Another debate in comparative religious values offers the choice of study or prayer. The Talmud makes short shrift of the subject. It records an incident of a rabbi who chastised a colleague for spending time praying when he could more profitably be studying. Torah study is not just scholarship, it is an act of prayer. Torah study is not simply a matter of punctilious scholarship and academic excellence, although it is surely that, too.
Study is the highest mode of worship.
Torah study is crucial to the survival of the Jews, and it has earned Jews the reputation of being one of the most educated peoples in the history of the world. Even if he is poor and needs to beg from door to door, and even if he has a family to support, he is obligated to set aside time by day and by night to study Torah. More than a law, more than a prayer, learning is an act of love. There are scores of people in diverse cultures who are lovers of learning. Among Jews, this is quite pronounced.