Manhattan for college and semichah, I’d almost never been to Central Park. I saw Belvedere Castle and the Great Lawn for the first time yesterday. It was great to see it through my children’s eyes, but it also made me ponder the things I’ve been missing – and what else I risk missing, as time flies and the "silver" accumulates.

We lived in Rhode Island for four years, and other than two trips to Plymouth, one trip through New Hampshire and Vermont and frequent trips to Conimicut and to a small Massachusetts town the name of which I can’t remember, we didn’t really do any sight-seeing. This also despite the fact that my Rebbetzin commuted almost daily to Cambridge for two of those years.

We lived in eastern Pennslyvania for eight years, and other than a trip with my kids to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, a trip to a craft fair in Effort, a trip to Bushkill Falls and one trip to Hershey, again, we didn’t really travel. Not to Jim Thorpe, not to the local caves, not to Philadelphia, not anywhere.

And now we’re in Toronto, in a country that prides itself for its outdoors, and again we have no plan to actually see anything.

Why? Because I consistently create a work schedule that doesn’t allow for trips, which is all the more true now that I am on a kollel schedule. And because I get antsy when I'm actually travelling. And because I feel guilty for stepping out.

But from a religious perspective, my trip to Central Park reminded me of the line attributed to Rabbiner Samson Raphael Hirsch, that Gd will ask us one day, “Did you see My Alps?” And from a secular perspective, I watch the silver grow and spread and I don’t want to miss things because of the assumption that they will always be there for me, since, clearly, they won’t.

Time to start making a list of things to see in Canada…

Personalize your auto-reply message

Back from the most walking-intensive day I've had in some time. We took the kids to Central Park, which was filled with enough Pesach tourists for a variation of Will Smith's Men in Black improvisation: "It just be rainin' Jewish people in New York!". We worked our way from the southern entrance up to the Great Lawn, with lots of rock-climbing, etc. along the way. I have more to post about this, and possibly will tonight or tomorrow.

Returning home, I found a bunch of messages from people who appreciated my email auto-reply.

To explain: I've always disliked cold auto-reply messages - "I will be out of the office from X to Y, if you need to reach me, etc." When I was a shul rabbi, I had a pretty austere auto-reply, and I included lots of clutter, too - "For minyan times, for mikvah appointments, for hospitality in the area, for emergencies..." But I'm rebelling now. Granted that I have a [cough] image to uphold within my public position, there still must be ways to be a human being.

So this time I decided to go with something a little more friendly, but still sober enough that I don't appear to actually have a sense of humor:

Hi,

Thanks for your email.

Sorry to be impersonal, but this is an automatic reply sent by a machine that cannot tell the difference between Spam, listserv messages, shailos and personal messages. I have not read your email yet.

I expect to be travelling from Sunday March 28 through Thursday April 8. I should have email access, but since I will be untethered from my Blackberry (!), my reading and replies may not be rapid. Rest assured, I do feel guilty for that. But let's move on.

If this is an emergency, please log off and phone 911 (or check out a neat on-line 911 system that was never implemented, here). To reach me immediately, please call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

And now to you: What would you do to personalize your auto-reply, without shocking innocent people who just want to communicate with the Rosh Kollel shli"ta?

Advertising Idiocy

With lots of time in the car these days, I’ve become more sensitive to radio advertising styles. I’ve noticed that in addition to the traditional spokesman model – “I use this product and I’m attractive/smart/succesful/cool, so you should use it too” – there is also a reverse model, and it's all over the place.

It goes: “I don’t use this product and I’m completely un-cool; only an entirely senseless person would fail to use this product.”

Examples:
• Scotia Bank’s “I-Trade” service features Bill, whose RRSP [retirement account] “died” because he failed to switch to I-Trade;

• A television product features a husband who forgets to record 30 Rock and is miserable ["Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!"], because he didn’t use the auto-recording product;

• Another financial services company features a man who childishly refuses to look at his retirement account statements [“Not gonna look, not gonna look, look, look, look”] and so misses important information;

• A restaurant advertises its “Kids’ Fun Pack” that comes with every kids’ meal, featuring an adult male who throws a tantrum because he really, really wants one [“I want one. I want one! I - want - one!!”];

• Ads for Certified Accountants feature CEOs who make their key business decisions by spinning a Wheel of Fortune or reading a fortune cookie.

Interesting, too, that all of them are males. Wonder what to make of that; is someone afraid of a lawsuit by women's groups?

In any case, I find the model truly annoying.

Although, on the other hand, we do the same thing in Torah. We play up the foolishness of our enemies:

Pharaoh - “Gd swore not to flood the world, therefore He can’t drown us!”;

Bilam - Dumber than his donkey; and

Haman - “Moshe died in Adar, so it must be a bad month for the Jews,” ignoring that Moshe was also born in this month,

are all played for mocking laughs.

This, by the way, is not to be confused with a third advertising method: The Foolish Announcer. As in the Budweiser “Real Men of Genius” ads, and the Subaru commercials with “Completely Biased Car Advice.” [“Rhymes with TOO-bah-roo.”] Those, I enjoy.

