[Avodah] Rich rabbis

[hankman]

(moved from Areivim)

On 19/08/2012 12:10 PM, hankman [CM] wrote:
> I looked around a bit on Otzar Hachochma and most of the seforim I saw
> were not in agreement with your assumtion (deduction) "from Elisha that
> it was normal for anyone consulting a navi to bring him a present."

RZS responded:
> The Kesef Mishneh explicitly says, from this pasuk, that it was normal
> for every navi to charge a consulting fee. And the gemara learns from
> it that bringing presents to any talmid chacham is a mitzvah like
> bringing bikurim

I presume you are referring to the very long Kesef Mishneh on the Rambam
in Hil. T"T, 3:10.

The K"M is going on the Rambam who has very strong words for those who
are misparneis min haTorah. The K"M uses this as sort of a kashe to the
Rambam from Elisha. He starts with the words "vegam shematsinu bedivrei
chazal..." as he brings the gemara about Elisha and bikurim, but at the
end of his lengthy words he remains with a maskana (if I understood
him correctly) that where the "halacha rofefes beyadcha halach achar
haminhag" and this was the practice in the times of the Rambam to take
sechar from the tzibur so the K"M concludes that this was only because
the "chachmei hadoros" were maskim that this was an eis la'asos laH'
heifeiru Torosechah, so Torah should not be forgotten, which would imply
that the previous "proof" from Elisha was not something he remained with,
though how he explains it away is not clear. (Clearly he differentiates
it in some fashion).

Also the Gr"a in the sefer Sdei eliyahu on Brachos 10b notes on the gm'
kol hamaivi doron l't"ch k'ilu makriv bikurim" he notes immediately,
"veheinu bedoronos ketanim..." That is to say that he is not misparneis
from them -- they are not significant income.

Kol tuv
Chaim Manaster