Rabbi Gurkow is spiritual leader of congregation Beth Tefilah in London, Ontario. He has lectured extensively on a variety of Jewish topics, and his articles have appeared in many print and online publications. For more on Rabbi Gurkow and his wrtings and talks, please
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Hillel did not set out to incriminate anyone. He simply lived up to his standards despite the trial of poverty.
The Talmud reflects that by doing this he made it difficult for any poor person to use poverty as an excuse for his lack of torah study.
If a poor person should try this excuse the heavenly tribunal would respond, "If Hillel could overcome his poverty to study Torah why couldn't you?"
I am reminded of the satirical and caustic comment by Shalom Alechem about the Almighty surely hateing the poor, because there is no other reason why He makes their lives so wretched and squalid.!
Petach Tikva, Israel
Chapel Hill, NC
In terms of more to come, the Jewish Learning Institute is set to unveil a powerful course called Portraits In Leadership featuring the incredible accomplishments of our Talmudic sages. Those who have enjoyed this series, Sages of the Talmud, will surely enjoy JLI's Portraits In Leadership. It will draw on some of what is discussed here and will also add a great deal of new material . The focus of Portraits In Leadership will be some of our sages' monumental achievements including preserving the oral tradition during a time of upheaval and of maintaining integrity during times of pro.
If you are not already a JLI participant you might want to explore the possibility with your Rabbi at your next available opportunity.
You can also access JLI on the web, www.myjli.com
Brooklyn, USA