Q&A: A Parable About Volunteering
A Parable About Volunteering
Question
Two students.
1 invested his heart and soul mainly in his studies and rested in the time that remained.
The 2nd volunteered to be a phone dispatcher for Magen David Adom at night; during the day he was tired and slacked off in his studies…
At age 42, no. 1 developed a startup in the field of irrigation, and many countries bought it, thereby increasing crop yields and reducing water consumption for irrigation by 80%.
In some countries in the world he literally saved them from famine, a kind of savior of humanity without exaggeration. He sold the company and was left with $400 million in hand.
Bought a house? With a pool in a wealthy area, gives his children extracurricular activities and free time with them. He didn’t want to be bored from age 42, so he went down south as a volunteer, connected with youth activities, invested a lot of his time and experience (and also donated some money—relatively little compared to his wealth). Five of the kids from his activities in the south are today defending us in the Iron Dome…
He sees success, creativity, and an enormous contribution to the whole world, to the security of the Jewish people, and to empowering them; quality youth replaced delinquent youth.
Student 2 somehow finished his studies, worked a little here and a little there. Today he is a security guard for a living. He has no time or patience for his own children. He gets by with difficulty, lives in a socially weak area, and mainly has to save his own children from deteriorating into the troubled society in the neighborhood where he rents an apartment…
He has no free time to volunteer—not for the world, not for his people, barely even for himself and his family.
In summary, the two students are already past age 50. No. 1 did not volunteer, but invested in his studies, and now he is truly busy repairing the world, volunteering, and making truly significant contributions to his people and to the world. And no. 2 has a hard life, barely surviving…
The one to blame is the disproportionate volunteering at Magen David Adom when he was a student.
Is it appropriate to teach this to students?
So they will learn what to do in the important years?
Answer
You are presenting a specific case, analyzing it (not sure correctly), and then trying to draw general conclusions from it. That is a common mistake. The more correct approach is to teach students this case, so they can also see that side of things. There is also the opposite side: that it is always proper to help others to a reasonable extent, and even beyond that. This case can make them aware that this is not necessarily the right behavior. It has costs. After they understand both sides, they will be able to make more informed decisions in their own lives.
I am writing this as someone who made exactly this argument when I taught in the yeshiva in Yeruham. I felt that there was a period when they were engaging far too much in social activism, and it came at the expense of Torah study in the yeshiva. As for study in a yeshiva, I think it is much more significant than at a university, but as stated, in both cases there is no sweeping rule. It depends on the person and his talents and character, and it depends on the difficulty of the studies and the level of social involvement he wants to show.