This gate is the Lord’s; the righteous shall enter through it.

We begin our words and enactments by strengthening the position of the teachers of our Torah. The Torah is a pillar of the world, as the sages of blessed memory said: “The world rests upon three things: upon Torah, upon divine worship and upon acts of loving-kindness.”

The position of Torah teachers has declined in most places, and they’re supported only with great difficulty. Consequently, the number of students has diminished and many have gone elsewhere. In many places, children have also left their teachers’ schools because their parents lack sufficient means to pay those who teach them Torah. The Torah has therefore fallen into neglect and has almost been forgotten, may God have mercy upon us and save us.

We therefore ordain that every qahal throughout the kingdom of Castile shall establish a contribution for Talmud Torah in the following manner.

Five maravedis shall be paid for every head of large livestock slaughtered. Two maravedis shall be paid for every calf weighing no more than one hundred pounds, which are twenty-five arreldes. One maravedi shall be paid for every ram, ewe, he-goat or she-goat. One coronado shall be paid for every kid or lamb weighing less than four arreldes, and five dineros if it weighs four arreldes or more.

Three dineros shall be paid to Talmud Torah for every cántara of wine, a measure of eight azumbres, sold at retail. A sale of as many as five cántaras together shall be regarded as a retail sale. The purchaser shall pay this contribution upon meat and wine. When more than five cántaras are sold together to Jews, carriers or Jewish merchants, two dineros shall be paid. For wine sold to Christians, half a dinero shall be paid for every cántara.

Anyone who erects a wedding canopy shall pay ten maravedis during the days of the wedding. At a circumcision, ten maravedis shall be paid. When a male or female ten years old or older dies, the heirs shall give to Talmud Torah either the deceased’s ordinary clothing for distribution or ten maravedis, whichever they prefer. Any additional voluntary contribution shall be regarded as a blessing.

Each qahal shall assemble by public announcement ten days before its leases upon meat and wine expire. The members shall not disperse that day until they have leased the collection of the Talmud Torah contribution or appointed one or more trustworthy persons to receive and hold the money until a collector is appointed.

Every qahal shall appoint two trustworthy treasurers each year to administer the Talmud Torah fund. Payments shall be made through them according to the instructions of the rabbi of the court.

In places where there are no communal revenues from meat and wine, the community shall assemble by public announcement within thirty days after this ordinance is presented to it. It shall establish the Talmud Torah contribution in the manner described above.

Places containing fewer than ten heads of households, which don’t pay taxes independently, shall nevertheless collect the contribution in the same manner as the other communities. At the end of every year, for as long as this ordinance remains in effect, they shall pay everything collected to the treasurers of the qahal with which they’re assessed and shall receive a written acknowledgment of their payment.

A place containing ten or more heads of households, even if it pays taxes together with another qahal, shall appoint its own treasurer. The Talmud Torah funds shall be delivered to him and preserved until the rabbi of the court directs how they are to be used.

No qahal or individual, whether acting collectively or separately, may take any part of the Talmud Torah fund for another communal or private need, as a loan or in any other manner. All the money shall remain ready and guarded so that it may be used as the rabbi of the court directs.

Where a community already employs Torah scholars at public expense, it may use the Talmud Torah fund to pay those scholars and their students. Anything remaining after these payments shall be preserved until the rabbi of the court directs how it is to be used.

If the rabbi of the court determines that a place employing a Torah scholar should pay his stipulated salary by another method, he may direct it to do so. The scholar’s salary shall be paid from the revenues upon meat and wine, from funds dedicated to sacred purposes or from the income of houses and land assigned for his support.

Every qahal containing fifteen heads of households shall maintain a qualified teacher of children who will instruct their sons in Scripture. The community shall provide him with reasonable support according to the number of persons he must feed and clothe.

The fathers who place their sons with this teacher shall pay him according to their means. If the parents’ payments aren’t sufficient for his maintenance, the qahal shall supply what is lacking according to his needs and according to the time and place.

Every place containing forty or more heads of households shall make every effort to maintain a Torah scholar who teaches halakhot and aggadot. The qahal shall provide him with suitable support from the best available revenues upon meat and wine, from funds dedicated to sacred purposes or from the Talmud Torah contribution. He shouldn’t have to seek his livelihood elsewhere or appeal to the leading members of the community for his support.

If the qahal and the Torah scholar can’t agree upon the amount of his salary, the community shall give him the entire Talmud Torah revenue collected in that place. If this isn’t sufficient, it shall add whatever amount the rabbi of the court determines.

Every Torah scholar shall have a properly constructed study house in which he may teach anyone who wishes to hear his explanation of the law. He shall teach students and anyone else who wishes to study with him at the customary hours, unless he is prevented from doing so, so that the Torah may be magnified and honored.

A teacher of children may not teach more than twenty-five children unless he has an assistant who helps him. We therefore ordain that no teacher may have more than twenty-five children under his instruction. If he has an assistant, as required by Talmudic law, he may teach as many as forty children. If a qahal has fifty children, it shall maintain two teachers. The same rule shall apply proportionately whenever the number of pupils exceeds forty.