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The concept of "You shall immerse yourself in it (Torah) day and night" (Yehoshua 1:8) is flexible, and it refers to the time you are free from other involvements and are available. This is the time you should be studying Torah. This is what Rabbi Yishmael said to his nephew: "If you find a time that is neither day nor night, this is when you can learn ‘Greek wisdom’" (Menachot 99b). In other words, at these times when one is not involved in other things, that is the time one is commanded to be immersed in Torah [so that he is not free to study Greek wisdom].
The material of Torah study is not completed with the study of Tanach or Mishna but requires much greater breadth, if you are able to do that. If you are not able, it is possible to fulfill "day and night" by reciting Kri’at Shema, according to one opinion. A second opinion requires at least setting a certain amount of time for study in the day and the night.
There are two types of obligations. One relates to the quantity of material studied. The other relates to the element of time investment. One cannot say: I have free time, so I will go play tennis. No! It is true that if one is tired, he is allowed to take a trip, involve himself in something other than Torah, or amuse himself, as this can make him healthier. The Rambam (De’ot 3:3) applies to such a scenario the pasuk of "In all of your paths know Him" (Mishlei 3:6). However, when the alternative activity is to be done as a hobby and simple enjoyment, one should find this enjoyment and entertainment in Torah. "For [Torah] is our life and the length of our days" (from daily prayers). The pasuk says: "If Your Torah was not my delight, I would have been lost in my affliction" (Tehillim 119:92). Yes, even delight and entertainment is in the Torah. This gives the energy and the importance that makes Israel a special nation – the nation of Torah.
I want to especially stress here that the study of Torah is not just so that we will be able to properly fulfill the mitzvot. Rather it gives the emotional framework, as the Rabbis taught that "Torah brings a person to action" (Kiddushin 40b). What does this mean? The pasuk says: "You shall teach them to your children … so that your days and the days of your children will be increased in the Land that Hashem swore to your forefathers to give them as the days that the heavens are above the land" (Devarim 11:19-21). The stress of the increase in days on the Land tells us that Torah study is a facilitator of success in and connection to the Land. Our merit to deserving the Land is acquired to a great extent by our study and teaching of Torah. The pasuk "as the days that the heavens are above the land" can be explained wittily as follows: This refers to spiritual days over the land. The situation of studying Torah turns the physical life into one that accompanies the spiritual side.
Recently one of the writers who consider themselves very smart, stressed: "Our skies are empty; we do not see anything; there is nothing." He does not notice or realize that if this is the case, he should not be calling people he respects "men of spirit." Where does the spirit come from if not from the Heaven, if there is nothing spiritual? If only that which you can touch and measure exists, then what is spirit (lit., wind) and where does it come from?
We also see all of the pursuit of honor and of improper use of protektzia. We would like to see leaders who set a path to follow, but they are missing the truly spiritual element. They are missing "as the days that the heavens are above the land" because they are missing "You shall teach it to your children." Torah study is sorely missing!


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