The Torah describes the architecture of the building of the Aron Hakodesh [the Ark in the Mishkan] in this week’s Torah portion of Teruma: “They shall make an Ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits it’s length; a cubit and a half its height. You shall cover it with pure gold, from within and from without you shall cover it, and you shall make a gold crown all around” (Shemos 25:10, 11).
The Daas Zekeinim observes that by all other vessels of the mishkan it writes “and you shall make” (referring to Moshe, as it says in Yoma 72b), while here it says “They shall make.” This is because everyone must be involved in toiling to make the Aron Hakodesh, out of kavod haTorah, the honor of the Torah, which was placed inside of it. Kal vachomer [all the more so] should a city’s community take care of the work and needs of talmidei chachamim [sages] that live in their city, in order to give them honor. This is based on a gemara in Yoma 72b; it says there in the name of Rava that any talmid chacham whose inside isn’t like his outside isn’t a talmid chacham; just like the Aron Kodesh was covered inside and outside with gold. Furthermore, Hashem commanded every Jew to be involved with the building of the Ark, so that everyone would share in the reward of the Torah which was placed inside. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
The Daas Zekeinim, based on the gemara in Yoma 72b, is making a kal vachomer [a fortiori], that if everyone was obligated to participate in the building of the Aron, and was rewarded for the honor of the Torah they showed in their participation, then all the more so to help and support a sage. He is a living, breathing, and walking Torah scholar, who lives in their hometown. Supporting him with whatever he needs is an obligation and by supporting the Torah he learns and teaches they will get great reward. But why should this be an obligation that should be taken for granted? It makes sense in terms of building the ark that everyone should contribute for the honor of the Torah, because how else would it get done; it can’t be built by itself. But why should everyone feel obligated to work for the Torah scholar in their town; he is a free-thinking human being that has the ability and definitely the brain power to get a job and support himself and his family? Shouldn’t he at least take a minimal job while spending most his time learning, and not need to rely on others for support?
The answer is that while he can indeed do what he wants, the community should feel an obligation to support him because of the Torah that he represents. Furthermore, in fact, it is implicit in the Daas Zekeinim that he earns the right to be supported by others, as it is expected of him to work on himself so that his thinking and behaviors are consistent with his values and teachings; that his insides are the same as his outside. As the gemara in Yoma explains, that he is expected to have a high level of yiras Shamayim [fear of Hashem], in order that people see the amount of his learning and teaching from the outside. It has to be consistent, which takes a lot of hard work!
No one really knows what is in someone else’s heart; so how can they know who really is a talmid chacham? Yet people can sense and feel if a certain person really is a sage, deserving of him and his family being supported by the community, and will feel obligated to help them out. When that happens, everyone will get great reward for kavod haTorah, being a partner in allowing him to learn and teach Torah in the most optimal way to the masses, which is a tremendous honor to Hashem and His Torah.
A gutten Chodesh Adar marbim b’simcha and Shabbos Shekalim,
Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder