"He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches."
Without stepping into controversial waters, it would be difficult to deny that teachers are not respected and compensated in our society in proportion to the undisputed importance we would all ascribe to education were we independently asked to speak about it. Try to honestly compare in your mind the immense value that you attribute to the ability to read and write as a cornerstone to a person's development, to the relatively low professional respect you hold in your heart for kindergarten teachers, the people who dedicate their lives to teaching children to read and write, and to love doing so. Without getting into pie charts and statistics regarding teacher salaries and percentage of primary and secondary educators coming out of top-tier universities, I believe that it is safe to lay down this basic observation. Without a doubt, this may be due to a vicious cycle of low-quality teachers entering the work force thus reinforcing our image of teachers in general, but the root of matter we must unavoidably trace back to ourselves: do we deep down agree that being a teacher is a fitting job for he who cannot accomplish "out in the world?"
The precise opposite
To arrive at one of the windows in the Torah on to this question, we need the background of the basic story of the attack on Shchem by Yaakov's sons, Shimon and Levi:
Dinah, Yaakov's daughter went out to see what the women were like in the neighboring settlement -- her curiosity got the best of her. While there, the prince of Shchem, also by the name of "Shchem," cast his eyes and forced himself on her. He subsequently became emotionally attached to her, and hoping to smooth everything over diplomatically, sent his father Chamor to speak to Yaakov and his sons. Chamor's proposition involved them doing this more often -- they can swap daughters, share land, and do business (34:1-12).
The initial reaction of all the brothers across the board was disgust and fury:
The initial reaction of all the brothers across the board was disgust and fury:
"Jacob's sons arrived from the field, when they heard; the men became depressed, they were extremely outraged, for [Shchem] had committed a disgusting act in Israel by lying with a daughter of Yaakov -- such a thing may not be done!" (34:7).They decided to trick the people of Shchem. They agreed to Chamor on condition that the entire village would get circumcised...
... What ensues is very difficult to understand. Firstly, Yaakov is there with them when they are negotiating with Chamor. Presumably, his sons were articulating a plan that Yaakov agreed to -- we do not hear that speaks out in dissent. Yet, after we see the plan come to fruition that Shimon and Levi waited until the people of Shchem were weakened from the circumcision and then attacked, Yaakov is furious with them and not with the other brothers. What, then, was Yaakov's original intention when they agreed to Chamor's proposal and "answered him ... with trickery?"
The Ramban explains that the original plan was to make an absurd condition to Chamor's proposition (i.e. that all of Shchem needed to get circumcised). On the off-chance that they would listen, they would infiltrate when the village was weak and rescue Dinah. Shimon and Levi, however, without consulting with their father, went well beyond this plan and went to war.
In principle, Yaakov agreed that what they did was within the laws of war (Maharal ad loc, see also Rambam Laws of Kings 9:14 and the Ramban on Chumash). If you look at what he says to Shimon and Levi, he does not criticize their actions intrinsically, but rather because he believed that what they had done was inappropriate, unnecessarily fomenting war and hatred towards him and his family, and by association, G!d's Name (34:30). What is strange is that Yaakov begins his sharp rebuke, but does not finish it. Shimon and Levi respond to Yaakov's initial claim against them, "will they treat our sister like a harlot [and we will stand by]?!?" (31). To this Yaakov is silent.
His silence on the matter is broken on his deathbed, many decades later, when he is giving his children blessings. Unlike their siblings, Shimon and Levi receive their blessing together. Their blessing takes the form of reproof:
"Shimon and Levi are brothers, their weapon is a stolen craft" (49:5).Rashi explains that Yaakov was alluding to the fact that murder is not a Jewish response, but a "copycat crime," an externalized mimicking of their uncle Eisav.
Their rebuke finishes with what appears to be a punishment:
"I will divide you amongst Jacob, and spread you out amongst Israel" (ibid 7).Rashi explains on the spot that neither Shimon nor Levi would end up receiving their own portion in the Land of Israel, rather they were absorbed into the portions of their brothers. The simple explanation is that the punishment fits the crime: when Shimon and Levi get together, they feed off of eachother, and can wreak havoc in their zealotry, therefore they should be spread out.
Rashi. Rashi goes on to say on Yaakov's prescribed punishment was that Shimon and Levi should be the scribes and children's teachers dispersed amongst the Jewish people.
We have to stop and allow ourselves to ask the obvious question here (don't be bashful -- we have a mitzvah from the Torah to not understand the Torah -- to question and to seek out the answer): why on earth would Yaakov abandon the education of our children in the hands of Shimon and Levi, the two most passionate and aggressive of the brothers?!? We can understand that they needed to be punished, but why should our children suffer? How does the punishment fit the crime in this?
(We're in good company because Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky zt"l asks this question and offers an answer in Emes LeYaakov.)
Passion Directed
As we saw above, all of the brothers were distraught and pained by what was done to their sister. They even planned to do something about it. Only Shimon and Levi, however, were willing to put everything on the line.
