“The Gemara relates that the Sages sent the following message from there, i.e., Eretz Yisrael, to Babylonia: Be careful with regard to the education of the sons of paupers, as it is from them that the Torah will issue forth. As it is stated: “Water shall flow from his branches [midalyav]” (Numbers 24:7), which is expounded to mean: From the poor ones [midalim] among him, as it is from them that the Torah, which may be compared to water, will issue forth.” (Sefaria.org translation) Let me explain the drasha. This verse is found in parashat Balak. Balak hired Balaam to curse the Israelites so that he may defeat them in a war. Thanks to God’s intervention, Balaam could only bless our ancestors. The rabbis understood the word “water” to be a metaphor for Torah. The word “his branches-מִדַּלָּיו” is a homonym for the word “from the poor ones-מִדָלָיו” allowing the association in the rabbinic mind that there is a relationship between the sons of paupers and the study of Torah.
I want to share with you what I learned from the lecture by Rabbanit Yafit Klymer on exactly what the Gemara mean when it says “Be careful with regard to the education of the sons of paupers, as it is from them that the Torah will issue forth. As it is stated: “Water shall flow from his branches [midalyav]” (Numbers 24:7), which is expounded to mean: From the poor ones [midalim] among him, as it is from them that the Torah, which may be compared to water, will issue forth.””
The Meiri (Menachem ben Solomon Meiri ,1316-1429?, Provence) teaches that we shouldn’t think that Torah study is solely in the province of the rich and scholarly families. He writes: “A Torah scholar should always be quick to teach in a group or yeshiva in order to share his knowledge with others and a student should make as much effort as possible in Torah study and should not be discouraged because his family is poor and unwilling to spend enough on Torah study, or because his family is ignorant, for the Torah is really for everyone, as long as one is willing to make a great effort to study. About this the rabbis instructed: “Be careful with regard to the education of the sons of paupers, as it is from them that the Torah will issue forth. As it is stated: “Water shall flow from his branches [midalyav]” (Numbers 24:7), as it is from them that the Torah, which may be compared to water, will issue forth.”
The Maharal (Judah Loew ben Bezalel, between 1512 and 1526 – 17 September 1609, Prague) teaches that the poor make better students then the rich. The parents are willing to invest in the children Torah education. Rich parents want their children to enter the family business. “And the children of the poor are better for Torah study as it says in chapter Elu Nedarim: ‘Be careful with regard to the education of the sons of paupers, as it is from them that the Torah will issue forth. As it is stated: “Water shall flow from his branches [midalyav]” (Numbers 24:7), as it is from them that the Torah, which may be compared to water, will issue forth.’” The explanation for “Be careful with regard to the education of the sons of paupers, as it is from them that the Torah will issue forth. As it is stated: “Water shall flow from his branches [midalyav]” (Numbers 24:7), , as it is from them that the Torah, which may be compared to water, will issue forth” is because a poor person is more prepared for his offspring to be Torah scholars, as we can see in our own eyes. Only a poor person, who has nothing in this world and no part of the physical world, is ready to put forth the seed which will be a Torah scholar.”
Rav Yosef Chayim, Ben Ish Chai (1832-1909, Baghdad) teaches that Torah will flow from the poor because they will become Torah teachers. “Be careful with regard to the education of the sons of paupers, as it is from them that the Torah will issue forth. As it is stated: “Water shall flow from his branches [midalyav]” (Numbers 24:7), as it is from them that the Torah, which may be compared to water, will issue forth.’ Explanation: The children of the wealthy, once they have learned Torah, it is unlikely that the Torah will emerge from them to others by teaching their Torah to others, but if you teach Torah to the children of the poor then it will emerge from them to others, since they are poor they will teach others to provide for themselves.”
Or Lashamayim (Rav Meir of Apta,May 18, 2022 — 1767–1831) was a disciple of Yakov Yitzhak, the Chozeh or Seer of Lublin) teaches that the poor students will become Torah scholars because they are humble and modest. The Or Lashamayim learns this by saying that the Hebrew word for poor (aniyim-עניים) sounds like the Hebrew word for humble or modest, (anavim-ענוים). “And this is the meaning of Be careful with regard to the education of the sons of paupers, as it is from them that the Torah will issue forth. As it is stated: “Water shall flow from his branches [midalyav]” (Numbers 24:7), as it is from them that the Torah, which may be compared to water, will issue forth.’ You cannot say they are poor in wisdom, because Torah comes from them, rather poor who are obedient and modest.”
Rashi (22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), Troyes, France) teaches that the words “Be careful” refer to Torah teachers and not to the students. The teacher should be careful teaching Torah to the poor and they should not think that that would be a waste of time ‘Be careful with the children of the poor’-don’t disregard the importance of teaching Torah to them.’”
Ahavat
Hesed (Yisraeol Meir Kagan known as the Hafetz Hayim, January 26, 1838, Dzyatlava, Belarus, September 15, 1933, Raduń, Belarus) teaches
that the Torah belongs to everyone and teachers should not be selective. The
merit of teaching the poor is great. “‘Be careful
with regard to the education of the sons of paupers, as it is from
them that the Torah will issue forth.’ As we said: Anyone who teaches Torah to the child of an ignorant person
even if God has made a decree, He nullifies it.”
The Rabbanit suggests
that since Babylonia became the center of Jewish learning, the sages in the
land of Israel were reminding them that Torah can also come from them as well.
Perhaps they were reminding
the sages of Babylonia that Hillel was once so poor that he could not pay the
entrance fee to the Bet Midrash; nevertheless, he became one the greatest sages
in all of Israel. “They said about Hillel the Elder that each and
every day he would work and earn a half-dinar, half of which he would give to
the guard of the study hall and half of which he spent for his
sustenance and the sustenance of the members of his family. One time he did not
find employment to earn a wage, and the guard of the study hall
did not allow him to enter. He ascended to the roof, suspended
himself, and sat at the edge of the skylight in order to hear the words
of the Torah of the living God from the mouths of Shemaya and Avtalyon,
the spiritual leaders of that generation. The Sages continued and said: That
day was Shabbat eve and it was the winter season of Tevet, and snow fell
upon him from the sky. When it was dawn, Shemaya said to Avtalyon: Avtalyon, my
brother, every day at this hour the study hall is already bright
from the sunlight streaming through the skylight, and today it is dark; is
it perhaps a cloudy day? They focused their eyes and saw the image of a man in
the skylight. They ascended and found him covered with snow three cubits
high. They extricated him from the snow, and they washed him and smeared
oil on him, and they sat him opposite the bonfire to warm him. They
said: This man is worthy for us to desecrate Shabbat for him.
Saving a life overrides Shabbat in any case; however, this great man is
especially deserving. Clearly, poverty is no excuse for the failure to attempt
to study Torah.” (Massekhet Yoma 35b,
Sefaria.org translation)
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