The obligation of learning Torah

Anyone who has had even limited exposure to the religious Jewish world will know that much stress is placed on the importance of learning Torah. Chazal convey this message in a number of places, perhaps the most famous being the statement that “Study of Torah is equal to all of them (the mitzvos)”.[1]

Those who have learnt in yeshiva will probably have become accustomed to hearing that every free minute must be used to learn Torah. Reactions to this expectation are varied. Some happily follow this instruction (usually after a period of acclimatisation), others do so out of guilt. Some who are more relaxed take this message ‘with a pinch of salt,’ while a significant minority resent the pressure which overwhelms them.

As with so many things, it is beneficial for all of these people to understand what the Torah expects of us more clearly. While generally the clichés used by those teaching mussar (rebuke) are not untrue, they can be misleading or show an incomplete picture.

The basic obligation and the recommended path

The gemara discusses this in various places, with a focus on the instruction Hashem gives Yehoshua:

לא ימוש ספר התורה הזה מפיך והגית בו יומם ולילה למען תשמר לעשות ככל הכתוב בו כי אז תצליח את דרכך ואז תשכיל

(יהושע א, ח)

This book of the Torah should not move from your mouth- you shall study it day and night in order to make sure to do all that it is written in it. Then you will be successful in your ways and be intelligent.

(Yehoshua 1:8)

In Berachos 35b, the tana’im dispute how this should be applied. R’ Yishmael learns from the blessing “You shall gather in your crops” (Devarim 11) that the command to Yehoshua was not meant to be taken literally. Rather, one should act in the normal way of the world. R’ Shimon Bar Yochai argues that in this way one will always be pre-occupied with work and there will be no time to learn. Rather when we fulfil the will of Hashem, our work will be done for us by others.

Abaye concludes “Many followed R’ Yishmael and succeeded (to work and also have time to learn), and many followed R’ Shimon bar Yochai and did not succeed. Rava also instructs his talmidim not to come before him during Nisan and Tishrei (the times when work in the field needed to be done), in order that they should not be occupied with searching for food the rest of the year.

There are many questions to ask on the gemara above, but first we will quote another gemara which seemingly compounds the difficulty. In Menachos 99b R’ Shimon Bar Yochai is quoted as saying that one who just recites Shema in the morning and evening fulfils his obligation of studying day and night.[2] However, R’ Yishmael tells his nephew that even though he already knows the whole Torah, due to the command given to Yehoshua he may only learn Greek wisdom at an hour which is ‘neither day nor night’.[3]

Seemingly here R’ Yishmael and R’ Shimon bar Yochai have switched their views, with R’ Yishmael taking the uncompromising position. Based on this seeming contradiction, the Rosh explains that when R’ Shimon argued with R’ Yishmael about gathering crops, he did not mean that there is an obligation to learn Torah constantly.[4] He does not specify what R’ Shimon did mean, but presumably the idea is that although all agree that the basic obligation can be fulfilled by reciting Shema, we are generally expected to go beyond this basic obligation.

If this is the case, the dispute between the tana’im is a subtle one. All agree over the basic obligation, and all agree that it is unacceptable to limit oneself to the minimum. They differ over what the average person should strive for. According to R’ Yishmael he should aim to provide for himself in a normal manner, utilising any free time for Torah learning. R’ Shimon bar Yochai expects more, insisting that the need to work for a living exists only when Am Yisrael are not doing G-d’s will.

This helps explain the method Abaye used to settle the dispute. The main issue is a practical one, with R’ Shimon bar Yochai claiming that R’ Yishmael’s method will result in people not having time to learn, and R’ Yishmael maintaining that relying on others to provide sustenance is not the way of the world. Abaye simply carried out a survey, and concluded that more often than not R’ Yishmael’s recommendation is the one that works.

An obligation to know?

The position of the Rosh explained above, that all agree that the basic obligation of learning Torah can be fulfilled by reciting Shema, seems to be confirmed by the gemara in Nedarim 8a. Here the gemara tells us that an oath to study a certain part of the Torah is not a superfluous oath, as without this oath one could exempt himself by saying Shema day and night. No dissenting view is presented.

The Rambam also states that the obligation incumbent on every Jewish man is to fix time during the day and night to learn Torah.[5] However, the Ran claims that the gemara in Nedarim cannot be taken literally, and only refers to the obligation explicit in the Torah.[6] In fact everyone is obligated to learn constantly, within his capabilities.

