Introduction Rabbi Hananiah ben Hakinai was one of Rabbi Akiva’s students. According to legend he was also martyred.

Rabbi Hananiah ben Hakinai said: one who wakes up at night, or walks on the way alone and turns his heart to idle matters, behold, this man is mortally guilty. One explanation for this statement is that nighttime is when demons are most active. So too, demons are especially present on the road. The person who wakes up at night or who walks alone on the road is vulnerable to these demons (demons are less likely to attack two). Therefore, if he is not engaged in the study of Torah, but rather in idle matters, he is liable to die. In other words, this is a physically dangerous act. [Many of us probably do not believe in demons. Nevertheless there may be some deep psychological truth to this statement. Waking up at night when no one else is around, or walking alone on a deserted path are times when a person is most likely to feel lonely and afraid. The antidote for such fears is Torah. Idle thoughts will only lead to more fear]. An alternative explanation for this statement is that these are golden opportunities to think about Torah. One who wastes his time thinking about idle matters when he could be learning Torah is, at least metaphorically speaking, mortally guilty. Maimonides actually teaches that the best time to learn, the time when a person is most likely to remember his studies, is at night. We should note that Maimonides followed his own advice and is known to have barely slept.