Thursday, June 26, 2008

New Kolel-like program

You know how they say that some people should be learning Torah all day long because that is how Hashem wants it? And you know how the people who "cannot" learn all day are told to give tzedakeh to full-time learners to support them in lieu of their own learning? The idea is is that some people can learn full time and others cannot. The ones who cannot are supposed to give money to support the full-time learners. By doing this they get the zchus of a full-time learner even though they aren't actually full-time learners.

So anyway I decided that a few other types of kolel's need to be implemented. After all, there are many mitzvahs in the Torah which people miss out on because they are busy being useful in the household and earning money and/or doing housework.

My idea is to institute "kollelim" for travelers and food tasters. Hashem afterall created the world for people to see and enjoy it. Hashem wants man to enjoy the beauty the world has to offer, and he wants people to say a bracha. However, a problem arises in that many people just cannot travel (motion sickness, home-sickness, and way too involved in work) and other people cannot try new foods because of their inability to travel or because of allergies or diseases/sicknesses. These people (like non-learners) should set aside a portion of their income to provide money for those willing to sacrifice their comfort to fulfill the mitzvah of seeing the world. After all, these people are so immersed in Torah that they would be willing to quit their jobs and travel and try exotic foods for a living.

So here is my proposal. In order to get this program started I would need to volunteer myself to be the "full-time" traveler and food-taster. In order to do so, I need funding for the travel and food expenses. So I ask of you to please donate some money* to this great cause. I am willing to go to Europe/Israel this very summer. If you sponser my trip, and my ambition to flood the world with many mitzvot, I will make sure to keep you in mind when I say each bracha (starting from tfilla's haDerech to the bracha for seeing mountains) I would even bring back pictures so you get the full-merit of seeing the world-and not just vicariously.

If you're interested in instituting such a program I strongly urge you to e-mail me and I will let you know who to make your check payable to.

* maaser money is accepted

Tizku l'mitzvos

7 comments:

Freethinking Upstart said...

Good Idea! If it works out, let me know. I'll go back to being frum for that in a heartbeat.

Oh crap... maybe not. I'll only get to taste kosher food. There is no way that I'd be able to do that.

Ookamikun said...

This year by oorah auction, they had a prize where several obscure mitvos would be done on your behalf in Israel.

David Staum said...

This is a wonderful idea. However, I am an erlicher yid, and I would feel empty and fake if I just paid other to do mitzvot for me. Therefore, I will join this new kollel! Shabbat is such a big mitzvah, that I will start it early. Like Tuesday. I just need someone to sponsor me so I can really fulfill this mitzvah of having shabbat menucha for 4 or more days per week, since I won't be able to work. But others can work, and I will be mesirat nefesh to eat many chulents for them. I will even let them have the calories.

Ookamikun said...

Dude, eating cholent for 4 days is suicide. And not a fast painless one.

Shain D. said...

Something here smells of "gosh I haven't been to the mall in a while"!
:-P

frumskeptic said...

fed up: There are plenty of super delicious kosher places, that are really expensive that are just-as good as treif. hehe...and as a mitzvah ppl will pay u to eat at those...why not? lol

dys: :). hehe. I'd love a four day shabbos...except for the no showering part. lol. But I'm sure a Rav would be able to loophole this for such a great mitzvah. :)

frummeyente: :-p

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

That was really funny, but backwards. Traveling and food tasting sounds like so much fun, I guess that's the way learning Torah is supposed to be.

Inadvertently you gave a very important lesson. People should value learning and desire it as much as any other physical thing. Just like people would want to travel the world and taste great food, they should want to learn Torah. Also, if people would be willing to travel for the sake of seeing niflos Haborah and accept money for it. Then people should feel the same toward learning in Kollel and taking money for it.