[Avodah] Who is a Talmid Chacham

[Chana Luntz]

RMB writes:

>I find it interesting that WRT to kibud, it depends what he knows (shaqla
vetarya, mar'eh meqomos be'al peh in chumash, shas and ge'onim), not time or
>even effort. This makes a distinction between the measure of the mitzvah,
which AIUI is ameilus, and how we measure kibud-worthiness.
>Someone with an edietic memory gets more kibud for less work.

>I also find it interesting that it is WRT taxes, a financial issue, that
the Rama focuses on torasam umenasan -- those whose "job" is Torah, a
different >criterion.

>But nidon didan is neither, it's the draft.

I half wondered if I should have given more background, in particular the
Shulchan Aruch that the Rema was commenting on, and this comment makes it
clear that I should have, so here it is:

שולחן ערוך יורה דעה הלכות כבוד רבו ותלמיד חכם סימן רמג סעיף א

תלמידי חכמים לא היו יוצאין בעצמם עם שאר העם לעשות בבנין ובחפירות העיר וכיוצא
בזה, שלא יתבזו בפני עמי הארץ, א] וכיון שהם פטורים אפילו אחרים במקומם אין
שוכרין. 
  

That is, in the first si'if of this siman, the Shulchan Aruch rules that
Talmidei Chachamim do not go out by themselves with the rest of the people
to making buildings and wells and similar in the city that they should not
be disgraced in front of the amei ha'aretz, since they are exempt, and they
are not even required to hire others in their place.

Then we get into si'if 2:

במה דברים אמורים, כשכל אדם יוצא בעצמו. אבל אם אין יוצאין בעצמם, אלא שוכרים
אחרים במקומם או גובים ממון מבני העיר לעשותו, אם דבר שצריך לחיי האדם כגון
בארות מים וכיוצא בהם, חייבים לתת חלקם

In si'if 2 the Shulchan Aruch clarifies though that this is where people
themselves physically do the work, but if people hire others to do it, or
collect money from the people of the city to do it, if it is something that
the life of people need, like water and similar, even Talmidei Chachamim are
obligated to give their share.

The Rema then has a piece, what if originally each person was contributing
his own labour, and then they switched to hiring? And answer that even so
then the Talmid Chacham is required to pay his share.

The Shulchan Aruch then goes on in this si'if:

אבל דבר שהוא צריך לשמירת העיר, כגון חומות העיר ומגדלותיה. ושכר השומרים, לא
היו חייבין לתת להם כלום, שאין צריכין שמירה, שתורתן שמירתם ולכן היו פטורים
מכל מיני מסים, בין מסים הקצובים על כל בני העיר, בין מס שהוא קצוב על כל איש
לבדו, בין הקבועים בין שאינם קבועים, וחייבים בני העיר לפרוע בשבילם אפילו
הקבועים על כל איש ואיש

But a matter which is needed for shmira, like the walls of the city and its
towers and paying watchmen, they are not obligated to give for them at all,
because they do not need shmira, since their torah will guard them and thus
they are exempt from all types of taxes, whether taxes fixed on all the
people of the city, whether a tax which is fixed on each man by himself,
whether fixed or not fixed, and they can obligate the people of the city to
pay for them even the one that is fixed for each person.

The Rema then adds that this is true even if the local authority
specifically singles out the talmid chacham to pay, and it does not matter
if the talmid chacham is wealthy or poor.

The Shulchan Aruch goes on:

הלוי ודוקא תלמידי חכמים שתורתם אומנותם, אבל אין תורתם אומנותם, חייבים. ומיהו
אם יש לו מעט אומנות, או מעט משא ומתן להתפרנס בו כדי חייו ולא להתעשר, ובכל
שעה שהוא פנוי מעסקיו חוזר על ד"ת ולומד תדיר, נקרא תורתו אומנתו.

But this is davka for Talmudei Chachamim shetorasam umonasam - but if not,
they are obligated.  But if there is to him a little [other] craft or
business in order to sustain himself by it in order to live, and not to make
him rich, and every hour that he is free from working he return to the Torah
and learns constantly, it is called toraso umanaso.

It is on this portion that the Rema I brought previously comes to define
what is a Talmid Chachamim.

Because as can be seen above - there is something called a Talmid Chacham,
but the Shulchan Aruch itself does not define what that is, it only sets out
several rules - one of which is that a Talmid Chacham himself does not need
shmira (not that the town doesn't, but he himself doesn't) because his Torah
will protect him, and that he is exempt from taxes, which seems to flow from
the lack of need of shmira (because he is still required to pay for those
things that are necessary for the life of a person, the assumption thus
appearing to be that taxes do not pay for such things, except perhaps for
defence).  But this is only if toraso umasoro - ie it is not that any person
where toraso umasoro is by definition a Talmid Chacham, rather you first
have a Talmid Chacham, and even so only if he also does not have a business
or other craft he is exempt.

And thus the Rema comes to define, what is a Talmid Chacham? - and it seems
to me pretty clear that this definition goes on the whole siman (and indeed
the next, where they discuss honouring a talmid chacham).  Ie the question
that is raised was, inter alia, was there such a thing as a genuine Talmid
Chacham today (ie in the time of the Rema and the Trumas HaDeshen)? If yes,
did it extend further than the roshei yeshiva? The answer the Trumas
HaDeshen gives, and which the Rema quotes, is yes, but only if these other
criteria regarding a level of knowledge are met.  Now it is true that the
teshuva of the Trumas HaDeshen is only in regard to taxes - that was the
question he was asked - please outline the correct approach for exemptions
from taxes under halacha (and how does the minhag of various towns play into
this)?  But it seems clear IMHO that the Rema felt this definition applied
across the whole couple of simanim, and certainly on the portion regarding
shmira which is the source for not drafting in the army and hence directly
on point.

>Tir'u baTov!
>-Micha

Regards

Chana