[Side note: Had two odd, mixed-feelings “homecomings” yesterday.

First, I went to the US Consulate to renew my passport. Felt like a member of a VIP club, as I was taken to the front of the line, then around another line, then up to an upper floor which looked much nicer than the area below. And as much as I long for aliyah, there was a definite warmth that came with seeing the Stars and Stripes out front.

Second, I went to a funeral for the relative of a friend. I had not been to a funeral in six or seven months, my longest stretch since 1997. Beneath the grief, and beneath feeling bad for the rabbi (two in one day for him; I had that two or three times over the years, and it’s rough), was a lurking feeling of ‘Home.’ Pretty grotesque, huh?

Oh, and an ‘O Canada’ item – Heard a commercial for Casinorama this morning, advertising that “The New Kids on the Block have been around the world, and now they’re coming home” to Toronto. I had no idea I was living in the home of the New Kids on the Block. That would have given me serious reason to think twice before moving here…]

Ten Signs of an ex-Shul Rabbi

[This week's Toronto Torah is here!]

Almost five months in, I'm finding some benefits in retirement. I still miss some aspects of the shul rabbinate, but I am finding time to work on WebShas, I am able to drive carpool in the mornings, and I'm able to devote serious time to creating shiurim that are deeper as well as broader than ever before.

Here's an interesting find: I've come to believe that, in some sense, I will always be a shul rabbi. Many aspects of the rabbinate have just stuck with me. All of the following have happened to me in my months since leaving the shul rabbinate; I think of them as Ten Signs that you are an ex-Shul Rabbi:

10. You feel bad about stepping out to talk to someone during the rabbi's dvar torah between minchah and maariv [but at least you step out...];

9. You naturally assume that people want your advice on matters public and personal;

8. Months before Purim, you start thinking about what costume to wear (see here and here);

7. The sight of Thursday on the calendar strikes unspeakable terror into your heart;

6. You shush the people around you when the rabbi starts his derashah;

5. You unconsciously refer to the president of the shul in which you daven as My president;

4. You blurt "Kaddish!" at the end of Aleinu before you can restrain yourself;

3. You feel a natural obligation to send Mishloach Manot to everyone in the shul;

2. You instinctively look around to make sure that everyone has a seat and food at shul dinners;

1. You walk into your kitchen, see a pot of eggs boiling on the stove, and automatically ask, "Who died?" [Community rabbi/rebbetzins often prepare the seudat havraah - post-funeral meal - of bread and eggs for mourners.]

If you scored more than 7 out of 10, you, too, were once a shul rabbi, whether in this life or another...

Natan Sharansky’s Aliyah

Mother in Israel has this week’s Haveil Havalim out here, and she mentions Russian olim to Israel:

When we arrived in the early 90’s, large numbers of educated immigrants from the former Soviet Union had difficulty finding employment. In light of this, an Israeli satire show had a skit about a Russian speaker cleaning the streets. An Israeli comes over to him and says, “In Russia, you were a doctor. How come you’re sweeping streets?” The immigrant replies, “Protektzia.“

I was going to post about something else tonight, but with that lead I had to mention that this morning I sat in shul with my kids and was privileged to watch Natan Sharansky be oleh to the Torah.

[As someone observed to me this morning, one of the perks of being part of our Toronto Beit Midrash is that the world’s Jewish leaders come here. It’s true, and it definitely adds to the experience of our avrechim. Last week it was R’ Mordechai Greenberg, Rosh Yeshiva at Kerem b’Yavneh. Next week it will be R’ Chaim Druckman, Gd-willing. This morning was Mr. Sharansky.]

I turned to my older son after Mr. Sharansky’s aliyah and told him, “When I was younger than you are now, I went to rallies to free him from a Soviet prison. Now I can hear him make a berachah on kriat hatorah!”

Of course, that necessitated an explanation of what the Soviet Union was, and why they imprisoned Jews, etc. Similarly, this afternoon I heard one collegiate describe Sharansky as, “A big Israeli.” The whole “Let My People Go” movement is an historical footnote now.

After davening, Mr. Sharansky delivered a dvar torah on ויותר יעקב לבדו. He riffed on ויותר (as in ויותר יעקב לבדו – Bereishit 36:25 – “Yaakov remained alone”) as a word associated with being מוותר, to forgive one’s rights. After apologizing for what is clearly a homiletic, he made the point that עשו always expects the Jew to be מוותר, to give up element after element of what makes him special, what makes him a Jew. Yaakov, indeed, was willing to give up much, sending Esav a gift, calling Esav “my master,” etc. But the world always wants more; the world always wants the Jew to be מוותר on piece after piece, until nothing is left.

Mr. Sharansky applied the theme to peace talks and Israel, as well; despite all sorts of offers, the bottom line for the world is that Israel cease to exist as a Jewish state. But like Yaakov, and like the Jew in a Soviet prison, Israel will not find success by granting that request. Survival, and a thriving future, will come when the Jew stands firm in the declaration that on some things we simply cannot be מוותר.

A simple lesson, to refuse to be מוותר, and a dvar torah anyone could have given – but coming from someone who lived it, the message meant much more.