Question

Hello Rabbi,
I’m turning to you as someone who is familiar both with academia and with the world of Torah, and who works in areas close to those I want to be involved in.
Broadly speaking, what I want to do in life is some combination of philosophy and Torah study / Torah thought. After two years in yeshiva (I came to yeshiva at a somewhat later age), I need to decide what my course of study will be starting next year. There are three options I’m debating between:
A. A bachelor’s degree in mathematics and philosophy
B. A bachelor’s degree in philosophy and maybe something related to Judaism, with a teaching certificate, alongside study in yeshiva
C. Continuing to study only in yeshiva, without a degree
 
There are three issues on which I’d be glad to hear your opinion.
 
There are a few things motivating me to consider studying mathematics. One consideration is intellectual (I’m not sure I fully understand it myself; it’s a bit vague) — I think there may be certain intellectual questions I’ll want to deal with that could require mathematical or scientific knowledge, and that’s knowledge that’s hard to acquire without a degree. Philosophical questions, too, can intersect with those areas, and it may be that I won’t be able to deal with them properly without mathematical knowledge. Some of the problems that interest me touch on areas like probability, infinity, and game theory. Beyond that, even apart from philosophy, mathematics opens a kind of window onto familiarity with and the ability to understand many intellectual fields; that is, it’s a very “basic” degree.
Another consideration is practical — I’m worried about what will happen if I engage only in philosophy and Torah. True, that’s ultimately what I’m aiming to work in, but it’s a gamble — there are few philosophy professors and few yeshiva instructors in the world, and even if I’m amazing in these areas, getting those positions is sometimes a matter of luck and not entirely dependent on me. Teaching Talmud in middle school or high school doesn’t sound all that great to me (I was exposed to that a bit in some program I did at Herzog; it really didn’t look especially enjoyable). Mathematics does allow more employment options in that respect, if I need them.
To this are added smaller and less important considerations, like the fact that a degree in mathematics perhaps carries more prestige within academia and maybe would somehow help me advance in philosophy too, etc.
Beyond that, I’ll note that I like mathematics and am fairly good at it, but overall my aspiration is probably not to be a mathematician but to engage in the areas I mentioned — Torah and philosophy. I’d be glad to hear your opinion on these considerations, as I’ll elaborate further in the message.
 
The second question is about studying philosophy at university. If I do decide to go all in on the path of Torah study + philosophy, the question arises whether, in order to know philosophy at a high level and participate in philosophical discourse, one needs to do it within an academic framework. I spoke a bit with David Enoch about this; he said he thinks academia is pretty much necessary in order to be a good philosopher, and that reading on one’s own is probably not enough. I also admit that besides you, I don’t know a single person who studied philosophy on his own and not in an academic framework and engages in the field in a way worthy of the name; and I’ve encountered the opposite phenomenon as well — people who studied philosophy on their own and whose philosophical skill is that of a certified existentialist. In light of that, do you think it’s preferable to study philosophy specifically at university, or do you think it’s also possible through self-study?
 

The third question is about Torah study and a degree in mathematics. I’m very concerned that in a mathematics degree program it will be hard for me to study Torah at the same time in the amount I want. My plan is in any case, after the bachelor’s degree, somehow to continue in a yeshiva framework, but I wonder whether that’s too optimistic and whether it makes sense to count on it, given that with God’s help I’ll probably be married by then and maybe with a family, etc. Do you think I can count on the fact that even with an intensive degree in mathematics, and afterward, I’ll still be able to continue engaging seriously in Torah study to the point of real involvement?
 

 
I’ve laid out quite a number of considerations here in these two questions, and I’m not at all sure whether they’re even factually correct or how much weight each one deserves. I’d be glad if you could share your opinion on these considerations — both whether they’re even correct factually, and also how much weight should properly be given to them from your point of view.