No Excuses

The Rambam writes that every Jew must learn during the day and at night, and he quotes a verse from Yehoshua [as his proof text]: “And you shall meditate on them day and night.” Rav Soloveitchik asked: Why a verse from Sefer Yehoshua? Why isn’t there a clear verse in the Torah?

He answered: Yehoshua was about to lead the Jewish people in a seven-year battle for the country followed by seven years of chalukas ha’aretz. If there’s anybody in our history who should’ve been able to theoretically say, “I don’t have time to learn,” it is Yehoshua. Therefore, Hashem told him specifically, “And you shall meditate on them day and night.”