[Avodah] Torah Study vs. other contributions to society

[Rich, Joel]

ME-OLD
>Is it correct that lshitatcha society has nothing to say in this 
>decision and we assume that the unseen hand of the marketplace(HKB"H in
>disguise) will allocate the proper resources so that the sick are 
>healed, the dead are buried...
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MSS-Response

I don't see where "society" comes into this. There are explicit
halacha's that deal with this, and one is supposed to make burial
society's etc. If the only people available to do this are people
learning (a far-fetched occurrence, which even in Lakewood - the town
that most probably has the highest percentage of full time learners -
this doesn't occur...), then they are the ones who need to take care of
this, "Society" doesn't enter the picture.
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Me-New
Society doesn't necessarily come into it but in your "far fetched"
example who decides who stays in the beit medrash and who goes out to
bury the dead?   IIRC there's a gemara like this that doesn't look to
favorably on those who hesitate (but I may be making it up)  Who decides
whether to tax people to build a hospital or let infant mortality
increase because of lack of resources because no doctors are
available.......
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ME- OLD->Put another way do Roshei Yeshiva have an ethical
responsibility to 
>tell their major donors that HKB"H would prefer on a micro basis if 
>they quit doing surgery and started learning full time?
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MSS- Response
If they are capable of this - learning full time - most definitely. I
know of at least one case where R' Ahron Kotler did that.

KT,
MSS
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ME-NEW
I have not heard of two many cases such as this and we're talking about
professionals who have the ability - so I would assume (but am willing
to be disproven) that the R"Y do not advise this as a matter of course.
KT
Joel Rich
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