Pirkei Avos Chapter Two Mishnah Two
Rabban Gamliel the son of R’ Yehudah Hanassi taught It is good to combine Torah study with a job, for working hard at both of them stops a person from sinning. Even more, any Torah study that is not combined with a job may end up as nothing and may even lead to sin.
If you look at the illustration that accompanies this Mishnah (in the Artscroll Youth Pirkei Avos) you will see a picture with two guys learning torah and in another picture looking under the hood of the car (working at a garage).
There are two main points that I want to make. The first one is…isn’t it nice that this Mishneh tells us that our jobs are super important and can stop us from sinning. Our jobs can also lead to the preservation of out Torah studies. This makes me feel better about the time and energy I put into my job. I would think it could do the same for you.
The second point is about Kollel learning. If I told you that there was a group of people who don’t work and only learn, how would you react? My reaction, based on this Mishneh would be surprise and confusion. The Mishneh seems to explicitly state you Torah learning is different than a job. Saying Torah learning is a job does not seem to be consistent with this Mishneh.
What do you say?
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