K'neged Kulam!
Any discussion about the over-emphasis given to studying Torah has to begin with the following statement of Chazal: "Talmud Torah k'neged kulam," usually translated as "Studying Torah is equal to all other mitzvos." This is commonly cited as a trump card for shutting down any discussion relating to people's obligations:
"Why don't you work to support your family?"
"Talmud Torah k'neged kulam!"
"Why don't you teach your children a trade, as Chazal instruct?"
"Talmud Torah k'neged kulam!"
"Why don't charedim share the burden of military service and supporting the economy?"
"Talmud Torah k'neged kulam!"
And, predictably, someone cited it in the comments to the previous post, presumably in order to claim that it's impossible to over-emphasize the mitzvah of Talmud Torah, since Talmud Torah k'neged kulam.
Here, then, is a list of reasons as to why Talmud Torah k'neged kulam does not mean what it is commonly thought to mean.
1. Who says that Talmud Torah means studying Torah? And what does "studying Torah" mean?
As R. Dr. Yehudah Levi notes in his classic book "Torah Study," the phrase Talmud Torah, properly translated, seems to refer to teaching Torah rather than learning Torah. This is also implied by the Gemara, which derives the mitzvah of Talmud Torah from the passuk of veshinantam levanecha, "you shall teach it to your sons."
Certainly, later authorities took it to mean studying Torah. But it is not clear that Chazal meant it that way, at least not in every instance. And it certainly seems to be the case that even learning Torah was, as far as Chazal and the Rishonim were concerned, primarily about knowing how to observe halachah and how to teach others to observe halachah.
2. Other mitzvos are also described as being k'neged kulam!
There are several mitzvos about which Chazal say that they are equal to all other mitzvos together. These are the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisrael, Shabbos, Bris Milah, Tzitzis, and Gemilas Chasadim. (See this link for sources and discussion.) Can you imagine if someone were to propose one of these sources in a similar context in which people say Talmud Torah k'neged kulam?
3. K'neged kulam does not mean that it exempts a person from other obligations!
Chazal, the very authorities who said Talmud Torah k'neged kulam, also said that a person is obligated to teach their son a trade, and to take a lowly profession rather than beg for charity. And they did not issue a blanket exemption from military service for people who study Torah.
4. It's clearly an exaggeration.
In practice, nobody, not even Chazal, take Talmud Torah k'neged kulam to mean that any given moment of Torah study is equal in value to all other mitzvos combined. If they did, then there would never be grounds to do an optional mitzvah, much less to institute any kind of non-critical act, religious or otherwise, that could take people away from a moment of Torah study. And so it's clearly an exaggeration.
5. The mirror text shows that it's not literal.
The statement Talmud Torah k'neged kulam comes from a Mishnah in Pe'ah. As a reader pointed out, there is a precise mirror image text in the Tosefta, which gives a similar, negative list. It lists the cardinal sins that we are all familiar with: adultery, murder, and idolatry. It then says, "And lashon hara k'neged kulam." From there we have the same line of reasoning. Lashon hara is bad, but is it really worse than adultery? Than murder? Obviously, Chazal's point is that lashon hara is far reaching, and often plants the seeds which may well lead to sins like adultery and murder. Its potential influence is more powerful than the other three.
So, having said all that, what does Talmud Torah k'neged kulam actually mean? Even assuming that it refers to Torah study rather than Torah teaching, it would mean something along the lines of the Gemara in Kiddushin 40b, where the question is asked, which is greater, study or action? One view, of Rabbi Tarfon the non-heretic, is that action is greater, but the consensus is that study is greater - and the reason given is that study leads to action! This is as per the Rishonim who describe the purpose of Torah study as knowing how to observe the mitzvos. You can't know how to live life properly unless you learn how. Rambam explicitly explains the Mishnah this way:
רמב"ם פירוש המשניות - מסכת פאה פרק א משנה א
וכשתחקור על הענין הזה תמצא ת"ת שקול כנגד הכל, כי בת"ת יזכה האדם לכל זה, כמו שביארנו בתחלת דברינו שהתלמוד מביא לידי מעשה:
When Chazal said that learning/ teaching Torah is equal to all other mitzvos, they meant that learning and/or teaching how to keep the mitzvos is of fundamental importance. And that's all.
(UPDATE: See too this follow-up post)