Rav Eliyohu Boruch Finkel once said in a shmooze: Some bochurim mistakenly think that learning Torah is a time-bound mitzvas aseh, and during bein hazmanim there is no obligation to learn. However, does one stop breathing bein hazmanim too? No, Torah is no different, Torah is life and one can’t just stop learning.
The Rambam rules (Hilchos Rotze’ach 7:1): חיי בעלי החכמה ומבקשיה בלא תורה כמיתה חשובים — “The life of the wise and those who seek wisdom, without Torah, is considered death.”
Therefore, even during bein hazmanim one should learn without taking any shortcuts. When it comes to life we don’t take shortcuts. He added: the Chayei Adam named his sefer “Chayei Adam” — Life of Man — precisely so that no one would produce a “Kitzur Chayei Adam,” a shortcut through human life. Torah is life, and we must avoid shortcuts. (MiShulchan Rav Eliyahu Boruch, Parshas Eikev, pg. 281)
