I
"If you will listen to my commandments that I command you today, to love Hashem, your G-d, and to serve Him with all your hearts and with all your souls" (Devarim 11:13). "Hasn't the Torah already cautioned 'with all your heart and with all your soul' (Devarim 6:5)? The earlier passuk was a command to an individual [and hence the singular form is used], and this is a passuk is a command for the community [and hence is in the plural]" (Rashi).
There is an additional difference between the two pesukim cited in Rashi, both of which are recited daily in krias Shema. The first passuk adds, "bechol me'odecha - with all your 'me'od'." This phrase is absent in the second parsha. Rashi interprets "bechol me'odecha" to mean with all your money. Why does the second passuk omit the phrase "bechol me'odecha"?
The Gemara (Berachos 35b) reports a famous machlokes between R' Yishmael and R' Shimon bar Yochai that revolves around the same pesukim touched upon by the Rashi cited above. R' Yishmael, based on the passuk (ibid 11:14), "You shall gather your grain, your wine and your oil", understands that Hashem is telling us to work to earn a livelihood, in addition to learning Torah. R' Shimon bar Yochai disagrees with this understanding, and interprets this parsha as referring to a time when Bnai Yisrael do not fulfill Hashem's will. However, when we fulfill His will, our work is done by others and we can focus all of our time on Torah learning. The Gemara concludes: many followed R' Yishmael and were successful; many followed R' Shimon bar Yochai and were not successful.
Tosfos asks, how can R' Shimon bar Yochai interpret the passuk (ibid) as referring to a time when Bnai Yisrael do not fulfill Hashem's will when that section begins by saying, "And it will be, if you will listen to My commandments..."!? Tosfos answers that they don't completely fulfill Hashem's will (kol kach), i.e. that they are not totally righteous (tzadikim gemurim). The Maharsha explains that according to R' Shimon bar Yochai the omission of "bechol me'odecha" in passuk 6:5 indicates that it refers to a time at which Bnai Yisrael do not serve Hashem with all their money. In other words, by working to earn a living, they are, according to R' Shimon bar Yochai, not fulfilling Hashem's will kol kach - that much!
The Maharsha concludes that there are very few tzadikim gemurim, as R' Shimon bar Yochai himself notes (Sukkah 45b), that he and his son were unique. Therefore, we must follow R' Yishmael, as the mishna states (Avos 2:2), "Torah study is good together with an occupation. All Torah that does not have work with it, at the end will be null (batelah) and lead to sin."
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 156:1) cites this last statement verbatim and adds, "because poverty will cause him to violate the will of his Creator (Eruvin 41b). Nonetheless, his work should not be his main preoccupation. Rather, his Torah should be primary and his work secondary (Avos 1:15), and then both will be successful." The Bais Yosef explains this ruling based on the aforementioned Gemara (Berachos 35b) and cautions: don't say it is better to only learn Torah because, "he will run out of money and he will have to look for a way to earn parnasa, and he will not even be able to set fixed times for Torah. [Poverty] will also lead him to sin."
The Mishna Berura (ibid 2) explains, "work should not be one's main preoccupation." One should work only to earn what is necessary and must be wary of the yetzer hara that seduces him to work all day to earn money. In Be'ur Halacha he notes that the Shulchan Aruch rules for the community at large. In all times there are individuals who only learn Torah. The Gemara states that many followed R' Shimon bar Yochai and were unsuccessful, implying that there are few who can succeed following his approach. The Rambam (Hilchos Shemita V'yovel 13:13) describes individuals who serve Hashem constantly and subsist on bare necessities. These rare individuals are those who serve Hashem, "bechol me'odecha", with all their money, i.e. they do not pursue financial gain. They are the tzadikim gemurim who fulfill Hashem's will totally. However, as the Maharsha writes, one should not assume that he is in this category of those whose work will be done by others. He may be mistaken and will then be among the many who follow R' Shimon bar Yochai and are unsuccessful. He may later be unable to have fixed times for Torah study, or, worse, suffer poverty which can lead to dishonesty and sin.
II
In the last century, the Torah community has experienced and witnessed a number of major upheavals. First, the major Torah centers in Europe were destroyed, and new were centers established in Israel and America. Second, millions of Jews were killed during the Holocaust, but since then there has been a population explosion amongst Orthodox Jews. Third, full time Torah study, formally the preoccupation of very few over the age of eighteen, is now pursued by tens of thousands in Israel and America. Fourth, drastic economic transformations have changed the definition of a clean and honest profession that one should teach his son (Kiddushin 82a). And finally, women have entered the workplace in the Western world.
How should the community, and individuals, respond to these new realities? The eternal values and directions of the Torah must guide us, and the rabbanim and institutions are duty bound to follow the dictates of the aforementioned passages from the Gemara and Shulchan Aruch. Our sons must be instructed to make lifelong daily Torah study a primary goal. In addition, they must be prepared to pursue a clean and honest profession. Lifelong full time Torah study is appropriate and laudatory for the few tzadikim gemurim who are willing to sacrifice all but basic needs. The responsibility to provide for one's wife and children, as mandated by halacha, must, in all cases, be emphasized.
In America, the Chareidi population has grown exponentially since the Holocaust. The larger, chassidic group strives to replicate its European lifestyle, in dress, language and education. Generally, young men study Torah only, and this is the subject of a recent lawsuit (see, for example, Group Files Suit Against New Exemption for Yeshiva Schools). Upon early marriage, the significant majority go to work, which, given the lack of secular education, is mostly limited to the type of jobs popular in Europe in previous generations. Similarly, the pre-war model of large families cared for by full time mothers remains the norm. Of course, a few scholars continue to learn full time and serve the communities' rabbinic and educational needs.
