Q&A: Thanks and Science
Thanks and Science
Question
My father wants me to study in a yeshiva where they also study secular subjects. Is there permission to study secular subjects on a regular basis, not for the sake of earning a living and the like?
2. Also, in most yeshivot where they study secular subjects as well, the boys there do not have as much fear of Heaven as in yeshivot where they study only sacred subjects (at least here in England), and obviously the environment has an influence. Is that a reason to refuse to study there?
Answer
First of all, a person is supposed to choose his own path. In a place where this is critical for you, there is no obligation to obey your parents. See my article on honoring parents and territorial considerations. But that is only when we are talking about something very essential to you. Here, that does not seem to me to be such an issue, and in my opinion the opposite is true. Studying in a yeshiva that has only sacred studies is a mistake. But you need to decide that, not me.
Beyond that, you are living at your father's expense, and therefore you cannot make decisions at his expense. If you decide against his opinion, you must support yourself now and in the future.
Discussion on Answer
Training for life is not only permitted but obligatory (to teach one's son a trade). And in my opinion, even other studies for their own sake are permitted and even desirable. See even the Rema himself in Responsum 9.
2. That is certainly a relevant reason, but not a decisive one. Living in human society can also lead you to transgressions (gossip, interpersonal wrongs), yet no one recommends avoiding that. One has to live normally and not in monasteries, and if there is a danger to your fear of Heaven, it should be dealt with directly.
In the Rema, in the laws of Torah study, he forbids studies that are not Torah, when done on a regular basis.
2. And regarding the question whether it affects my fear of Heaven, and whether that is a reason to take it into consideration here?
Thank you very much!