When Shimon and Levi responded with: "will they treat our sister like a harlot [and we will stand by]?!?" Yaakov was silent. We understood until now that he was holding his peace until he would have the right opportunity to chastise them on his deathbed. There is certainly still truth to this, but we can begin to see a layer of nuance beneath the surface. Yaakov's silence was partly acquiescence. When he saw and heard from his sons the very pure identification with their sister's pain and humiliation, and the unadulterated fire in their eyes that this. simply. cannot. be. -- Yaakov was struck by the powerful sincerity at the source of their passion.
Of course, any emotion no matter how sincere can be horrendously destructive if left unbounded. So profound was the sense of injustice for their sister, that Shimon and Levi were not sated until the entire city of Schem was destroyed. As a result, Yaakov tells them from his deathbed what sounds like their punishment, but in reality is their tikun -- their path to completion.
Being a real teacher requires fiery concern other human beings. A teacher must be able to feel the pain of his student as if it were his own -- often even more than even the student does when he is complacent in his ignorance. Maybe you worked hard to understand a concept the first time you learned it, but how concerned are you about someone else getting it clear? How willing are you to even be more desirous for them to understand than they are themselves? At what point will you be satisfied with the student nodding his head just to get you off of his back? And to do this again and again, year after year? Every person wonders at some point how his teachers didn't go mad enthusiastically explaining for the 4,000th time the catalysts of the American Revolution.
Yaakov knew that every one of his sons had to find his unique place within the Jewish people in which his light would shine. Once he saw that that the passion of Shimon and Levi was coming from a genuine place of concern for their sister, he knew what they had to do. The mishna in Pikei Avot says לא הקפדן מלמד "an angry-perfectionist cannot teach" (2:5) because he will not have sufficient patience for the student to struggle through until the point of understanding. As such, teaching would bring the anger and concern for other people into a collision in Shimon and Levi. Yaakov saw however, that their concern for the other would win out revealing the diamond within the coal of their passions. Most people when asked who their favorite teacher was will recall a teacher who was quite strict, who gave them a hard time, maybe even nearly-failing them, but would stay after class with them however long it would take pushing them to understand.
Two brothers who took different paths
Rav Yaakov points out elsewhere (Vayichi 49:7) that Shimon and his tribe did not follow the suggested path to completion by Yaakov, and as a result, we find their passions and rage flair up time and again for the rest of the Chumash, such as in the rebellion of Ba'al Peor (end of parshat Balak, Bamidbar).
Levi, on the other hand, took his father's words to heart. The whole tribe under the guidance of its leadership, dedicated itself to education even in Egypt, preparing itself for the promised redemption. As a result, their passions were sublimed to the Highest Will. When the Jewish nation turned towards the golden calf at the base of Mount Sinai, only Levi, as a tribe, stood its ground and opposed the movement. When the nation wanted to turn back towards Egypt, Levi blocked their way back (Bamidbar 26:13, Rashi). It was Pinchas, from the tribe of Levi, who precipitated the end of the rebellion led by Shimon with Ba'al Peor (the loaded meaning of this encounter between the two brothers should not be lost upon us).
As a result, Levi was chosen to take their official position as teachers and role models in the Jewish people, the most famous of which was Aaron haKohen, who is described by Hillel as "a lover of peace, and a chaser of peace, a lover of people and one who brings them close to Torah" (Pirkei Avot 1:12). His children became the Kohanim who served in the inner chambers of the Temple part-time, and were teachers all over the Land of Israel full-time. The verse says of them, "the lips of a Kohen will guard דעת knowledge; Torah you must seek out from his mouth" (Malachi 2:7).
Levi indeed took their father's words as a blessing externally clothed in a curse. So much so, that the Rambam in the Mishnah Torah frames the reason for their dispersion in only positive terms:
"Why did Levi not merit an inheritance in the Land of Israel ...with his brothers? Because he was separated to work for G!d and serve Him, to teach His straight paths and righteous statutes to the public"
(Laws of Shmitta and Yovel 13:12).The Rambam calls them the "warriors of Hashem" based on a verse in Devarim (33:11). For us who are following this narrative thread from the beginning, we are wise to know that this is of course a reference to fact that Levi was always a warrior, but built himself into a "warrior of Hashem."
A Kingdom of Kohanim
The Rambam, without skipping a beat, goes from speaking about laws unique to the tribe of Levi to the above-quoted explanation for Levi's landless status to a highly expanded vision:
"[this doesn't apply] to the tribe of Levi alone, but rather [to] each and every person [who dedicates himself to spreading the knowledge of G!d in the way Levi did]
(Laws of Shmitta and Yovel 13:11).The Kohanim and Leviim are meant to be role-models of leadership for our people, all of whom are named by G!d as ממלכת כהנים "a kingdom of Kohanim" (Shmot 19:6). When we look at the Kohanim serving in the Temple, we should think to ourselves that just as we are watching them, others are watching us working for G!d in the larger Temple (i.e. the world). All of us are teachers -- to our spouses, to our children, extended family, friends, co-workers. Our awareness of this will pick us up as it picked up Levi.
The Talmud concludes that "the greatness of study is that study brings to action" (Kiddushin 40b). In turn, the mitzvah of the study of Torah is framed in terms of teaching ("everyone who is obligated to study is obligated to teach" Rambam Laws of Talmud Torah 1:1).
We should all merit to live what we learn and teach what we live.
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