There are many metaphors for Torah, one of them is that of a sale or a business transaction. The Talmud comments that a sage is one who acquired wisdom – and the word acquired used is the same as for a business transaction.
Why use a transaction as a metaphor for study? What is it about a business transaction that makes for a good study metaphor?
We opened this question to graduating seniors and their families at (the revolving-door) Shabbat lunch over graduation weekend, May 2016. Here’s some of what they shared, in no particular order:
— Learning should enrich us! Like a good business deal, our studies ought to make us richer for it.
— It’s a two-way street, like a business deal both sides benefit from the give and take. Students gain from teachers and teachers gain from students, too.
— Once a sale goes through, you own it! That’s what good learning should do, you own the knowledge, it becomes your own.
— A deal is a commitment. And the same goes for study, it requires a commitment. Wishy-washy, iffy partial interest doesn’t go far enough.
— That’s because education costs money. Teachers have to get paid, there are all kinds of expenses. The costs of tuition is what makes it like a business deal.
— You have to put in time and effort, energy, talent and ability to succeed at acquiring knowledge. It doesn’t just fall into your head. You give up a lot and pay in to make it happen.
— An education is an investment. Hopefully it pays off, over time, into the future.
hope to remember more of it, and post more of it soon…
Thanks all for sharing!