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Rabbi Elazar of Bartotha said: give to Him of that which is His, for you and that which is yours is His; and thus it says with regards to David: “for everything comes from You, and from Your own hand have we given you” (I Chronicles 29:14). Rabbi Jacob said: if one is studying while walking on the road and interrupts his study and says, “how fine is this tree!” [or] “how fine is this newly ploughed field!” scripture accounts it to him as if he was mortally guilty.
Pirkei Avot 3:7
With regard to the same matter,
Rabbi Levi said: Anyone who pauses from words of Torah to occupy himself with mundane conversation will be fed with the coals of the broom tree, as it is stated: “They pluck saltwort [
maluaḥ
] with wormwood [
alei siaḥ
], and the roots of the broom tree [
retamim
] are their food”
(Job 30:4). The exposition is as follows: Those who pluck, i.e., pause, from learning Torah, which was given upon two tablets,
luḥot
, which sounds similar to
maluaḥ
, for the purpose of
siaḥ
, idle chatter…
Chagigah 12b:9
It is taught
in a
baraita
that
Rabbi Meir would say:
With regard to
one who studies Torah and does not teach it
to others,
this
person
is
included in the category of:
“He has despised the word of the Lord,”
as his conduct indicates that he does not consider the word of God significant enough to teach others.
Rabbi Natan says: Anyone who does not pay
the requisite
attention to the Mishna
and does not consider it essential
halakha
is included in the category of: “Because he has despised the word of the Lord…
Sanhedrin 99a:20
The verse continues:
“And my eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive”
(Jeremiah 13:17).
Rabbi Elazar said: Why these three
references to
tears
in the verse?
One
is
for the First Temple; one
is
for the Second Temple; and one
is
for the Jewish people who were exiled from their place. And there are
those
who say:
The last
one
is
for
the unavoidable
dereliction
of the study of
Torah
in the wake of the exile…
Chagigah 5b:13-15
והיה אם לא תשמע
, "It will be if you do not hearken, etc."
The Torah made it plain here that unless we fulfil all three aspects of Judasim i.e. Torah study, scrupulous observance of the negative commandments, and the carrying out of positive commandments, some or all of the consequences described forthwith will occur. Learning Torah and not observing the negative commandments does not protect us. Observing both negative and positive commandments but neglecting the study of Torah will still result in the curses of the following verses being fulfilled…
Or HaChaim on Deuteronomy 28:15:1
§
The Sages taught:
With regard to
one who goes to stadiums [
le’itztadinin
]
where people are killed in contests with gladiators or beasts,
or to a camp of besiegers [
ulkharkom
]
where different forms of entertainment are provided for the besieging army,
and
he
sees there
the acts of
the diviners and those who cast spells,
or the acts of the clowns known as
bukiyon
, or
mukiyon
, or
muliyon
, or
luliyon
,
or
belurin
,
or
salgurin
, this is
categorized as
“the seat of the scornful”…
Avodah Zarah 18b:5
And there are many people among the masses who think that the main loss and damage to the soul is only from sins that [involve] an action; and that there is no losing of the soul for a man that is pure from sinning actively and who did not walk in the way of transgressions, but rather [only] prevented himself from doing [positive] commandments and good deeds. Therefore, we are obligated to make discernment known to the ones of a mistaken spirit. For our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Yerushalmi Chagigah 1:7), “The Holy One, blessed be He, forewent idolatry, etc…
Sha'arei Teshuvah 3:14
He would also say: Anyone who commits himself to studying words of Torah becomes surrounded by a circle of committed colleagues. And anyone who neglects studying words of Torah becomes surrounded by a circle of neglectful companions. And then he is attacked by a lion, a wolf, a tiger, a hyena, or a snake. Or soldiers or thieves come and surround him and take his money, as it says (Psalms 58:12), “For there is a God who judges upon the earth.”
Avot DeRabbi Natan 29:2
Furthermore, the Sages said that
due to the sin of delay of justice,
i.e., judges delay issuing their rulings due to personal considerations,
and
for
distortion of justice,
i.e., judges intentionally distort their verdicts,
and
for
miscarriage of justice
that results from negligence,
and
for
dereliction in
the study of
Torah, violence and looting abound
in the world,
and pestilence and famine come, and people eat and are not sated, and they eat their bread
measured
by weight…
Shabbat 33a:2
Previously, the Gemara discussed suffering that results from one’s transgressions. The Gemara shifts the focus and discusses suffering that does not result from one’s transgressions and the suffering of the righteous.
Rava, and some say Rav Ḥisda, said: If a person sees that suffering has befallen him, he should examine his actions.
