Compiling a list of Gedolim and professions

cnc

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 10:41 pm

seeker wrote:

See, this is the whole problem. Why on earth should anyone even THINK it would be embarrassing for a rabbi to be learning about the world? Mad

I think it's more the idea of discussing a Rabbi's bathroom habits online than the studying of psychology. ...a little tacky if you ask me.

mirror

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 11:07 pm

Deleted.

Last edited by mirror on Wed, Dec 30 2015, 7:56 am; edited 1 time in total

5mom

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 12:07 am

It's hard to find a tanna or amora who did NOT have a profession.

Some contemporary examples:
Rav Pinchas Kehati worked at a bank.
Rav Sabato of Maaleh Adumim writes novels.
Rav Aharon Lichtenstein had a Ph.D. in English literature from Harvard and often spoke of the religious insights into the human soul and into behavior that come from literature.

Working was always the norm until very recently. We live in an age of affluence, and that distorts somewhat.

salt

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 1:23 am

I was told the Rav Steineman at one point was a diamond merchant, but I didn't find that information when I looked him up on wikipedia. I dno't know if it was during his Europe days or Israel days.

And Rav Baruch Epstein (author of the "Torah Temimah") was a book-keeper:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Epstein

bandcm

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 10:14 am

PinkFridge wrote:

Ah, the Rebbe went to the Sorbonne, but did he use any degrees professionally? That wouldn't fit in to your thread's theme, then.

Yes, the Rebbe worked as an engineer in Brooklyn Navy Yard when he moved to the USA,

DrMom

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 11:27 am

OOTBubby wrote:

The Vilna Gaon did something with geometry -- Kramer's theorem is named for him.

Huh? The Vilna Gaon was named "Kramer?"

If you are talking about "Cramer's rule" in linear algebra, that's named for the mathematician Gabriel Cramer (1704–1752).

"Kramers Theorem" usually refers to a theorem in quantum mechanics. It is named after H.A. Kramers.

I don't think either one of these people is the Vila Gaon.

DrMom

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 11:30 am

PinkFridge wrote:

Ah, the Rebbe went to the Sorbonne, but did he use any degrees professionally? That wouldn't fit in to your thread's theme, then.

I understood that he never got a degree -- he just sat in on some classes. I could be wrong.

yogabird

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 9:30 pm

DrMom wrote:

I understood that he never got a degree -- he just sat in on some classes. I could be wrong.

this is what I always knew also.

Temilia

Wed, Nov 25 2015, 12:12 am

yogabird wrote:

this is what I always knew also.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe studied mechanics and electrical engineering at the ESTP, a Grandes écoles in the Montparnasse district and graduated in July 1937 with a degree. Previously the Rebbe had studied at the university of Berlin and afterwards was enrolled at the Sorbonne.

bigblueyes

Wed, Nov 25 2015, 4:14 am

And what about pointing out to him the rabbonim that use their secular knowledge to help numerous people with legal or medical problems etc.? For ex. Rabbi Aryeh Zaks of Monsey.

DrMom

Wed, Nov 25 2015, 4:22 am

bigblueyes wrote:

And what about pointing out to him the rabbonim that use their secular knowledge to help numerous people with legal or medical problems etc.? For ex. Rabbi Aryeh Zaks of Monsey.

And the rav in Israel who helps people get in touch with the correct medical professionals to assist with all sorts of medical issues (I can't remember his name).

imasoftov

Wed, Nov 25 2015, 6:38 am

A footnote in the Wikipedia article about the Vilna Gaon says

Recently (when?) he has been given the surname Kremer. However neither the Vilna Gaon nor his descendants apparently used this surname, which means shopkeeper. It was possibly mistakenly derived from a nickname of his ancestor Rabbi Moshe Kremer

The note includes a link to here

More refutation of the claim that the Gaon has a rule or theorem named after him here.

Ruchel

Wed, Nov 25 2015, 1:33 pm

Many European rabbinates don't allow you to get a smicha without a HS graduation (hence chol). Pre-war there used to be Yekke rabbinate schools only taking men with a PhD !

The rebbe went to engineer school not Sorbonne Smile

Chayalle

Wed, Nov 25 2015, 1:49 pm

Wasn't it Rav who said "n'hirin li shvilei d'rakia k'shvilei nehardina" - the pathways of the heavens are as clear to me as the pathways in nehardina (city in which he lived).

He was an astronomer.

This is one of my father's pet peeves. He says Talmidei Chachamim always studied sciences, philosophies, mathematics, etc.. to provide background to their studies...nowadays he meets people who have been learning 20, 30 years and they don't understand certain Gemarrahs because they have no foundation in math, science, etc....