What the verse said: “Wisdom is lofty to a fool; at the gate, he will not open his mouth” (Proverbs 24:7) – what is “wisdom is lofty to a fool”? Rabbi Tanḥuma said: This fool enters the synagogue, and he sees them engaging in talmudic discourse, but he does not know what they are saying. He is ashamed, as it is stated: “At the gate, he will not open his mouth.” “Gate” is nothing other than the Sanhedrin, as it is written: “His brother's widow shall go up to the gate, to the elders” (Deuteronomy 25:7).
Another matter, the Rabbis said: This fool enters the synagogue and sees them engaged in Torah study, and he says to them: ‘How does a person study Torah from the outset?’ They say to him: ‘One reads a scroll;6Children are given a scroll with letters, vocalization, and some verses. then [one reads] in the Torah scroll, then in the Prophets, and then in the Writings. When one completes the Bible, one studies the Talmud, then halakhot, and then aggadot.’
When he hears this, he says in his heart: When can I learn all this? He returns from the gate; that is, “at the gate, he will not open his mouth.” Rabbi Yannai said: To what is the matter comparable? It is to a loaf that was suspended in the air.7It was suspended from the ceiling in a house.
The fool said: ‘Who will be able to retrieve it?’ The clever one says: ‘Did someone not suspend it?’ He brings a ladder or a rod and takes it down. Likewise, everyone who is a fool, says: ‘When will I read the entire Torah?’
But one who is clever, what does he do? He studies one chapter each and every day until he completes the entire Torah. The Holy One blessed be He said: “It is not hidden,” and if it is hidden, it is from you, because you did not engage in it. That is, “for this mitzva.”