Generally, suffering comes about as punishment for one’s transgressions,
as it is stated: “We will search and examine our ways, and return to God”
(Lamentations 3:40)…
Berakhot 5a:9-15
(Deut. 11:26:) “See, I [am setting before you today a blessing and a curse]. This text is related (to Jer. 21:8), “And (to) [unto] this people you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, “See, I am setting before you the road of life and the road of death.”’” It is also written (in Ps. 78:1), “A
maskil
of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my Torah […].” And it is written (in Deut. 4:9-10), “Only take heed to yourself and watch [yourself closely, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life…
Midrash Tanchuma, Re'eh 1:1
Rebbi Ḥuna, Rebbi Jeremiah in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac: We find that the Holy One, praise to Him, did forego for Israel about idol worship, incest and adultery, and bloodshed. But for their rejection of the Torah he did not forego. What is the reason? It is not written here “The Eternal said, because they committed idol worship, incest and adultery, and bloodshed,” but
the Eternal said, because they abandoned My Torah
. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said, that they abandoned Me I could forego, maybe they would keep My Torah, since if they abandoned Me but kept My Torah…
Jerusalem Talmud Chagigah 1:7:4
Rav Ketina said: The rains are withheld only due to
the sin of
dereliction in
the study of
Torah, as it is stated: “By slothfulness the rafters [
hamekare
] will sink in [
yimakh
],
and through idleness of the hands the house leaks” (Ecclesiastes 10:18).
Due to slothfulness that was
present
amongst the Jewish people, that they did not occupy
themselves
with Torah, the enemy of the Holy One, Blessed be He,
a euphemism for God Himself, has
sunk…
Taanit 7b:10-11
He would also say: An unlearned person cannot be truly pious. A timid person cannot learn, nor can an impatient person teach.
He would also say: Why do Torah scholars die young? Not because they commit adultery, and not because they steal, but because they interrupt their Torah learning with casual conversation. And then they do not come back to the place where they left off.
Avot DeRabbi Natan 26:3
“And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and he will send with you your other brother and Benjamin; and me, as I am bereaved, I am bereaved” (Genesis 43:14).
“And may God Almighty grant you mercy” – Rabbi Pinḥas in the name of Rabbi Ḥanin of Tzippori began: “Happy is the man whom You chastise, Lord” (Psalms 94:12). And if he resents it – “You instruct him from Your Torah” (Psalms 94:12). What is written regarding Abraham? “[Go for yourself from your land…to the land that I will show you…
Bereshit Rabbah 92:1
In order to clarify which sins cause one’s young children to die, the Gemara cites what
the Sages taught
in a
baraita
:
For the sin of vows, one’s children die,
this is
the statement of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: For the sin of dereliction in
the study of
Torah.
The Gemara asks:
Granted, according to
the opinion of
the one who said
that one’s children die
due to the sin of vows, as we stated
above.
However…
Shabbat 32b:3
ושמרתם את כל המצוה..למען תחזקו
"You shall keep all the commandment in order for you to be strong, etc."
Moses advances this argument against the people who suggested a temporary neglect of Torah study, something which physically weakens those who pursue it with intensity. The argument was that they had to husband their physical strength in order for them to conquer the Canaanites. Compare
Sanhedrin
26 describing Torah study as a physically debilitating experience based on the word
תושיה
in Isaiah 28,29…
Or HaChaim on Deuteronomy 11:8:1
Rabbi Dosa ben Hyrcanus would say: Sleeping through the morning, drinking wine in the afternoon, [the chatter of little children, and sitting around in the gathering houses with the common folk; these things drive a person from the world
.]
Sleeping through the morning
. How so? This teaches that a person should not plan to sleep so late that the time for reciting the
Shema
will pass. As, if he does sleep that late, he will end up wasting time he could have spent studying Torah, as it says (Proverbs 26:13), (“The door turns on its hinges…
Avot DeRabbi Natan 21:1
Rabbi Shimon would say: There are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, the crown of kingship – and the crown of a good name is the greater than all of them.
How does the crown of priesthood work? Even if someone paid all the silver and gold in the world, we could not give him the crown of priesthood, as it says (Numbers 25:15), “It will be for him and his descendants after him an eternal covenant of priesthood.” For the crown of kingship as well; even if someone paid all silver and gold in the world, we could not give him the crown of kingship…
Avot DeRabbi Natan 41:1
“Only observe for yourself, and guard your soul diligently, lest you forget the matters that your eyes saw” (Deuteronomy 4:9). And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Menachot 99b) [that] anyone who forgets [even] one matter from his studies violates two negative commandments. Is it possible even if his studies were too hard for him? Hence we are taught to say, “And lest they depart from your heart” (Deuteronomy 4:9). The verse is only speaking of one who causes them to depart from his heart, by being idle from Torah study and not constantly poring over it.
Sha'arei Teshuvah 3:28
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