Of Landowners & Levites, Moneymakers & Morot, Rabbis & Rich Folk

Multiple times in this week’s parsha, Re’eh, we are warned “Beware, lest you forsake the Levite all the days upon your land” (Deuteronomy 12:19).

This is puzzling. The Levites have an incredible reputation. It’s a man of the tribe of Levi who married a Levite woman and fathered Miriam, Aaron & Moses. The Levites are the ones who did not sin during the sin of the Golden Calf, and who rallied to Moses when he cried out, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” (Exodus 32:26). They are faithful. God Himself declares they are the chosen tribe among all the tribes, stating “Take the Levites for me in place of all the firstborn of Israel” (Numbers 3:45).

The Israelites are also cautioned to remember and care for the widow, orphan and convert. All of those individuals, however, are obviously disadvantaged. The widow and the orphan have had loss and death visit their family. The convert did not grow up Jewish and thus lacks a connection with the community. We can understand why people would be hesitant to associate with them and why God warns us to nevertheless seek them out and invite them in. Stigma was real (as it still is) and these individuals were likely stigmatized. No one wanted their curse or loss or lack to rub off on them.

But the Levites were honored. They held a high position. So why must God remind the Israelites not to forsake them? Yes, God determined the Levites should not possess plots of land, but instead live scattered in cities throughout the country. But that is not a loss, something that a superstitious individual might fear might hurt them, too. It is not ill fortune. It is simply the way God designed their portion of the land. So what is the issue? Why would the Israelites be tempted to forget or abandon the Levite?

I used Google Translate to change the German version of Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch on Sefaria into English. This is how it reads:

With the forthcoming decentralization of the nation settling in the country, the scattered living of the Levites in the midst of the people is of the greatest importance. They are like the living nerves and arteries emanating from the center of the sanctuary, mediating the spiritual connection of the limbs with the brain and heart of the people. They are the representatives of the sanctuary of the law among the people. Among a population devoted to agriculture, animal husbandry and the industry connected with it, such unproductive members of the Levites can easily fall into disregard and contempt as a burden on the communities and remain underestimated in their vital importance for the spiritual and moral and national overall welfare. Hence the repeated warning against neglecting Levi כל ימיך על אדמתך: the length of time you remain on your own soil is essentially conditioned by the esteem in which Levi is held and the influence you allow him to have on your spiritual and moral development.

The Levites were deliberately scattered by God. God wanted to make sure that these pockets of Levites would serve as spiritual advisors and mentors to the people. (For those of you who watched or read Game of Thrones, it’s very similar to the Maesters who are all trained in the Citadel but are then spread out throughout the Seven Kingdoms.)

The challenge was that the average landowner would view Levites as unproductive members of society. All they do, after all, is mooch off those who are working and toiling to force the land to produce crops. Why ought these weary, hardworking farmers support this man who doesn’t get his hands dirty and only works with his brain?

The Levites, despite their honored position, would be viewed as a burden.

I found a Christian writer who wrote compellingly about what God wanted of the landowner when it came to reminding him not to neglect the Levite.

Consider the differences between those gathered around the table in the sanctuary, the Hebrew farmer or rancher, reasonably successful and prosperous, the poor and the needy of the community, his servants and the Levite or Levites, the scholars of Israel. There was a great gap between them, economically and intellectually, one could say, but that gap was constantly bridged by faith, by the requirements of a common life. And today our scholars are eggheads with a contempt of the common man, with a contempt of the middle class especially who are immediately next to them in status and despising the middle class for their success and that is why the middle class is the constant target for penalties. God’s purpose was to bridge the gap between these peoples economically and intellectually. God’s purpose was to bridge the gap in terms of himself as the unifying force. All were to see in one another fellow members of the covenant, the sacramental nature of a common meal is very clearly evident and this is all important.

I think the relationship between landowners & Levites is analogous to that between moneymakers & Morot [teachers] or rabbis & rich folk.

Nowadays, teachers are the ones who educate students in and about their Judaism. But teachers are often not paid a living wage. Even if they are paid, they are not paid well enough to be able to afford to send their own children to Jewish day schools. Instead, they need to get assistance from those schools in the form of scholarships or, if they are lucky, they receive aid from family members.

This is a complex problem because the cost of Jewish day school tuition is high, and simply asking parents to pay more to fund teacher salaries may not be possible. But many individuals on a variety of podcasts have noted that one of the issues is that we need to see this as a communal issue, and too often, we don’t. Too often, people struggle along while their own children are in school, but then forget or choose not to support the schools once their own children have graduated.

I am proud to say that Chicago has a model called the Kehillah Fund. The idea is that every member of the community donates towards Jewish day schools - ideally monthly. It doesn’t matter if you’re a senior citizen, single or have children in the schools. The concept is that it is a communal obligation to support the schools, not every man for himself.

The Kehillah Fund still does not raise enough money to independently support the Jewish day schools in this area. But it does offer the right model. Because it is an approach that sees the value of Jewish teachers in the community even when you might not be directly benefiting. This seems similar to a model that tells you as a landowner to support the Levite- even though you might not have benefited from this particular Levite in a direct way. It is the function of the Levite that bears honoring, just like it is the function of the Jewish educator that should be valued.

The God who wanted us to unite at our table across class differences- with you, your slave, your daughter, maidservant and the Levite all in attendance- also wanted you to recognize that it is your duty to see what the Levite has to offer even when what he has to offer is different from your own work. His cerebral contributions may not be tangible, but they do matter. The same could be said of Jewish educators today.

I wonder if we could take the obligation to support the Levite as a mandate and expand it to our Jewish teachers today. What would it look like if wealthy people took it upon themselves to fund a Jewish educator’s grocery bill? Mortgage? Day school tuition? What if it wasn’t marketed as charity but rather as someone’s honor to do this? It sounds crazy- but is it really so crazy? Through doing this, you enable the Jewish educator to keep on teaching without worrying over how they will pay their bills. You as the landowner will support the Levite.

Maybe it’s a model worth pursuing.