Prioritizing Learning

Avot 4:10

Rabbi Meir said: Engage but little in business, and busy yourself with the Torah. Be of humble spirit before all people. If you have neglected the Torah, you shall have many who bring you to neglect it, but if you have labored in the study of Torah, there is much reward to give unto you.

Rabbi Meir articulates four statements, three of them explicitly related to learning Torah and one about humility. Overall, he encourages laboring to learn Torah, prioritizing it over work, and maximizing one’s productivity while learning. We will review the three Torah-related concepts in more depth, and close with the teaching on humility, arguing from context that it too should be understood in terms of learning.

“Engage but little in business, and busy yourself with the Torah.”  

While still acknowledging the importance of earning a livelihood, Rabbi Meir encourages us to prioritize learning. We can be “asok” – caught up, busy, obsessed – with work; or we can prioritize and be preoccupied with Torah. Our mindset should focus on what is more axiomatic in our lives. The minimizing of business, writes Maharal, is not meant to be an outgrowth of laziness, but motivated by an endless desire to learn. Sefer Mussar suggests that where feasible, we should learn while working. Presumably this applies only if that learning doesn’t distract us from working effectively.

Alternatively, Sefat Emet suggests that we should purposefully set aside time during work in order to learn. Again, this should take into account workplace etiquette and the ethics of taking breaks if we are employees. Based on a close reading, Rabbi Samuel de Uceda provides a fascinating suggestion. Rabbi Meir does not suggest limiting “melacha” – work; rather we should minimize “esek” – preoccupation with the work. We should decrease our unhealthy emotional attachment to work so we can free up time to learn.

“If you have neglected the Torah, you shall have many who bring you to neglect it.” 

Starting down a path towards procrastination will lead to exponentially more idleness. Meiri writes that when we choose to invest more in work, more work will come to distract us. According to Abarbanel, once we are idle or choose a certain direction away from Torah, more distractions will appear. Learning how to politely say “no” to opportunities that take us away from our top priorities and goals is essential for fulfillment and success. Moreover, once we neglect studying Torah, writes Arvei Nachal, we will lose motivation to study, leading to even more idleness. If we neglect Torah, it also causes all other pursuits to feel idle and futile, writes Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski. Learning Torah infuses meaning and energy into other pursuits.

“If you have labored at the study of Torah, there is much reward to give unto you.” 

Resonant of messages regarding reward from previous mishnayot, this clause can be referencing spiritual reward, material reward, or the intrinsic feeling of accomplishment. Rabbi de Uceda focuses on the word “amalta” – labored – in the study of Torah. Reward, he suggests, is based on persistence, determination, and grit – not on results. It is the effort that is essential.

“Be of humble spirit before all people.” 

Our final clause to analyze can be understood as general advocacy for humility. How does it differ, if at all, from Rabbi Levitas’ teaching to be “very, very low of spirit” (Avot 4:4)? Maimonides focuses on the “before all people” aspect of our mishna, arguing that humility needs to go in all relational directions, even towards those of a “lower” status. Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin understands the emphasis on “before all people” to teach that sometimes we know our own flaws while self-reflecting, but can’t manage to project a humble spirit towards others, pretending that we are elevated and perfect. We should know how to admit faults to others.

However, it is also likely that this sentence, sandwiched in between three other teachings related to learning, may be advocating humility specifically in the context of learning. It is important to be intellectually humble. No matter how successful or productive we are in our learning, we should not project arrogance over other learners. This will enable us to learn from everyone and also foster better relationships, both essential for effective learning.

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