R’ Yitzchok Rosenthal was the Rosh Kollel of Medrash Bnei Tzion. One day, he came to R’ Isser Zalman Meltzer and asked him if he can retire his responsibilities of financing his Kollel so that he can dedicate his life to learning Torah. R’ Isser Zalman told him to do as his heart desires, but he should first listen to the following tale:
There was a talmid chacham who worked as a fundraiser for Yeshivas Slutsk. He spent his days going from door to door gathering the much-needed funds for the yeshiva and didn’t have much time to learn Torah. He went to the Chofetz Chaim and told him that he wants to stop fundraising, as it’s taking up too much time and space in his head. He can’t daven a single tefillah where he doesn’t think about this donor or that donation, and he can’t learn properly, etc. He wanted to return to his old days of pure learning and davening before he took on the tiring and hard work.
The Chofetz Chaim wished him hatzlachah and they parted.
Quantity or Quality
As the fundraiser started to head to the door, the Chofetz Chaim called after him and asked, “What’s the cost of a pair of shoes?”
The fundraiser didn’t know, as it had been a while since he’d bought a new pair, but he said that he thought the price was such-and-such amount. He gestured to the Chofetz Chaim, and then parted.
He turned to glance back at the door when he was outside, and the Chofetz Chaim called to him again. “At what expense does a shoemaker make shoes, and what profit does he make on each shoe he fashions?”
The man called back, “I don’t know. I never served as a shoemaker.”
The Chofetz Chaim called him back, and together they went through the approximate price of materials, and what profit a shoemaker makes with every shoe he produces. After this, the fundraiser then turned to leave, and again the Chofetz Chaim called after him and asked if shoes were made only by shoemakers or whether a factory could also make shoes.
The man assured him that a factory could do it as well.
The Chofetz Chaim asked him, “Do people prefer to buy shoes from a shoemaker, or do they rather buy factory-made shoes? Whose shoes are better quality?”
The man responded that the ones made by a shoemaker are more valuable and better eminence.
“If so,” continued the Chofetz Chaim, “then shoemakers should be very rich, as people prefer buying from them for their good work, while manufactures should poor. But is that the case? Are shoemakers rich?!”
“No,” the man responded, “the factory owners have more money than the standard shoemaker, as they can produce more quantity. In the end, the profit of a shoemaker is much less.”
“If that is the case,” said the Chofetz Chaim, “then listen. If you want to stop your work as a fundraiser and live a life of peace so you can learn and not have distracting thoughts when you are trying to concentrate on tefillah, then it would make sense for you to stop. But if you realize that you are working for a yeshiva and are enabling countless people to learn because you collect and bring in money for the yeshiva, then this is preferable. You are doing much more by collecting for the yeshiva than you would if you’d be sitting and learning yourself. When you work for a yeshiva, the quantity is great, and you have the zechus of the rabim. Your reward is very great.”
With this R' Isser Zalman concluded. “It’s your decision whether to continue, but before you resolve it be sure to weigh each side properly.
R' Yitzchok took to the advice of R' Isser Zalman and continued his M’leches hakodesh, cashing in on the most zechusim.
