I acknowledge that Hashem's perspective is the only true perspective. Hashem teaches us in the Torah that one of the greatest activities to be involved in is Torah learning. The value of Torah learning is equal to the value of all 613 mitzvahs put together. For many people, although one might see the incredible value of Torah learning, however due to our other commitments, many of us have a very limited amount of time to involve ourselves on a daily basis towards Torah learning.
Step number one to remember is that when we meet our Creator one day, as the Gemara tells us that one of the very first questions we will be asked relates to our Torah learning. The question will not be, show me and tell me exactly what you learnt. To help us understand this idea better, it's worth mentioning an idea discussed by the Torah commentaries. We know that all Jews are commanded to keep all of the 613 mitzvahs, and the question that the Torah commentaries ask is, we know that some of the mitzvos are specifically related to men - that women will not be able to fulfill, and likewise the other way around - some of the mitzvos are related to women that men cannot fulfill. And in the same way, in order to perform certain mitzvos, one needs to be a kohen, and if one is not a kohen, one can never perform that mitzvah, and in the same way, many of the mitzvos can only be performed whilst the Temple - the Beis Hamikdash, is in our midst, whereas today, when the Beis Hamikdash has been destroyed, those mitzvos can no longer be fulfilled. So, the list of 613 is actually much smaller today.
So, the Torah commentaries ask, how then can we be commanded to fulfill all 613 mitzvahs, when in essence, many of those mitzvos cannot be fulfilled on a personal basis? And the answer the Torah commentaries give is that every mitzvah is comprised of two parts. You cannot perform a mitzvah unless you learn how to perform that mitzvah. So, the first part of each mitzvah is to learn about that mitzvah and its details. The second part of each mitzvah is taking that information that one knows, and actually practically going ahead and fulfilling that mitzvah. So, for many of the mitzvos that we do have the opportunity to fulfill in a practical way, even today, we are privileged to be able to fulfill both components of the mitzvah. A: To learn about it; and B: To actually practically perform it.
However, the Torah commentaries explain that for those mitzvos that we are unable to perform in a practical way, nevertheless, we can still fulfill the first part of the mitzvah - to learn about the mitzvah, and by doing so, we are showing Hashem our desire to perform the mitzvah even though we are unable to perform that mitzvah in a practical way. This is a very powerful idea that we can also bring into the concept of Torah learning. Of course, the ideal would be to be involved in Torah learning 24-7, because again, this is the holiest endeavor in the true perspective in Hashem's books. However, for most of us that do not have the opportunity to be exclusively involved in Torah learning 24-7, we nevertheless can express our desire to Hashem in our personal words.
“Master of the Universe, thank you for the privilege to learn Torah. I am so grateful for the time that you have given me on a daily basis to be able to learn some of your Torah. Thank you so much, Hashem, for giving me that opportunity. At the same time, Hashem, I'm trying to internalize that Torah learning is so valuable and precious, and I would so appreciate if you could give me more time. And I know that you can do anything, Hashem, because you are the Master of the Universe. You are the one who can take care of my commitments and help alleviate some time, that I should have more time on a daily basis in order to learn your Torah. Please, Hashem, my desire is to have more and more time to learn your Torah.” Although we may not have that time available, the true question we will be asked after 120 years is “did you desire with all your heart to make your maximum effort to learn Torah.”
