{"id":98001,"date":"2022-11-19T21:54:58","date_gmt":"2022-11-19T19:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/?p=98001"},"modified":"2022-11-19T21:54:58","modified_gmt":"2022-11-19T19:54:58","slug":"bitul-torah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/bitul-torah\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitul Torah"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Shimon says, \u201cOne who walks on the road while reviewing [a Torah lesson] but interrupts his review, and exclaims, \u2018How beautiful is this tree! How beautiful is this plowed field!\u201d \u2013 Scripture considers it as if he is liable to pay with his life (Avot<\/em> 3:7).<\/p>\n

Rabbi Elazar b\u2019Rabbi Tzadok rules that one should not say, \u201cGezuntheit<\/em>,\u201d \u201cLabriut<\/em>,\u201d or, \u201cG-d bless you\u201d when someone sneezes in the Beit Hamidrash, in order not to waste time from Torah study (Tosefta<\/em>, Shabbat<\/em> 7).<\/p>\n

He would say, \u201cWhy do talmidei chachamim<\/em> perish in their youth? They are not immoral and they do not steal, but it is due to bitul <\/em>Torah\u201d (Avot d\u2019Rabbi Natan<\/em>, I, 26:2).<\/p>\n

Yerushalayim was destroyed only on account of bitul <\/em>Torah (Avot d\u2019Rabbi<\/em> Natan<\/em>, II, 5)<\/p>\n

One who has not sinned with bitul <\/em>Torah yet nonetheless suffers, should know that his suffering is that of love, as the pasuk states (Tehillim<\/em> 94:12), \u201cPraiseworthy is the man whom G-d disciplines, and who You teach from Your Torah\u201d (Berachot<\/em> 5b).<\/p>\n

Rains are withheld due to bitul <\/em>Torah, as the pasuk (Kohelet<\/em> 10:18) states, \u201cThrough laziness the ceiling sags.\u201d When Bnei Yisrael were remiss in Torah study, the skies were sealed (Ta\u2019anit <\/em>7:2).<\/p>\n

Our Sages say that one who frequents the bullfights and circuses often sees fortune-tellers and people practicing various forms of witchcraft. Assorted types of amusement include jesters and mimes. These categories of entertainment are considered the \u201cseat of scoffers.\u201d Regarding them, the pasuk states (Tehillim<\/em> 1:1-2), \u201cPraiseworthy is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked\u2026 and has not sat in the company of scoffers. But his desire is in the Torah of Hashem.\u201d From here we see that these forms of pastimes remove a person from Torah study (Avodah Zarah<\/em> 18b, see Rashi<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Hashem overlooked the sins of idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed, but He refused to overlook the sin of bitul <\/em>Torah (Yerushalmi<\/em>, Chagigah<\/em> 1:7).<\/p>\n

Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi says that one\u2019s children die in childhood on account of bitul <\/em>Torah, as the pasuk says, \u201cIn vain did I strike your children, for they did not accept rebuke\u201d (Yalkut Shimoni<\/em>, Yirmeyahu<\/em>, remez<\/em> 266).<\/p>\n

Just as the reward for Torah study surpasses that of all other mitzvot, so does the punishment for bitul <\/em>Torah surpass those of all other aveirot (Sifri<\/em>, Eikev<\/em>).<\/p>\n

In punishment for bitul<\/em> Torah, Amalek attacked Am Yisrael. Tragedies come upon the world as punishment for neglecting Torah study (Rabbeinu Bachya<\/em>, Shemot<\/em> 13).<\/p>\n

Learning Torah for one hour and then stopping for an hour is an exercise in futility. It is like someone who plants and then washes away his seeds. The main aspect of Torah study is its consistency. Therein lies the secret of its sanctity. One who learns in a fragmented way will be left with nothing. A person should plan out how he will acquire diligence in Torah study and constantly pray for his success (Igrot HaChazon Ish<\/em>).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Shimon says, \u201cOne who walks on the road while reviewing [a Torah lesson] but interrupts his review, and exclaims, \u2018How beautiful is this tree! How beautiful is this plowed field!\u201d \u2013 Scripture considers it as if he is liable to pay with his life (Avot 3:7). Rabbi Elazar b\u2019Rabbi Tzadok rules that one should […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1052],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bitul-torah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98001\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}