In addition to fulfilling the commandments, there is special significance accorded to engaging in Torah study with the objective of fulfilling what is written in it.

The verse states: “If you follow My statutes and observe My commandments” (Leviticus 26:3). This teaches that the Omnipresent desires the Israelites to toil in Torah study. [The phrase “and observe My commandments” is understood as referring to Torah study because the performance of mitzvot is included in the phrase, “If you follow My statutes.”] “If you follow My statutes and observe My commandments and perform them” (26:3). This refers to one who studies Torah in order to fulfill its commandments, not one who studies Torah with the intention not to perform them. Concerning one who studies Torah with the intention not to perform its commandments, it would have been preferable for him not to have been created. (Sifra, Behukotai 1)