Playing Favorites

My favorite Gemara/tractate is Maseches Kiddushin. Probably because it’s the first one I finished. Either way, the last daf (page) is my favorite topic because it discuses career choices that people need to consider. First, it brings down specific examples of jobs that are bad for various reasons. For example, a job that would easily entice a person to steal because they can get away with it, like a donkey or camel rider. The Gemara goes on to say that all jobs no matter what they are, are not the cause of your income. Proof of this idea is that every profession has some poor people and some rich people. Rather, Hashem decides the amount. So you might as well do an “easy and clean” job. The Gemara ends with R’ Nehurai stating “I leave all professions in the world and teach my son only Torah… For it protects man in his youth and in his old age”. He then brings proof from Tanach.

The question is how can he feed his family? We know without a job there is no money. Also, his statement was not supposed to be telling us that money is not important. It was supposed to tell us how learning Torah takes care of us financially better than any profession.

This answer I got from one of my Rabbi’s. He said that if you look closely at the words they say “My son” his son was special. He knew that his son had the potential for greatness and that Hashem will make it possible for his son to do nothing but learn. On the other hand an average person has to make an effort to support his family. But remember, if the amount of money one will make is decided on Rosh Hashana and the effort only needs to be competitive enough to be possible to earn a modest living. The profession one chooses, the time put into the work and the difficulty of the job doesn’t need to be hard.

In short, if you believe in Hashem and the Torah you will be able to do more with less.