The first and foremost part of avodas Elul is not to insult Hakadosh Baruch Hu, so to speak. This brings us to the subject of bitul Torah, neglect of Torah study. It is not so common these days to speak on the topic of bitul Torah. Nevertheless, we need to know that there are two kinds of bitul Torah.
The first kind has to do with the meticulousness for Torah learning that we are expected to have. We need to use our time well and not waste it.
However, there is an additional kind of bitul Torah. This is neglect of Torah study that comes from not caring. This is an insult to the holy Torah, so to speak. It is hard for me to spell out practical examples of this, but let’s picture a yeshivah boy entering his dormitory room, closing the door, lying down on his bed and beginning to read a suspense story.
This is bitul Torah of a completely different type from the first. He is acting as if the Torah simply doesn’t exist! This kind of behavior is an insult to Toras chayim, and consequently, also to Elokim Chayim.
