Chaim Amsellem was certainly not the first Parliament member to suggest that most ultra-Orthodox men should work rather than receive welfare subsidies for full-time Torah study. But when he did so last month, the nation took notice: He is a rabbi, ultra-Orthodox himself, whose outspokenness ignited a fresh, and fierce, debate about the rapid growth of the ultra-religious in Israel.

“Torah is the most important thing in the world,” Rabbi Amsellem said in an interview. But now more than 60 percent of ultra-Orthodox men in Israel do not work, compared with 15 percent in the general population, and he argued that full-time, state-financed study should be reserved for great scholars destined to become rabbis or religious judges.

“Those who are not that way inclined,” he said, “should go out and earn a living.”

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1. nwlayman wrote: Wow.  I can think of another reason St. Paul would be unpopular in Israel in the 21st century; that line about don’t work, don’t eat?  Once rabbinic scholars made tents *and* studied.  I hate to think that in part it’s my tax dollars at work.  Or, not at work. December 31, 3:02 pm | [comment link]

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