[Avodah] Who is an considered an am ha'aretz

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Sep 04, 2018 at 12:32:17PM +0000, Professor L. Levine via Avodah wrote:
: The following is from pages 567 -- 568 of the sefer Rav Schwab on Chumash.

:> Judaism without Torah is "just another religion," and is not in consonance
:> with the will of G-d. Ritual is common to all religions; the unique
:> quality of Yiddishkeit is the special relationship with Hashem that a
:> Jew achieves only through Torah study.

It would appear that R Schwab does not take "Judaism is not a religion" as
literally as you do. After all, he describes it here as a religion, if
one with a unique quality.

I am curious, though, how one can reduce Yahadus to ritual plus Torah study.
Nothing about other ways to maintain that special relationship with Hashem?
Nothing about uniquely Jewish ethics and morality? In short, Torah,
vaAvodah -- full stop?

: Exactly who is considered an am ha'aretz? The Rambam writes, "The Sages
: defined an am ha' aretz as one who hates to learn Torah..."

It also depends on context. Sotah 22a:

R' Elazar: someone who learned Tanakh and halakhah (qara veshana) but
lo meshameish t"ch is an am ha'aretz. R' Shemu'els bar Nachmani says he is
a bur, R' Yanai likens him to a Kusi, R' Acha bar Yaaqov and R' Nachman bar
Yitzchaq - to a witch.

R' Meir: An am haaretz is somoene who doesn't recitew Shema with the berakhos
twice a day.

Chakhamim (same beraisa as R' Meir): Who does not lay tefillin.

Ben Azai: who doesn't put tzitzis on his clothing.

R' Yonasan ben Yoseif: doesn't give his children chinukh.

Acharieim (going back to R' Elazar): Even if he was qara veshanah, but never
learned the reasons of the mishnah (ie pesaqim).

Etc... But not about amei haaretz in particular.

The Maharal explains the machloqes from R" Meir to RYbY in terms of different
limus tests for the same middah. See last paragraph of
<http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14202&st=&pgnum=70>

And leshitaso (next page, Nesivos Olam, Nesiv haTorah ch. 15, pg 68) the
attempted poseiq who lacks shimush doesn't get the Torah seikhel.

As I said, am ha'aretz appears to be an idiom whose meaning depends on
context. Contrary to the usage R Schwab is discussing, omeone who loves
learning, learned, but didn't get by osmosis the ineffible elements
of the feel, the art, of pesaq, and still thinks he's qualified, just
doesn't get it and is an am haareitz.


Sidenote: "Peasant" is from the Old French "paisent", a country dweller.
>From the Latin "pagus", an outlying administrative district. Pretty close
parallel to am haaretz. As is "boor", from the Low German meaning "farmer".

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             I always give much away,
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