cantoresq:
“I would be embarrassed, ashamed, depressed and mortified if I were ever, Heaven forbid, so reduced to the point of needing such things. Moreover, I would be feel like a horrible Jew; one who does not fulfill the basic injunctions of “b’zeiat apecha tochal lechem” and “Yegiah kapecha ki tochal, ashrecha v’tov lach.””
Derech HaMelech:
“I just wanted to point out that the first posuk you bring “b’zeias apecha tochal lechem” is not an injunction but a curse…
The second pasuk can easily be ascribed to learning Torah as well…
While the list in Peah doesn’t bring ‘working for ones food’ as one of the things on the list it does say “v’Talmud Torah kneged Kulam”
cantoresq:
“Oh monarch in Israel, you have your values, and I have mine.”
This doesn’t have to do with your personal values as much as it has to do with your claim that the Torah commands a person to work. Derech HaMelech eloquently showed how this is simply not the case.
Besides, why should somebody not take money they are legally entitled to? Especially (though not necessarily) if they are doing this in order to learn?