The Ran proves this from the gemara in Kiddushin 30a. Here the gemara derives from the command ושננתם לבניך (“You shall teach them thoroughly to your children”)[7] that one must learn until the words of the Torah are sharp in his mouth, to the extent that he can answer any question immediately.

The Rambam and the Rosh do not quote this gemara in Kiddushin, and it appears that they do not accept it as being halacha. Instead, they both quote another halacha derived from the same pasuk by the gemara there, that one should divide his learning into three categories (Tanach, mishna and gemara).[8] This ruling was likely influenced by the sources quoted above, limiting the basic obligation to once a day and once a night.[9]

The truth is that there is very little practical difference between the two views. Although the Rambam’s position is that there is no technical obligation to know the whole Torah, or even to utilise every spare moment for learning, this certainly is the recommended path.[10] This is what R’ Yishmael told his nephew, that the attitude that since he has ‘already learned the whole Torah’ and now has free time for other pursuits is unacceptable.[11]

Similarly, although according to the Ran there is a basic obligation to learn constantly in order to know the entire Torah fluently, he states explicitly that this obligation is dependent on his capabilities. No-one is expected to do more than is suited to his personal limitations, whether they are financial, intellectual or psychological.

The importance of learning Torah

It should be clear from what we have written so far that the ‘minimum amount’ set for learning Torah is not similar to minimum amounts set for other mitzvos.[12] I need to explain briefly why this is the case, although in I will not do this full justice here.

Chazal explain that the phrase “one who scorns the word of G-d”[13] refers to one who is able to occupy himself with Torah and does not do so.[14] This comment seems quite extreme, as clearly there are many who don’t learn Torah out of laziness, and not with any malicious intent.

I believe that in fact this statement of Chazal does not refer to those who are too lazy to learn. In a way, these people do something worse than ‘scorning the word of G-d.’ Hashem’s most precious gift to us is our intelligence, and one who prefers to concentrate only on physical and emotional pursuits does not fulfil any meaningful purpose. Chazal are talking about someone who does think, but comes to the conclusion that there are intellectual activities on a higher level than Torah.

When it comes to learning Torah one who ‘does the minimum’ despite being capable of more, is either completely wasting the abilities Hashem has given him, or is ‘scorning the word of G-d.’ This explains why throughout history so much stress has been put on this mitzvah.

Summary

1) The basic obligation of learning Torah is once a day and once a night.

2) According to one view, there is also an obligation to spend all of one’s available time learning, and to know the whole Torah. However, this obligation is subjective to each person’s abilities.

3) All agree that even if there is no technical obligation, there is no intellectual pursuit more worthwhile than Torah, and one should act accordingly.

4) One whose main strengths lie in other areas should set aside time for learning according to his capability. He should not feel guilty for pursuing other interests.

5) Generally speaking, neglecting one’s physical needs in order to learn more Torah is counter-productive.

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[1] Mishna Peah 1:1

[2] There is a dispute over whether one should tell this to an ‘am haaretz’ (one with limited understanding), but this debate is merely a psychological one. The question is whether this piece of information will stop the am ha’aretz from learning more, or encourage him that even the little that he is able to do is worthwile.

[3] The gemara continues by quoting a third view, that the verse above is neither an obligation nor a mitzvah. It is a blessing given to Yehoshua that he will have time to learn the Torah that is so precious to him. However, this view seems not to have been accepted as halacha.

[4] Tosfos HaRosh, Berachos 35b

[5] Hilchos Talmud Torah 1:8

[6] He explains that an oath to fulfil an obligation that is not explicit in the Torah is not superfluous.

[7] Devarim 6:7

[8] Rambam Hilchos Talmud Torah 1:11, Rosh Kidushin 1:43

[9] See however R’ Yerucham Fishel Perlow, Asin 14-5 (ד"ה ואמנם) and Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah 2:110.

[10] See for example Hilchos Talmud Torah 3:12-3.

[11] It is quite possible that R’ Yishmael’s stern answer was a response to his nephew’s desire to free himself from the burden of Torah. Had the question stemmed from a desire to learn something productive from ‘Greek wisdom,’ the answer may well have been different. See “Wisdom of the Nations”

[12] Mitzvos like the hagada on pesach, tzedaka and mishloach manos on Purim all have minimum amounts, and with all of them we are told that “Whoever increase is praiseworthy.” However, with these mitzvos one who does the minimum is not criticised unless it stems from stinginess or disdain for mitzvos.

[13] Bamidbar 15:31

[14] Sanhedrin 99a