However, in order to be considered like Yissachar and Zevulun, with the wealthy person receiving an equal share of the talmid chacham’s reward in the World to Come, the wealthy person must provide the Torah scholar with all his needs, such that he will be free of all worries. It is better to fully support a single Torah scholar and provide him with all his needs than to support a yeshiva of ten scholars, where each one will only receive a small amount of what they need. With this latter type of giving, one does not receive an equal share of their learning, whereas when he fully supports a single scholar, and provides him with all his needs, one receives a full half of his reward.

Nevertheless, the fact that a wealthy person is supporting Torah study does not exempt him from his own study of Torah, to the best of his ability and whenever he has the time to do so. After all, even the Torah scholar, whose Torah study is his full time occupation, does not have the right to engage in idle matters — even if has learned the entire Torah — as it is written, You shall contemplate it day and night (Yehoshua 1:8). The only advantage that the Torah supporter has is that even while he is engaged in his business it is considered as though he is engaged in Torah, [but otherwise he must utilize for Torah study and may not waste on idle matters just as the Torah scholar may not waste time on idle matters].