Avos 4:5 - Sforno and Rashbatz on the Permissibility of Taking Money for Torah (Part 3)

Machshavah Lab

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Length: 1 hour 39 minutes
Synopsis: Tonight (6/6/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we continued our analysis of the mishnah about deriving worldly benefit from words of Torah. After a VERY brief review of the Rambam, to which Parts 1 and 2 were devoted, we examined the opposition as formulated by two Rishonim. Sforno provided a clean, straightforward argument which demonstrated a completely different framework from the Rambam's. Rashbatz, in a lengthy commentary on or mishnah and an equally lengthy responsum (neither of which we read in its entirety), seemed to address the Rambam head-on. Not only did he provide a counterargument, but he explained the sources cited by the Rambam to support his view and marshaled dozens if statements from Chazal to support his position. We ended by attempting to define this three-way machlokess, and while we didn't succeed in arriving at a clear answer, we definitely felt like we had a nice first step.
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מקורות:
אבות ד:ה
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תלמוד תורה ג:י
Lenn E. Goodman, "A Guide to the Guide for the Perplexed," pp.58-62
ספורנו - אבות ד:ה
רשב"ץ - אבות ד:ה
תשובות הרשב"ץ א:קמב
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