Q&A: An Unworthy Student
An Unworthy Student
Question
In honor of the great sage, may he live for many good long years,
If the Rabbi has a longer responsum on the definition of an unworthy student (Ta’anit 7, Hullin 133a, Yoreh De’ah 246), I have not managed to imagine such a student. As is explained in Tosafot on Ta’anit 7a and elsewhere, there is a reality of learning not for its own sake, and there is a reality of learning in order to provoke, and there is a deep abyss between them. So I have not been able to come up with practical examples of such students, and how a teacher can notice such a phenomenon. I found many definitions in the realm of outlook and thought (see, for example, Brit Avraham 247 and onward), but as for an analytical halakhic definition for practical purposes, in my limited understanding I have come up with nothing.
With apologies for taking the Rabbi’s time,
One of the younger students among those who learn
Answer
I don’t recall having written about this.
Simply put, an unworthy student is a student who will use his learning for negative purposes. Anyone for whom learning will be beneficial is certainly worthy of being taught. Even if he himself studies in order to become arrogant, there is still nothing invalid about that. The learning will help him. Studying in order to provoke is an example of learning whose results will be harmful, and therefore it is proper not to teach him.