A Torah scroll itself [by its extreme conciseness] emphasizes that its state of perfection is attained only through exerting ourselves in the study of other sacred texts [that expound the Torah’s meaning], which are in fact used on a daily basis. What, in Torah’s view, constitutes the books’ true victory? It is certainly not a state where they will henceforth be guarded with the greatest of honor, so that no-one dare touch them – like a Torah scroll that is kept locked up in an ark... Quite the opposite: The more we use them for actual study, the greater is their honor – even if the books become worn and torn from extreme use. This way, we are also honoring and completing the purpose of the Torah scroll that we must keep looked away in an ark; for its main purpose and goal is that its contents will be studied properly until its message is fluent in the mouths of all Jews. This goal can only be attained by actually studying the printed texts.
... In our case, the texts themselves announce that their perfection and purpose – and as a result, their honor – is only realized through their being studied; even at the expense of their physical perfection, i.e., they may become worn and ripped from constant study. (ibid, p.168)