All these factors combine to place members of this community in the low-to-middle economic strata. The rare wealthy businessmen support their respective chassidic institutions generously. In short, the model accords with the aforementioned rulings of the Gemara and Shulchan Aruch. Men set aside fixed time for Torah study, and view Torah and Chassidus as the most important part of their lives, even as they work to support their families.
The Yeshiva world in America has veered dramatically from the pre-war model. Full time Torah study in a kollel extending beyond marriage, once the practice of a small fraction of the population, has become de rigueur. In most such cases it is the virtuous wife who is the primary earner, as most kollels pay small stipends. While they accept this unprecedented responsibility willingly, as enablers of their husbands' continued Torah study, the role reversal has major implications for the Torah home and family. The sheer number of kollel students makes universal employment in Torah fields an obvious impossibility. When the financial burdens and family size increase, the now not-so-young man who can't find a job in a Yeshiva must look elsewhere, unless the husband's or wife's parents provide financial support for their children and grandchildren.
Many such kollel husbands transition successfully into the workplace. Some earn college degrees and go on to professional schools and careers. Some brilliant minds are admitted directly into prestigious law schools. Others enter the world of business, using ingenuity and creativity to earn a respectable livelihood in twenty hours a week. For them, Torah remains their primary preoccupation even quantitatively, as the Rambam rules (Hilchos Talmud Torah 1:12) that one should work three hours a day and learn nine hours a day! This model is an even more wonderful fulfillment of the rulings of the Gemara and the Shulchan Aruch.
Unfortunately, some view any departure from full time learning and teaching as an inferior, b'dieved option. Some remain in kollel frustrated that they cannot find a job in chinuch. Others go to work but view themselves as second class citizens, despite the Shulchan Aruch's ruling in accordance with R' Yishmael that work, with Torah, is an ideal.
In sum, the Yeshiva world remains insular, even though it relates to the outside world a bit more than the Chassidim. Their value system is informed by Torah and its gedolim. The exponential increase in kollel students, notwithstanding some problematic consequences, is a greatly expanded version of pre-war Europe. Moreover, in America it is easier to transition into the Shulchan Aruch's model, a decade or more later in life than a typical Chassid.
III
The non-Chareidi, modern segment of Torah Jewry faces different challenges. In the last half century, daily minyan and Daf Yomi have become much more popular. Stricter standards of kashrus and tznius have emerged. This "shift to the right" emerged as increasing numbers of yeshiva high school graduates learn in Israeli yeshivos, where Torah and mitzvos are taken very seriously. When they return to America and continue studying in a yeshiva, such as Yeshiva University, they are often more devoted to Torah study than their fathers, and more scrupulous about mitzvah observance than previous generations of their family. This shift, which should be celebrated as a return to a proper Torah life, also reflects the impact of the Chariedim, who constituted a small minority seventy years ago, but now represent the preponderant majority of Torah observant Jewry due to their higher birth rate. Recent studies in Metropolitan New York estimate that half the children entering yeshiva day schools is Chassidic, a third are yeshivish, and only a sixth "centrist/modern" (see A Census of Jewish Day Schools in the United States).
These improvements are consistent with the major distinguishing elements of the more modern segment of Torah Jewry, namely strong secular education in Yeshivos and near universal college attendance for both men and woman. (Ideological positions, such as religious value given to secular knowledge and the state of Israel, are also consistent with stricter Torah standards, but that is beyond the scope of this practically-oriented discussion).
However, the exposure to post-modern American society poses new dangers. The family values and Judeo-Christian ethic of the 1950's are now viewed as anachronistic, and traditional marriage and even gender identity are no longer recognized as inviolate by American citizens and their courts. Promiscuity in all secular university campuses is rampant. Modern Orthodox youth are exposed to all of this, with the exception of those who attend Yeshiva University or other such institutions who are not exposed to the radical immorality of secular campuses. Some accept postmodern values and question the morality and/or the eternity of Torah values. Others fall prey to the temptations of the day, such as internet pornography or worse, and some leave Orthodoxy entirely (these phenomena apply to all segments of Torah Jewry.)
Integration with secular culture, a hallmark of modern orthodoxy in the 1950's, is no longer possible because of the debasement of that culture. For those who do not realize this, often, instead of a "shift to the right", there is a "slide to the left" (See Sliding to the Left? Contemporary American Modern Orthodoxy, by Turetzsky and Waxman).
The importance of mesorah and fidelity to great Torah leadership, accepted unquestionably by Chareidim, is debated vigorously in modern orthodox circles. Egalitarianism and acceptance of alternative lifestyles are among the flashpoints of this ongoing battle.
Education is now frighteningly expensive. Tuition in modern yeshivos is much higher because of excellent secular studies and extracurricular activities. College and graduate school costs have also risen dramatically. This places financial pressure on parents, and, unfortunately, reduces family size.
The modern workplace is no longer nine to five. Longer hours and constant access drastically reduce the critical quality time for proper Torah parenting. Working mothers only exacerbate the problem. The upper class lifestyle embraced by professionals requires even more effort to generate sufficient income. (These phenomena, too, apply to all segments of Torah Jewry). Excess spending should be curtailed, and conspicuous consumption and ostentation must be discouraged.[1]
Torah must be restored as the primary value. Fixed daily Torah study is a must, and satisfies the basic ruling of the Gemara and Shulchan Aruch even if it is a quantitative minority of the day. Parents need to model modesty in speech, spending, dress and demeanor. Hopefully, then, the next generation will maintain and enhance the modern version of "Torah study is good together with an occupation".
[1] For more on these issues, see the following from Rav Dr. Abraham J. Twerski:
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