What Should You Learn During Your Torah Study Time?

What is the recommended subject to study during one’s fixed time for Torah learning?

* * *

The Talmud (Kiddushin 30a) teaches: “Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chanania said: A person should always divide his study time into three parts — one-third for Mikra (Scripture), one-third for Mishnah, and one-third for Talmud (Gemara).”

Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Aruch, writes in the Beit Yosef (Orach Chaim 246) in the name of the Rama: The Sages’ instruction to divide one’s time equally among Scripture, Mishnah, and Talmud applied to earlier generations, whose hearts were open “like the entrance of a great hall,” and who were capable of learning vast amounts in a short time. But in later generations, when human capacity has weakened, it is sufficient to study Chumash (the Five Books of Moshe) in one’s youth, and spend the rest of life primarily on Mishnah and Talmud.

Practical Application

In more recent generations, people no longer have the mental capacity or available time to master Scripture, Mishnah, and Talmud all thoroughly. If one were to spend a third of his time on Scripture, he would have too little left to reach practical halachic understanding.

Therefore, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef ruled that today, the correct approach is to invest the majority of one’s learning time in halacha l’maaseh — the study of practical Jewish law.

At the beginning of one’s learning journey, however, it is appropriate to also include study of Scripture, Mishnah, and Talmud, to understand how halacha develops and is derived from the sources.
But as one grows in Torah knowledge, he should direct most of his effort toward Talmud and halachic authorities, while periodically reviewing Scripture and Mishnah to avoid forgetting the foundations of Torah.

For Working Individuals

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef further wrote that for working people who have only two or three hours a day to study, it is best to focus entirely on practical halacha — learning from the Shulchan Aruch and its major commentaries. This is the core of Torah learning: knowing what a Jew must do in daily life.

He adds that those who study only “Daf Yomi” (the daily Talmud page) do not fulfill the full mitzvah of Torah study in its proper sense — because, as Rabbi Yosef ibn Migash (teacher of the Rambam) wrote, “In our times, no one can derive practical halacha directly from the Talmud, only from the rulings of the Geonim and later authorities.”

Even those who imagine they can issue halachic rulings based solely on their sharpness in Talmudic logic, must be restrained — “for there is no one in our generation fit for such a task.” This view was also shared by Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv.

Balanced Learning for Those With More Time

Someone who has four or more hours available for Torah study each day should ideally devote:

• Three hours to halacha l’maaseh (practical law), and

• The remaining time to Gemara and Rishonim (early authorities), as his ability allows.

If one finds halachic study too difficult, or cannot maintain focus, he should consult a Torah scholar to help him plan the right division of study time and select appropriate texts suited to his level.