n0 > how can one be ‘holy of holies’ and the other an embarrassment to religion?
Maybe you are mis-reading the Shmita Rambam through your own reading (“Yaakov wearing hat from yete m’BeerSheva). He is saying that the ideal T’Ch should follow derech Levi, being a giving teacher… Did Leviim only sang and taought? They had their cities where they probaqbly grew cucumbers and radishes for themselves … yes, they collected maaser, but I am not sure Rambam includes that in his ideal. Maybe you see more in close reading or commentaries