the thing I find funniest about these discussions about people having the chutzpah to learn torah and be poor when they should be working and be self sufficient is that I have very few working friends who are self sufficient. Many of my friends who are either not of the hashkofo that would be in kollel, or just chose to be working learners are living paycheck to paycheck, or not even. They have good degrees, in some cases both parents do, and some have or had good jobs as well. But that isn’t what decides how much money you have and I find it highly disheartening to hear the overwhelming lack of bitachon in the comments. You think you aren’t on the madreiga to say, “I will sit idle and Hashem will provide” – I get it. most of us aren’t. But to be so blatantly unaware and say that your income is based on your choices of education and employment? Ha. Haven’t yet seen a shred of evidence for it. And you can be sure Ive seen plenty. I know who comes to me to pick up food because their high positions aren’t quite the assurance people here want to imagine they are.
How ’bout this. You do what is best for you, and the next guy does what is best for him. And if he qualifies for food stamps and that helps him learn or supplement his employment funk, so be it. Stop saying (or thinking) you are handing him your money. As far as I know, if you are living the same Torah I have been learning about for five decades, you haven’t a clue.
{end rant til the next post}