אָמַר רַבִּי חֶלְבּוֹ אָמַר רַב הוּנָא: הָרוֹאֶה סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה שֶׁנִּקְרַע — חַיָּיב לִקְרוֹעַ שְׁתֵּי קְרִיעוֹת: אֶחָד עַל הַגְּוִיל וְאֶחָד עַל הַכְּתָב, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״אַחֲרֵי שְׂרוֹף הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת הַמְּגִלָּה וְאֶת הַדְּבָרִים״.
Rabbi Ḥelbo said that Rav Huna said: One who sees a Torah scroll that was torn is obligated to make two rents, one for the parchment that was damaged and one for the writing, as it is stated: “Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after the king had burned the scroll and the words” (Jeremiah 36:27). This implies that a separate rent must be made for each of them, both the parchment and the writing.
״וְלַיּוֹצֵא וְלַבָּא אֵין שָׁלוֹם״, אָמַר רַב: כֵּיוָן שֶׁיּוֹצֵא אָדָם מִדְּבַר הֲלָכָה לִדְבַר מִקְרָא — שׁוּב אֵין לוֹ שָׁלוֹם.
Since the Gemara mentioned a Torah scholar who abandons the study of Torah, it cites a relevant verse: “Neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in due to the adversary” (Zechariah 8:10). Rav said: Once a person leaves the study of halakha, i.e., Mishna and Gemara, even for the study of the Torah itself, he will no longer have peace. The verses of the Torah are often obscure and it is difficult to learn halakha directly from them without the aid of the interpretations of the Talmud.
הֵן הֵן גּוּפֵי תוֹרָה. הָנֵי — אִין, הָנָךְ לָא? אֶלָּא אֵימָא: הֵן וְהֵן גּוּפֵי תוֹרָה.
§ The mishna taught: These [hen hen] are the essential parts of the Torah. The Gemara asks: These, the topics mentioned in the mishna, which are not written explicitly but for which there is ample basis in the Torah, yes, they are the essential parts of Torah, whereas those other categories listed in the mishna that are written explicitly, no, they are not essential? Rather, one must say that both these and those [hen vehen] are the essential parts of the Torah. Every part of the Torah is essential, whether or not it is written explicitly.
מָר זוּטְרָא מְשַׂרְטֵט וְכָתֵיב לְכוּלַּהּ פָּרָשָׁה. מַתְקֵיף לַהּ מָר בַּר אִידִי: וְהָא לֹא נִיתַּן לִיכָּתֵב! וְהִלְכְתָא כְּווֹתֵיהּ דְּמָר זוּטְרָא.
Mar Zutra would score lines of a parchment and write the whole ḥalitza passage on it as a bill of ḥalitza, so it would be displayed before the ḥalitza participants. Mar bar Idi strongly objected to this: But it is unable to be written like this on its own, as the Torah may be written only in a complete state, and it is prohibited to write parts of the Torah when there is no mitzva to write them separately. The Gemara comments: Even so, the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Mar Zutra, because there is an aspect of a mitzva here, as it is being written as part of a bill of ḥalitza, not for its own purpose.
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: הַקּוֹרֵא פָּסוּק שֶׁל שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים וְעוֹשֶׂה אוֹתוֹ כְּמִין זֶמֶר, וְהַקּוֹרֵא פָּסוּק בְּבֵית מִשְׁתָּאוֹת בְּלֹא זְמַנּוֹ – מֵבִיא רָעָה לָעוֹלָם, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהַתּוֹרָה חוֹגֶרֶת שַׂק וְעוֹמֶדֶת לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וְאוֹמֶרֶת לְפָנָיו: רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, עֲשָׂאוּנִי בָּנֶיךָ כְּכִנּוֹר שֶׁמְּנַגְּנִין בּוֹ לֵצִים.
§ The Sages taught: One who reads a verse from Song of Songs and renders it a form of secular song, and not a sacred text, and one who reads any biblical verse at a banquet house, not at its appropriate time, but merely as a song, introduces evil to the world, as the Torah girds itself with sackcloth and stands before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and says before Him: Master of the Universe, Your children have rendered me like a harp on which clowns play.
אָמַר לָהּ: בִּתִּי, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאוֹכְלִין וְשׁוֹתִין בַּמֶּה יִתְעַסְּקוּ? אָמְרָה לְפָנָיו: רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, אִם בַּעֲלֵי מִקְרָא הֵן – יַעַסְקוּ בַּתּוֹרָה וּבַנְּבִיאִים וּבַכְּתוּבִים. אִם בַּעֲלֵי מִשְׁנָה הֵן – יַעַסְקוּ בַּמִּשְׁנָה, בַּהֲלָכוֹת וּבְהַגָּדוֹת. וְאִם בַּעֲלֵי תַלְמוּד הֵן – יַעַסְקוּ בְּהִלְכוֹת פֶּסַח בַּפֶּסַח, בְּהִלְכוֹת עֲצֶרֶת בָּעֲצֶרֶת, בְּהִלְכוֹת חַג בֶּחָג. הֵעִיד רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן חֲנַנְיָא: כׇּל הַקּוֹרֵא פָּסוּק בִּזְמַנּוֹ מֵבִיא טוֹבָה לָעוֹלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְדָבָר בְּעִתּוֹ מַה טּוֹב״.
The Holy One, Blessed be He, says to the Torah: My daughter, during the time that they are eating and drinking, in what should they be engaged? The Torah says before Him: Master of the Universe, if they are masters of the Bible, let them engage in the study of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. If they are masters of the Mishna, let them engage in the study of the Mishna, in the study of halakha, and in the study of aggada. And if they are masters of the Talmud, let them engage in the study of the halakhot of Passover on Passover, in the study of the halakhot of Shavuot on Shavuot, and in the study of the halakhot of Sukkot on Sukkot. They should not treat the Torah with contempt by using it for their own entertainment. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar testified in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥananya: Anyone who reads a verse at its appropriate time and in the appropriate manner introduces good into the world, as it is stated: “And a word in its season, how good is it” (Proverbs 15:23).