Vezot Haberajá 5775 - English

By Rabbi Guido Cohen
Asociación Israelita Montefiore Bogotá, Colombia.

This week’s parashah is the last one in the entire Torah and it contains Moshe’s blessing for each one of the tribes of Israel, a blessing that is also Moshe’s farewell from earthly existence.  

In this blessing, the words of Moshe indicate, in a way, the fate of each of the tribes, and it allows us to learn about their character and qualities.  In the exegesis, the blessing for Zebulun and Issachar, it is important that the youngest son (Zebulun) is mentioned first and is blessed “on his journeys”, and then Issachar is blessed “in his tents.”

The sages have interpreted here (and in the parallel text at the end of Bereshit) that Issachar and Zebulun had an agreement, a sort of partnership.  According to this agreement that is described among other sources in Bereshit Rabbah 99, Zebulun’s tribe worked and with the product of that work sustained Issachar’s tribe, which was dedicated to the study of the Torah.  The understanding between these two tribes has been one of the arguments used by certain groups when they promote the establishment of funds so that some people can dedicate themselves full time to the study of Torah, supported by the rest of the community.  Even when the State of Israel was established, lobbying from some ultra-orthodox sectors using this argument managed to get the exemption from military service of people that devoted their time exclusively to the study of Torah. 

In Talmudic and medieval literature, we find these ideas promoting the establishment within the Jewish people of an unproductive “class”, claiming that this group studied “for” the rest, who worked to sustain them.  The idea of “torato omanuto” (Torah is their trade) became the slogan for many organizations that raise funds from people with a lot of money but little time or willingness to study Torah and give it to people that have the time to study but not the inclination to make a living. 

Under this same type of affirmation, there are contemporary organizations that offer money for young people to dedicate some hours to the study of Torah.  This type of models promotes a system in which the Torah is seen as a “source of income” and the motivation to study is precisely money.  If we take away the economic incentive, many youngsters that dedicated long hours on a weekly basis to study will dedicate that time to some other activity.  

These models generate a grave distortion in the decisions people make regarding community affiliation.  It is no longer about checking which is the best proposal or which community I am most comfortable in, but about finding which one offers me the most in exchange for my time.  Instead of thinking “what can I offer the community”, these young people approach their communities asking what they can offer for their presence.  Besides, it gives a dangerous message: go where you are paid.  That means if tomorrow another proposal (perhaps dangerous or risky) comes up as more beneficial to that person’s pocket, the weekly hour of Torah study will be easily replaced by the best bid.  

Parallel to these types of offers, since Talmudic times, there is also the opposite position.  Hilel the elder, for example, refused to receive money from his powerful brother to pay for his Torah studies, and he divided his time between his work as a woodcutter and his dedication to the Torah.  The same might be said about Rabbi Yoshua, who cleaned chimneys, and so many other Talmudic sages.  In the middle ages, we find rabbis who were doctors, shoemakers, shopkeepers, and many other trades.  In the prayer Rab Safra used to say when he finished praying (Berachot 17a), he asked God to make those that studied Torah for personal gain change their attitude and devote themselves to Torah on the merit of studying Torah.  Based on these and other sources, a doctrine grew parallel to the one we described which proposed that studying Torah and having a secular job were not only compatible but indivisible.  This proposal, instead of using the Torah to get a reward, is to understand the Torah as a reward in itself and to get people to divide their time: a part dedicated to study and another to work.  This idea allows people to accept their responsibility for Torah study and not delegate it in others in exchange for money.  In the same way, it prevents the forming of classes and groups of unproductive people living at the expense of others and excluding themselves from the secular wisdom and discipline. 

  

The tension between these two positions, the agreement between Zebulun and Issachar and the one that believes we should be a little bit of each, is still current today.  Each time more institutions and projects appear that seek to reward those that study and to free or lighten those who work from these obligations.  Regrettably, many of our organizations, not from lack of money but from disbelieving in the appropriateness of these models, suffer from the decrease in participation of many of their young people in the hands of others that propose a more closed and dogmatic Judaism in exchange for money.  If we want to teach our young about the value of Torah and the importance of not prostituting themselves intellectually for money, we must promote spaces for reflection and elucidation on this topic.  The “agreement” between Issachar and Zebulun must not appear between wealthy people and our youth, but within different moments of our individual schedules, to procure material support and intellectual and spiritual growth.  

Shabbat Shalom - Modaim LeSimcha

Rabbi Guido Cohen

Asociación Israelita Montefiore