[Avodah] Torah Study vs. other contributions to society

[Arie Folger]

Dear Ovedim,

While I have followed the thread on "Torah Study vs. other contributions to 
society" with great interest, I have refrained from posting in this matter. I 
just care to make a little comment and go back to lurking:

As posters on this thread have shown, there are multiple angles from which to 
analyze this matter, we may consider what to do besh'at hatzorekh, as well as 
whether one should lekhat'hillah interrupt his learning, assuming that he is 
learning full time, indeed.

One particular angle that I didn't see enter the discussion, and which is in 
fact relevant, is that we ought to distinguish between one who has unlimited 
resources available, and one who, like most of us, will one day need to fend 
for his family. In fact, we only discussed the first case and didn't even ask 
where the resources come from (a functioning, almost self managing business, 
inheritance, retirement savings, rich parents and/or in laws, the government, 
having a meshulla'h going begging, begging personally, ...).

It might be interesting to explore whether the mere fact that, all else being 
provoded for, sitting and learning is preferable for the sitzfleisch-enabled, 
whether that implies that supporting such a person takes precedence over 
supporting, say, an oncology department at Laniado, Sha'arei Tzedek, etc. Or, 
perhaps the preference does not extend to having a priority claim on funding, 
as the mitzvah is to learn, not necessarily to pay someone to learn. I do not 
mean to imply that we should question the praiseworthiness of 
Yisakhar-Zevulun relationships, but rather to question whether such 
relationships are obligatory for the philantropist, whether they take 
precedence over other community needs, or not. In fact, we can even compare 
and contrast a Yisakhar-Zevulun relationship with the loss the extra need for 
funds implies in one's own time available for one's own learning.

Having made my remark and asked my questions, I shall watch with great 
interest what our illustrious Ovedim will argue.

Kol tuv,
-- 
Arie Folger
http://www.ariefolger.googlepages.com