How to cite this article: Ze’ev Safrai, “The Holy Study Circle: The Ḥavurah (‘Group’) in Rabbinic Literature and Jesus’ Study Circle,” Jerusalem Perspective (2026) [https://www.jerusalemperspective.com/36518/].
From the perspective of rabbinic literature, the sage’s primary occupation is study: “to learn and to teach, to observe and to perform” (Mekhilta to Deuteronomy 11:12, p. 87). Being a sage was not a profession and did not provide a livelihood. Consequently, sages were compelled to work for their sustenance or were landowners who had to manage their property. Yet the sages report very little about such worldly occupations. We hear only sparse and incidental references to this aspect of life, and the self‑image that emerges is of a sage wholly devoted to study. At the same time, they describe themselves as engaged in public affairs, though only in general and non‑specific terms.
Modern historical scholarship continues to grapple with the question of how much public responsibility actually rested upon the sages, or, in the more cynical language of modern sociology, whether the sages exercised control over the populace. What is certain, however, is that their principal occupation and the bulk of their time were devoted to study.
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