(5) You shall love your God ה' with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (6) Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. (7) Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. (8) Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; (9) inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
What does this text suggest about how to make Torah study part of our lives?
(יד) רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי שָׁקוּד לִלְמֹד תּוֹרָה, וְדַע מַה שֶּׁתָּשִׁיב לְאֶפִּיקוֹרוֹס. וְדַע לִפְנֵי מִי אַתָּה עָמֵל. וְנֶאֱמָן הוּא בַעַל מְלַאכְתְּךָ שֶׁיְּשַׁלֶּם לָךְ שְׂכַר פְּעֻלָּתֶךְ:
(טו) רַבִּי טַרְפוֹן אוֹמֵר, הַיּוֹם קָצָר וְהַמְּלָאכָה מְרֻבָּה, וְהַפּוֹעֲלִים עֲצֵלִים, וְהַשָּׂכָר הַרְבֵּה, וּבַעַל הַבַּיִת דּוֹחֵק:
(טז) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה. אִם לָמַדְתָּ תוֹרָה הַרְבֵּה, נוֹתְנִים לְךָ שָׂכָר הַרְבֵּה. וְנֶאֱמָן הוּא בַעַל מְלַאכְתְּךָ שֶׁיְּשַׁלֵּם לְךָ שְׂכַר פְּעֻלָּתֶךָ. וְדַע מַתַּן שְׂכָרָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא:
(14) Rabbi Elazar says: Be diligent in learning Torah, and know how to respond to one who denigrates the Torah. Know before Whom you labor--the Master of your work is trustworthy to pay you the wage for your activity.
(15) Rabbi Tarfon said: The day is short and the work is much, and the workers are lazy and the reward is great, and the Master of the house is insistent.
(16) He used to say: It is not your responsibility to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it. If you have learned much Torah, your reward will be much; and the Master of your work is trustworthy to pay you the wage for your activity. And know that the giving of reward to the righteous will take place in the future to come.
In what way is Torah study compared to work or labor?
How do you understand what the "reward" for Torah study might be?
(ה) תְּחִלַּת דִּינוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם אֵינוֹ נִדּוֹן אֶלָּא עַל הַתַּלְמוּד וְאַחַר כָּךְ עַל שְׁאָר מַעֲשָׂיו. לְפִיכָךְ אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים לְעוֹלָם יַעֲסֹק אָדָם בַּתּוֹרָה בֵּין לִשְׁמָהּ בֵּין שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ שֶׁמִּתּוֹךְ שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ בָּא לִשְׁמָהּ:
(Maimonides, 12th century, Egypt)
(5) The judgment of a human being in the world to come (e.g. the afterlife, or messianic age) begins with no other than the question of the study of the Torah, and after that concerning the rest of his/her deeds. Therefore the Sages said: "Let each person always pursue the study of the Torah, whether for its own sake, or not for its own sake, because by studying it not for its own sake they will come to pursue it for its own sake." (Pesahim, 50b; Sotah, 22a; Nazir, 23b).
What do you think it might mean to study Torah for its own sake vs. not for its own sake?
Why do you think study for its own sake is considered to be so important?