[Avodah] Torah Study vs. other contributions to society

[Samuel Svarc]

>From: "Rich, Joel" <JRich at sibson.com>
>Subject: Re: [Avodah] Torah Study vs. other contributions to society
>
>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.......

I'm sorry, I'm not following you here. Could you please rephrase?

>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?
>
>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.
>
>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.

As far as I now, they don't. It takes a lot to give up a career, etc., and
start to learn full time (even if everything else would let him). There is
no chiyuv to do this, so although Hashem would prefer this, learning full
time, over the alternatives, RY, being perceptive people, don't advise this
for people who, realistically speaking, can't do this.

KT,
MSS