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Monday, June 6, 2011

Torah Judaism: A David Friedman-ite Anarcho Capitalism

According to Rambam's view that a rabbi or dayan is forbidden to live off the public, but must earn his own income independently, Judaism is actually a David Friedman-style anarcho-capitalism. According to Friedman, anarcho-capitalism is simply when you have a justice system that must operate on voluntarily-donated/paid funds rather than coerced-taxation.

The Talmud also presents a society in which rabbis earn their own livings by manual labor, not subsisting off public funds.

Also, while the Torah does command that tithes be paid to the priests, Rabbi Emanuel Rackman notes in his book One Man's Judaism, that technically, the halakhah requires only that you separate the tithes from your food, not that you give them to anyone. That is, your food is not kosher until you separate the tithe, but once you separate the tithe, making the food kosher, there is nothing to force you to actually give that tithe to anyone. The Talmud says that everyone is free to give to the tithe to the priest of his personal choosing.

Anyway, I quote Pirkei Avot:
(1) "Rabbi Tzadok used to say: Do not make the Torah a crown with which to aggrandize yourself, nor use it as a spade with which to dig. As Hillel used to say: He who makes worldly use of the crown of the Torah shall perish. Thus you may infer that any one who exploits the words of the Torah removes himself from the world of life."

(2) "Shemayah and Avtalion received the Torah from them. Shemayah said: Love work; hate domination; and seek not undue intimacy with the government."

(3) "Rabban Gamaliel the son of Rabbi Judah the Prince said: Great is study of the Torah when combined with a worldly occupation, for toil in them both puts sin out of mind. All study of the Torah which is not supplemented by work is destined to prove futile and causes sin. Let all who occupy themselves with communal affairs do so for Heaven's sake, for then the merit of their fathers sustains them and their righteousness endures forever. And as for you, G-d will then say: I count you worthy of great reward as if you had done it all yourselves."

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