Firing a Rebbe

Can a Rebbe/teacher be fired?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

Our first stop for the answer is the Talmud passage which rules that a teacher who is negligent with his work may be fired without warning. Indeed, halacha often allows firing without warning, in almost any profession, where the result of one’s negligence is especially damaging.

There is some discussion, however, as to what exactly is considered to be negligence on the part of a teacher warranting him being fired without warning.

According to Rashi, the negligence in this context is a teacher who is teaching students false information. This is deemed to be an “irreversible loss,” as it is assumed that what children are taught first remains with them forever.

Tosfot, however, disagrees with Rashi arguing that a child will indeed eventually forget the false information he was taught. Hence, the loss is not “irreversible.” Instead, Tosfot defines the teacher’s negligence as having wasted time when the time could have been used to teach the children important information. Hence, the “irreversible” loss is the lost time. There are other interpretations, as well.

The Shulchan Aruch seems to prefer the approach of Tosfot, as the Rema writes that a teacher may be fired without warning if he wastes “a day or two.” Anything less than this would not be grounds for firing without warning. However, nowadays, most such disputes are resolved in a Beit Din according to "minhag hamedina" - normative industry practice. Halacha often accepts minhag hamedina even if it seems to contradict Shulchan Aruch. Every case must be judged individually nowadays.

With the exception of drastic activities, all other firings must be with advance warning and/or a clear violation of a pre-existing contract (if any).

It is interesting to note that although halacha makes certain allowances for employees to strike those whose job is to teach Torah are generally not allowed to strike. This is because teaching Torah is not merely another profession but a holy duty!

Bava Metzia 109a with commentaries; Rema, CM 306:8 with commentaries