RICHARD RHEINS

complete foolishness, that it was their logical and moral duty to support scholars and students, as well as men whose exclusive occupation is the study of the Torah . All this is a mistake. Neither in the Torah , nor in the words of the sages, is there any word that proves it true, nor a support on which they might lean at all...."

There are several interesting aspects to Rambam 's commentary to Mishnah Avot IV.5. One is struck by Rambam 's admission that most of the other halakhic authorities(“possibly all of them”) disagreed with his position. Thus, by Maimonides ' own account, most rabbinic authorities permitted scholars to receive salaries from the communal fund®® Of course, Rambam maintained that the other authorities all were mistaken, that they misunderstood the Talmud , and that some of them were “hameshuga'im hamvohalim,”“confused fools.”’

What is most evident is Rambam 's opposition to rabbinical salaries from communal funds. And yet he was relatively lenient vis-a-vis the other categories of rabbinic benefits and compensation (sekhar batalah).

Maimonides agreed that rabbis qualified(d'oraita) for business advantages and tax exemptions. This was made clear in his commentary:

"On the other hand, what the Torah has permitted scholars to do is to give their money to someone to use it in business for them at his discretion, and that all the profit should be theirs, if he so agrees, and the one who does that for them has a great merit. A similar(permissible) practice is to give scholars merchandise in commission(so that they gain a profit), and to let them sell their merchandise first, at the opening of the market. These benefits God has decreed for them just as He has instituted the special gifts for the kohen and the tithe for the levi. Merchants even practice such customs as courtesies to each other, although no scholarship is

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