(For riddles see back page)
1) The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 9:1) explains that although a person who performs the mitzvos will receive the blessings that are promised by the Torah, these are not considered his full and primary reward, which he will only receive in the World to Come. When Hashem sees that a person is utilizing all his energy and talents to study Torah and do mitzvos, He removes from that person all the obstacles to his service of Hashem, such as sickness, war, and hunger, and He bestows upon him blessings, such as wealth, peace, and health, that will enable him to spend all his time performing mitzvos. In other words, Hashem promises good fortune not as the reward for a person's mitzvos, but as a means to free the righteous from mundane distractions and obligations so that they can continue to do even more mitzvos in the future. (R’ Ozer Alport, Parsha Potpourri)
2) The sefer Pirchei Kehunah answers, that we are talking about someone who has a wife and children, and they need him to go to work so that he has enoug money to support them. A time has come when he is no longer able to sit and learn. In Pirkei Avos we are taught: “Any Torah that isn’t accompanied with work, will in the end stop and cause one to sin”. Although physically this person can learn and be omel b’Torah, he should be working and supporting his family, if one doesn’t, Hashem cries.
The sefer Apiryon Shlomah (hakdomah), the Yalkut HaGershuni and R’ Ovadia Yosef in his sefer Me’or Yisroel (on Chagigah 5b) answer, that we are talking about someone who doesn’t know how to learn and understand things properly, and he goes into halachah and starts paskening practical questions. When a person who can’t learn properly starts paskening halachic questions, Hashem cries.
The Taz (Orach Chaim 47:1) explains that in birchos haTorah when we say, la’asok b’Divrei Torah, it means that we are supposed to learn Torah in depth. However, this only applies if one has lots of time on his hands and he is able to do so. If one doesn’t have lots of time, then it’s better for him to use his time to learn things which are practical and halachah lema’aseh. R’ Akiva Sofer (cited in the Introducition of Zichron Dovid of R’
