The s תורה Guide to Answering the Question: Sarah Weinerman In ancient days, Jews were forced to choose from a limited number of professions. Our forefathers were shepherds and farmers because those were the only occupations feasible for them. In the Middle Ages, Jews were prohibited from owning land and slaves, and therefore turned to money lending and banking. Nowadays, however, we have almost endless options for careers. With the freedom to choose any job comes the desire to choose the right job. We want to make the right decisions, based on what the תורה wants from us. What does the תורה say about the profession we should choose? One common opinion claims that those who are most dedicating to observing תורה become Judaic studies teachers, while those who are less dedicated turn to other professions. Is this in fact what the תורה teaches? The first place to look for answers to these questions is obviously the תורה itself. בראשית ב : טו emphasizes the need to be involved in.ויקח ה אלקים את האדם וינחהו בגן עדן לעבדה ולשמרה endeavors: constructive,(שמות כ :ט ( ששת ימים תעבד ועשית כל מלאכתך commands, תורה Similarly, the emphasizing the human need to work for material needs. The משנה in אהוב את states, also highlights the importance of work, when it אבות א :י מגן אבות א:י ( רשב "ץ addition, In.המלאכה ושנא את הרבנות שבת) מרדכי ) and 1 to work and be involved in constructive מצוה hold that there is a (א:רנח activities. Clearly, תורה values productive labor. But the question still remains: what jobs does the תורה prefer? a pattern which,(ב :ד ( shepherd became a,בראשית early in,הבל continued through the יוסף.אבות instructed his brothers to tell פרעה that.(בראשית מו : לב ( shepherds they, along with their forefathers, were always However, יוסף provided an added insight. He told his brothers to say this because Egyptians, who deified sheep, despised shepherds. Hence, בני continuing to work as shepherds would prevent the Egyptians and Apparently, when choosing a.(רש "י בראשית מו:לד ( intermingling from ישראל 1 Cited in R. Yehudah Levi, Torah Study: A Survey of Classic Sources on Timely Issues, Jerusalem and New York, 2002, p. 7, n. 50. 99
job, one must take into account how the job will affect the maintenance.מצוות of the Jewish people and its commitment to The תורה itself mentions מצוות that pertain to many occupations. For example, the תורה prohibits charging interest to Jews, and requires fair weights and measures. However, the career which the תורה regulates most extensively is agriculture, reflecting the fact that Jewish society was agriculturally-based for many generations. There were elders who studies תורה and judged disputes, but most of the population worked in the fields. At the time of the,גמרא rabbis spent much of their time studying and discussing,תורה but they generally held jobs through which they.(יומא לה ע "ב ( chopper was a wood הלל הזקן example, For.פרנסה earned a Later on in history, רמב "ם wrote his major works of תורה scholarship while practicing as a doctor. "י,רמב "ן,רש and many other ראשונים did not.תורה earn their incomes from In fact, according to many sources, one is not permitted to get paid רבי אליעזר בר ר צדוק states נדרים סב ע "א in גמרא The.תורה to learn or teach Do not make. אומר...אל תעשם עטרה להתגדל בהם ואל תעשם קרדום להיות עודר בו words of תורה a crown for self-glorification nor a shovel with which to dig. The ד) משנה אבות (פרק adds to this idea, quoting,הלל who says, He who ודישתמש בתגא חלף הא למדת כל הנהנה מדברי תורה נוטל חייו מן העולם exploits the crown [of תורה for personal benefit] shall fade away. From this you derive that whoever seeks personal benefit from the words of cites the נדרים לז ע "א in גמרא removes his life from the world. The תורה ראה למדתי אתכם חוקים states, it דברים ד :ה textual basis for this law. In. Just מה אני בחנם אף אתם נמי בחנם explains, גמרא. The ומשפטים כאשר צוני ה as משה taught us תורה without receiving payment, so too we must teach one may,הלכה למעשה that, argues ה( לכות תלמוד תורה ג :י ( רמב "ם free. for תורה not be paid to study.תורה These sources do not advocate using תורה as a profession; one should make תורה learning the primary focus, while having a career to earn a living. בראשית רבה צט :ט direction. sources point in another תורה Yet, other says, זבלון עוסק במסחר ויששכר עוסק בתורה, וזבלון בא ומאכילו. היה The two brothers had a special relationship in which זבלון did business and supported,יששכר who spent his time learning.תורה However, this.בני ישראל arrangement was not common practice among the rest of רבי נהוראי אומר מניח אני כל אומנות בעולם says, קדושין פב ע "א in גמרא The Seemingly, his opinion is that one should forgo.ואיני מלמד את בני אלא תורה teaching one s son a trade, and teach him only.תורה However, as the ר מאיר is in fact the same person as ר נהוראי explains, עירובין יג ע "ב in גמרא (their names both mean light), who had just stated that a person is 100
ר מאיר obligated to teach his son a trade. Perhaps, the first statement of refers to the general public, who should learn a trade. His second statement, might refer specifically to his son, who showed special.גדול בתורה potential to be a great s רמב ם expresses a similar idea. We have already seen רמב ם conviction that one may not gain personal financial benefit from כל איש ואיש... אשר נדבה writes, he הלכות שמיטה ויובל יג : יג Yet in.תורה teaching רוחו אותו והבינה מדעו להבדל לעמוד לפני ה לשרתו ולעבדו...ופרק מעל צוארו עול It is praiseworthy for a person. החשבונות הרבים...הרי זה נתקדש קדש קדשים... to put complete faith in ה and devotes all of his time to learning.תורה It seems likely that these apparently contradictory statements differentiate between the general public and the unique individual. This notion is supported by החיים s נפש interpretation of the גמרא in a) דרך ארץ with תורה states that one needs רבי ישמעאל.ברכות לה ע "ב profession), while רבי שמעון בן יוחי says one needs only אביי.תורה states, (א :ח ( נפש החיים.