R. Judah said: One who does not teach his son a craft, teaches him thievery. ‘Thievery’! Can you really think so! Rather, it is as though he taught him thievery.
R. Hanina said to them, [his disciples]: Go out and tell the son of Levi, Not the constellation of the day but that of the hour is the determining influence. He who is born under the constellation of the sun will be a distinguished man… He who is born under Venus will be wealthy and unchaste [immoral]. He who is born under Saturn will be a man whose plans will be frustrated... He who is born under Zedek [Jupiter] will be a right-doing man [zadkan] ... He who is born under Mars will be a shedder of blood. R. Ashi observed: Either a surgeon, a thief, a slaughterer, or a circumciser. Rabbah said: I was born under Mars. Abaye retorted: You too inflict punishment and kill.
...R. Meir said: One should always teach one’s son a clean and easy
craft, and pray to Him to Whom all wealth and property belong. For no craft
does not contain the potentialities of poverty and wealth, for neither poverty
nor wealth is due to the craft, but all depends on one’s merit. …
Rabbi Beroka Hoza'ah used to frequent the market at Be Lapat where Elijah often appeared to him.
Once he asked [the prophet], is there anyone in this market who has a share in the world to come?
He replied, No...
While they were speaking, two [men] passed by and [Elijah] remarked, These two have a
share in the world to come. Rabbi Beroka then approached and asked them, What is your occupation?
They replied, We are jesters, when we see men depressed we cheer them up; furthermore when we see two people quarrelling we strive hard to make peace between them.
- Do you have a career picked out yet? What values or considerations enter into your decision-making process?
- What is source #1 saying about the value or purpose of learning a trade or profession?
- To understand source #2, you need to know that Rabbah and Abaye were rabbis and heads of yeshivot in the third generation of Talmudic authorities in Babylonia. Rabbah was the head of a major school of Jewish learning in a town called Pumbedita, and was famous for his dynamic teaching style. With this in mind, what is going on in the conversation between Abaye and Rabbah? What is the Talmud telling us about the interplay between personality and career choice?
- There are two “careers” showcased in source #3. What are they, and why are they judged so positively?