GET A PhD??

לע"נ מרת חנה בת ר' יצחק יונה
מרת חנה בת ר' מאיר זאב
מרת אסתר בת ר' שמואל



We are all products of general society. It doesn't matter how much Torah we learn, the influence of our surroundings is always going to bear very strongly on our world view. 

One area which requires purging is the attitude towards advanced degrees. Now - don't get me wrong:-)!!! I am not against knowledge. I am not against education. If a person wants to know even secular subjects there is definitely room for that, as the Rambam writes, as רקחות וטבחות - servants of Torah. This is a topic which has received limitless treatment and analysis and I will not rehash that here. 

I am also not against getting a degree for parnassa. We all need money and the reality of the 21st century is that in order to get a good job you usually need a degree - the more advanced the better [even though there are no guarantees for anybody]. 

What bothers me - REALLY bothers me - is when people relate to a "degree" as having inherent value. You have a doctorate from Harvard? Pshhhhhhhhhhh!! So holy!! A post doc from MIT in astrophysics?? GADOL HA-DOR!!! 

We weren't created to put certificates on the wall. We were created  - as Michah Hanavi put it 

הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם מַה טּוֹב וּמָה יְהוָה דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ כִּי אִם עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם אֱלֹהֶיךָ. 

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does Hashem require of you?

To act justly and to love kindness

and to walk humbly with your G-d.

Nothing about degrees, nothing about diplomas - just "act justly, love kindness and walk humbly with your G-d". 

The Malbim explains: 

 "מה שטוב לך" מצד שאתה "אדם", במצות שבין אדם לחברו, מה שטוב לפני האדם עצמו בחיים המדיניים, וגם הגיד "מה ה' דורש ממך" במצות שבין אדם למקום, ומפרש נגד הגיד לך אדם מה טוב "כי אם עשות משפט ואהבת חסד", שזה הטוב לך מצד שאתה אדם שהמשפט ישמור החיים המדיניים מן הגזל והעשק, ועשיית החסד בזה יעזור איש לאחיו, ונגד מה ה' דורש ממך אמר "והצנע לכת עם אלהיך", מה שאתה צריך ללכת עם אלהיך (כמו את האלהים התהלך נח), שזה שורש המצות שבין אדם למקום שילך עם אלהים, ללכת בדרכיו ולהתקדש בקדושתו, כמ"ש והייתם קדושים כי קדוש אני, זה יהיה "בהצנע" ובסתר, כי הם דברים שבינך ובין קונך ובזה טובה הצניעות בל יזיד וירים לבו בעניני החקירה באלהות וכן בל יתחכם על מצותיו, רק ילך בהצנע לכת עם אלהים:

BEAUTIFUL!!!:-)

Be good to man and to Hashem. THAT is what life is all about. EVERYTHING WE DO must lead us in that direction. If the Masters or PhD helps to those ends then GREAT! Otherwise - WHO CARES!

Many of the leaders of the Nazi party had PhD's [I believe 2/3]. Many, many Nazis were doctors. And read this: "Reportedly more than 7% of all German physicians became members of the Nazi party during World War II, a far higher percentage than the general population. In 1942 more than 38,000 German doctors, half the total number of doctors, had joined the Nazi party. While most of these doctors were physicians, some were psychiatrists, and some held doctorates (PhD.'s) in biology, anthropology, or similarly related fields.

Psychiatrists/Doctors who were working for the state, and not for their patient, using a Mendelian type of logic chart, saw extermination of their patients as the correct solution to the problem of mental illness and the supposedly genetically defective.

"The participation in the ‘betrayal of Hippocrates’ had a broad basis within the German medical profession. Without the doctors' active help, the Holocaust could not have happened." wrote E Ernst in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Psychiatrist Ernst Rüdin was the founder of the psychiatric genetics field and was also a founder of the German racial hygiene movement.

Killing and experimentation became medical procedures as they were performed by licensed doctors. A doctor was present at all the mass killings for legal reasons. The excuse that there wasn't any international law to differentiate between legal and illegal human experimentation, was used in the Doctors' trial." 

SO SWEETEST FRIENDS!!!! Never lose sight of what really matters. There is nothing WRONG with receiving an advanced degree but it all depends on what your intentions are and what you do with it. 

That is why I am put off when people - even certain rabbis - view advanced degrees with a sense of reverence. 

My bubby's had no degrees and were much better people than a lot of people I know with PhD'S.

From Yirmiyahu Hanavi:

כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה אַל יִתְהַלֵּל חָכָם בְּחָכְמָתוֹ וְאַל יִתְהַלֵּל הַגִּבּוֹר בִּגְבוּרָתוֹ אַל יִתְהַלֵּל עָשִׁיר בְּעָשְׁרוֹ. כִּי אִם בְּזֹאת יִתְהַלֵּל הַמִּתְהַלֵּל הַשְׂכֵּל וְיָדֹעַ אוֹתִי כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה עֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה בָּאָרֶץ כִּי בְאֵלֶּה חָפַצְתִּי נְאֻם יְהוָה.