Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the idea that Torah should be taught for free. God says, “Just as I gave you the Torah for free, so too a rabbi should teach for free.” On a practical level, there are ways of approaching the necessity to make sure rabbis and teachers have a dignified wage and are compensated financially. In our discussion, we are not going to address those technicalities, rather we are going to reflect on the principle.

Likkutei Moharan (Laws of Torah Study 3:8) explains that if financial concerns are introduced, it will contaminate the purity of the Torah with ungodly physical externalities. He also states that this requirement for Torah to be taught without charge is mainly applied to the Oral Torah. I believe his point is, since Oral Torah is often dependent on logic, deduction, and judgment, introduction of impurities could lead to biased decisions. The Torah leaders must train themselves to operate without relying on people for financial support, so they are intellectually and morally independent.

Yet the idea of teaching Torah for free is a theoretical stance, with many reasonable halachic ways to receive compensation throughout the generations. One might ask, if a loophole is employed, and rabbis end up being paid for their services, does that not undermine the whole point? Not necessarily. The overall moral message may not be lost. For example, though we work around the prohibition of ribbis (usury), and the nullification of debts during the shemittah year, through rabbinic loopholes, there still is a consciousness of the message that God controls the money, not us. Similarly, we may sell our chametz before Pesach, and we still internalize the message of removing all leavened bread. The Torah sets structures to create awareness and humility, and that awareness can be activated even if we employ loopholes that are necessary for practicality.

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Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com