The Economics of Torah Scholarship in Medieval Jewish Thought and Practice
There is a tension between, on the one hand, the importance of Torah study and education, and on the other hand, the problem of financially supporting this endeavor. The study and teaching of Torah is rated as one of the highest goals in Judaism, but taking money for this task was greatly frowned upon by the Sages. Alongside with this, the Sages taught that Torah study should be accompanied by an occupation and in numerous places stressed the importance of being self-sufficient. But does this mean that there is no role for financially supporting Torah study and Torah teachers?
I am pleased to present a monograph entitled "The Economics of Torah Scholarship in Medieval Jewish Thought and Practice." In this paper, I explore how Jews of the medieval period addressed this issue, both in theory (i.e. in their teachings about what should be done) and in practice (i.e. surveying what actually happened). You can download the monograph at this link. If you gain from the monograph and from this website in general, please show hakaras hatov by making a donation using the button below.