The Value of Torah Study
ערך לימוד התורה
The most important mitzva in the Torah is the mitzva of Torah study. The Sages said that the mitzva of Torah study is equal to all the other mitzvot. They likewise said that the reward for the mitzva of Torah study is equal to the reward for all the mitzvot (Pe’ah 1:1, and the Yerushalmi there; Bavli, Mo’ed Katan 9b).
There are two main reasons for the supreme status of the mitzva of Torah study. First, without study it is impossible to fulfill the mitzvot. Second, its spiritual stature is above all the other mitzvot. Let us explain further:
It is obvious that without clear knowledge of the principles and details of the mitzvot, it is impossible to fulfill the mitzvot of the Torah. Therefore, it is essential that every Jew know all the fundamentals of the mitzvot. This is what the Sages said (Kiddushin 40b): “Study is great, for study leads to action.”
In addition, Torah study is the most spiritual mitzva, and therefore its stature is above all the other mitzvot. A person is composed of body and soul, and all the practical mitzvot in the Torah are fulfilled through the body and are connected to the things of this physical world. The mitzva of Torah study, however, is performed through thought, and therefore it is the most spiritual mitzva, and through it the soul finds its full expression. Through study we are elevated and connected to what is beyond the world, to the eternal world. And by virtue of Israel studying Torah day and night, and connecting this world with the eternal world, the entire world is sustained. Were the world, God forbid, to cease from Torah for a single moment, it would immediately revert to chaos, as it is stated (Yirmiyahu 33:25): “Thus says the Lord: If not for My covenant day and night, I would not have set the ordinances of heaven and earth.”
The Sages also said that in the order of creation, the Torah preceded the world. After the Holy One, blessed be He, created the Torah, which contains within it all the ideals and values in the world, He went on to create the world in order to realize those divine ideals of the Torah. It turns out, then, that through Torah study we connect to the spiritual dimension that is the root of this physical world. And the more we engage in Torah with diligence and depth, the more we connect to the root of life, and as a result blessing flows into this world, and it develops and is elevated.
In light of these two fundamentals, we can understand the two components of the mitzva of Torah study. The first is to know the Torah, that is, to know all the mitzvot of the Torah with all their details and fine points, as well as all the ideas of faith and ethics in the Torah, in order to know how to live properly. The second part is to engage in Torah. That is, even a person who has already merited to know all the fundamentals of the Torah is commanded to continue studying and delving into the Torah, for Torah study is the occupation suited to the soul, and through it a person connects to the spiritual root of the world.