Chazal (Niddah 73.) say, יום בכל הלכות השונה כל הבא עולם בן שהוא לו מובטח, "Whoever studies halachah every day, he is guaranteed that he is a ben Olam HaBa." It doesn't necessarily need to be for a long time (although, certainly, the more, the better). Even just three minutes a day is significant. You will be surprised by how many halachos you can learn in even a short time. Reb Shmuel Wosner zt'l would encourage learning Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. He would say, "Kitzur Shulchan Aruch teaches us how to live as a Yid. Shulchan Aruch is for when one has a shailah."
Learning halachah is essential because otherwise, how will one know how to say brachos, keep Shabbos, etc.? But let us be aware that several other significant benefits come from studying halachah.
Chazal promise that for studying halachah each day, one is guaranteed a portion in Olam HaBa. This is difficult, because doesn't every Yid have a portion in Olam HaBa, as it states הבא לעולם חלק להם יש ישראל כל, that every Yid has a portion in Olam HaBa?
Aruch l'Ner (Nidah 73) answers that every Yid merits Olam HaBa, but it can take time before he gets there. If he studied halacha during his lifetime, he is brought to Olam HaBa immediately after his passing.
He writes, "[If one doesn't study halachah], he will receive Olam HaBa, but after going through a cleansing process. Just like silver and gold are purified from all defects, so will these people need to undergo cleansing to clean themselves from all types of yetzer haras and sins of this world. However, [when one studies halachah] he is a ben Olam Haba. He will merit Olam Haba easily, and he will go to Olam HaBa immediately after he leaves this world. Hashem will lead him there."
This is because one of the specialties of halachah is that it is the refined truth of how Hashem wants us to act and to live in this world. The Aruch l'Ner writes, האמת שלמד דכמו לבא צירוף יצטרך לא כן עוד וצירוף ליבון צריך שאין הברור .ב"לעה, "Just as he studied the clear and decisive truth that doesn’t need clarifying and purifying, so he won't need to be purified in Olam HaBa."
Another benefit of learning halachah is that it will purify him and help him raise himself above the gashmiyos of this world. It states (Tehillim 100:1) הארץ כל 'לה הריעו. The Yismach Yisrael zt'l (Chanukah, p. ה"צ) says that הארץ כל, can be translated as "entirely in gashmiyos." The pasuk alludes to people who are at low levels and are entirely immersed in the pleasures of this world. The pasuk proclaims, 'לה הריעו, they, too, can pull out of their gashmiyos and praise Hashem. How do they do so? The roshei teivos of (Tehillim 100:1) הארץ כל 'לה הריעו spells ה"הלכ. The Yismach Yisrael teaches that the segulah of learning halachah is that it pulls people out of ארציות הארץ כל, their low levels.
Once again, the explanation can be because he is learning the final line, the will of Hashem, of how He wants us to act in this world, and that has a spiritual influence on the person, as the Arizal tells us. It purifies him immensely.
Another benefit of studying halachah is that it brings us joy, as it states ישרים 'ה פקודי לב משמחי, "The halachos of Hashem are upright, causing the heart to rejoice."
