One who teaches an unworthy student is like one who throws a rock at Mercury, as the verse states "One who gives a fool honor is like one who wraps a stone in a sling (Mishlei 26:8)", and 'honor' is a reference to Torah as the verse says "the wise will inherit honor (Mishlei 3:35)" (Hilchot Talmud Torah 4:1)
The Rambam is discussing the prerequisites for a person to study Torah. The primary requirement is not intellectual but moral, he must be living on a good path (applying his knowledge), or at least be open to such a life, a person who is on a bad path should not be taught Torah, but rather first must be guided to return to the proper path. However the comparison with Avodah Zarah in general, and Mercury in particular is strange.
Mercury is an unusual form of idolatry since its worship entails throwing stones at it. A person might mistakenly think that throwing rocks at Mercury is a good thing since, objectively, it is disgracing an idol. However the opposite is true. Since its worshipers have redefined the act as a method of worship, they have twisted an act which shows the powerlessness of an idol, into a sign of respect. Therefore by throwing a rock at it you play into their propaganda.
Similarly a teacher might think that teaching Torah to a fool would serve to disprove his wrong ideas. By seeing truth he will turn to the good. The Halacha teaches that the opposite will happen, by teaching him, he will twist the Torah's wisdom into a support for his distorted lifestyle. Instead of disgracing him, the Torah will be used to honor him.
This issue is also the issue in the surrounding verses in Mishlei (26:1-11), we must be careful in how we interact with and respond to fools. Even a logically valid break down of his position can strengthen him since even engaging in dialogue gives him credibility. The only possible way to help such a student is to actively redirect his lifestyle before granting him entrance to the Beit Midrash.
how do you "actively redirect his lifestyle"?
ReplyDeleteI had thought that part of the Torah's objective was just that- teaching people and facilitating their moral development?
it almost seems like since a person has to be open to growth- that only people who ask to learn or seek out learning should be taught Torah.
You are right that the purpose of Torah is to teach people and to help them develop. However, openness to growth is not the same as actively seeking it out. The unworthy student is one who is committed to a contrary way of life. Since he already has an ideology, he will use the knowledge gained to further his ideology. Such a person needs musar before we start teaching him. Of course that mussar may include certain torah sources, but the goal isn't knowldge but rather returning to the good path. Once he returns we welcome him into the beit midrash to develop his knowledge. On the other hand, a person who is merely uninterested should be motivated and welcomed since he is not going to twist Torah to distorted ends.
ReplyDeleteThis is similar to the idea mentioned at the seder that the son who doesn't realize that he should be asking questions is given an opening, while the evil son is responded to very harshly.
Note that this also isn't discussing childhood education, but rather the more advanced education of the Beit Midrash. One of the goals of childhood education is to guide them to a life on the proper path.
Your question as to how we redirect his lifestyle is an important one, which is related to the more general question of how to give mussar. I suspect that it will take more than a comment to answer that question, let me think about it; perhaps the response to the evil son will shed light on this issue.