Historian Marc B. Shapiro writes: “Let’s begin with the common practice in the Israeli haredi world of ignoring what the Sages tell us in Kiddushin 29a and not teaching young men a trade so that instead they can devote themselves to Torah study.[1] People assume that this is a late twentieth-century phenomenon. While it is true that the numbers of people who currently follow this approach is much larger than ever before in history, it must be noted that even in previous years there were those who acted in the same fashion.”
Don emails: Aside from the reality that the name origins of Jews indicated they were tradesmen (Schneider and its variations-Tailor, Shecter and its variations, Butcher, anything with a Schmidt ending meaning they were a smith. Goldschmidt being a goldsmith or Jeweler) one of the short stories in William Saroyan’s inaugural collection: The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze and other stories, gave a good practical reason for learning a trade. Saroyan told the story of a young prince who traveled his country looking for a bride. When he found one who met his qualifications she was unimpressed that he was a prince. She asked him what he did and when he said he was a prince and didn’t have to do anything she was not impressed and either rejected him or told him to come back when he could do something. At any rate he studied with carpet weavers and became a very good carpet weaver. The girl is sufficiently impressed that they get married. One day, the prince while walking around the capital by himself not in any sort of princely attire was kidnapped. He realized that if he revealed himself to be a prince, the kidnappers would probably kill him, so he told them that he was a skilled carpet weaver and that his carpets fetched a high price from the King. He wove some carpets with his distinctive design and the robbers took them to the Palace. When the King, the Princess and their advisors saw the carpets, they recognized that the prince had woven them so they dispatched soldiers to follow the people who had brought the carpet to the palace and they were able to kill the kidnappers and rescue the prince. That according to the story is the reason to learn a trade.
Unfortunately, even if you marry the daughter of a very wealthy Jewish family, I don’t know how your kidnappers are going to transmit your skill as an Alexander practitioner to your family so they can come and rescue you. Better to take a jewelry making class at community college.
