Statement

The rabbi's central activity was Torah study, a lifelong commitment; some sages said God had created humanity for this purpose (Sanhedrin 99b). It was not like being a monk, since rabbis married and worked, but study required deferring other pursuits and existed in tension with them.

References

1. p. 148

   supports · main text · ch. 5

   Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.

   Section: The Impact of the Rabbis on Jewish Culture

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