Q&A: Neglect of Torah Study
Neglect of Torah Study
Question
“They suspend Torah study in order to read the Megillah,” and the question is asked: reading the Megillah is also Torah study, so why is this considered neglect of Torah study? They answer: rather, it must be that this is neglect of Torah study in quality (though not in quantity).
First of all, in my opinion the whole question doesn’t even get off the ground. What I’m going to read the Megillah for is to fulfill the commandment of reading the Megillah, not for Torah study—what does that have to do with anything?! And second, the really big question is: why is going to fulfill another commandment called neglect of Torah study? Going to work for my livelihood isn’t called neglect of Torah study, so all the more so going to fulfill a commandment shouldn’t be either! What do you think?
Answer
One does not raise objections to a homiletical teaching. Clearly there is no real question here. It’s just a nice quip. The plain meaning is that going to read the Megillah is neglect of Torah study. You leave the study hall and go read the Megillah.
Here we are not dealing with a need but with a commandment, and therefore there is a novelty in saying that one is allowed to suspend Torah study in order to fulfill it. More than that: after all, one who is engaged in a commandment is exempt from another commandment, so it was necessary to teach that here there is no exemption.
Discussion on Answer
He can read it privately, and in that case it isn’t a time-sensitive commandment.
The fact that he goes to the public reading for the sake of publicizing the miracle is neglect of the commandment of Torah study during the travel time and gathering time—and checking whether the bleachers are reasonable… debating whether to risk climbing on them and whether the Rebbe’s merit will protect him… or maybe not…
That is a great deal of neglect of Torah study
Ah, okay, just a quip.
There’s no novelty, because “one who is engaged in a commandment is exempt from another commandment” applies only if the other commandment is not time-sensitive, and reading the Megillah is time-sensitive!
But like you said, one does not raise objections to a homiletical teaching.