הרבה עשו כרבי ישמעאל ועלתה בידן, כר שמעון בן יוחי ולא עלתה בידן explains the importance of the word. הרבה Many failed when following but certain individuals succeeded. Although the masses,רבי שמעון בן יוחי are not fit to learn exclusively and neglect a career, a יחיד who is capable of dedicating himself exclusively to תורה study may do so. The debate over this topic continues in רבן גמליאל.ברכות כח ע "א went to יהושע s רבי house. He told רבי יהושע that he saw from the blackness of the walls of his house that he is a blacksmith. רבי יהושע responded in אוי לו לדור שאתה פרנסו שאי אתה יודע בצערן של תלמידי חכמים במה הם anger, expresses the plight of the working רבי יהושע.מתפרנסים ובמה הם נזונים while working תורה It is difficult to be engrossed in studying.תלמיד חכם for a.פרנסה However, יהושע s רבי concern goes far beyond the individual s dilemma. When he says, לו לדור שאתה פרנסו,אוי he conveys his fear for the welfare of a community when the leadership does not understand the importance and difficulty of work. A leader who does not understand the complex situation of the working תלמיד חכם cannot be an effective leader. Until now, we have been under the assumption that one is not permitted to earn an income from studying or teaching.תורה Nowadays, הלכות תלמוד תורה ג :י on כסף משנה different. is somewhat הלכה however, the applies the general principle of לעשות לה הפרו תורתך. עת At times, one תורה in order to save it. In contemporary society, if תורה must violate the teachers were not paid they would not have the time to teach. שולחן ערוך.חס ושלום time, would disappear over תורה Consequently, the teachers not for teaching, but for תורה explains that we pay (יו "ד רמו :ה ( their time, which could have been spent on earning a living. One cannot 101
pay someone for the teaching he does in his free time, but one can pay היתר him if his teaching prevents him from taking another job. This is the which תורה teachers rely on nowadays. Given that today it is permitted to take a salary for the time spent teaching,תורה is it better to teach תורה than to be a doctor or other סנהדרין in גמרא value? The תורה profession? Which occupations does the says that a dice player (gambler) is disqualified from giving כב ע "ב testimony in court. One reason given is עוסק בישובו של עולם, אינו he is not involved in constructive activity. רמב ם in הלכות גזילה ו : אי follows this explanation. We learn from this גמרא that one s career should contribute positively to the world. Yet, this is too broad to provide specific guidance to any given individual. The גמרא in שבת קנו explains that if one is born under the ר blood. astrological sign of Mars he will have a natural tendency toward.מוהל explains that this will lead him to be a doctor, thief, butcher, or אשי Each person must account for his or her unique personality traits, talents, and abilities, and select a career that will makes the best use of them (though obviously butcher is preferable to thief). The תורה teaches that each person is a vital piece of the world at large. Each person, as a unique individual, must contribute to the world in the best way that he or she can. The specific profession a person should choose will depend on his personality and talents. Yet, based on the opinions of רמב ם and נהוראי,ר it seems that תורה someone who has unique potential to be successful in the area of should place particular focus on learning and teaching.תורה Perhaps we הלכה The.צדקה can compare priority in career choice to priority in giving dictates that one must first give aid to the Jewish community before (.שולחן ערוך יו "ד רנא :ג ( society offering one s money to the non-jewish Perhaps one should also give priority to a career that contributes to the Jewish community. Although one can contribute to Jewish society in many different ways, one can have a great impact on the future of the Jewish people by being a successful תורה teacher. Rav Aharon Lichtenstein has been quoted as saying that nowadays, when students need positive role models and good teachers of,תורה whoever has the inclination and talents should become a Judaic studies teacher. At a time when the תורה world needs help, we should place our focus there. One never knows how much he can contribute to the Jewish העמק book, s נצי first "ב celebrating the completion of סיום people. At a he taught an important lesson. When he was a child, he overheard,שאלה his father crying while discussing with his mother that their son was not תלמיד חכם succeeding in his learning. Their hopes for him to become a 102
נצי ב trade. were over, and they would have to teach him to a immediately ran into the room and begged them for another chance to be serious. Over time, he became a deeply influential חכם,תלמיד author, and נצי "ב.ראש ישיבה explained that had he not focused seriously on his learning, he would have grown up to be a shoemaker, tailor, or carpenter. When he would go to,שמים he would expect ה to,מצוות congratulate him for being an honest businessman, keeping the and learning תורה on the side. However, ה would ask him, Where is the could have lived a נצי ב write? 1 that you were supposed to העמק שאלה simple, honest life as a shoemaker, but he chose to use all of his potential to teach,תורה both to his own generation and, through his writings, to future generations as well. Taking all of these points into consideration, how should one choose a career? The תורה does not prefer specific productive professions over other productive ones. Ideally, one is not supposed gain income from.תורה One s profession should enhance, not detract from, Jewish commitment to.מצוות Each person should put his individual abilities to the best use, and work in a profession that contributes positively to של עולם.ישובו In general one should put a primary focus on how one can help the Jewish people, either of today or future generations. This task is easier in Israel in many ways, because any constructive job contributes to Jewish society and benefits ישראל.עם Still, we learn from יששכר and זבלון that no matter what career one has, one should support the learning of.תורה Jewish mothers can still proudly boast, My son the doctor... but only if that is where the child s abilities can best be put to use. 1 Paysach J. Krohn, The Maggid Speaks, Brooklyn, 1989, p. 117-119. 103
104