As great as the high esteem is for one who engages in novel Torah thoughts, so is the lowliness and evil of one who loves to hear the news and the vanity of this world. His evil is very great, because it adds to his neglect of Torah study, and these things occupy his mind during prayer times, so his entire divine service is disqualified. One must overcome this tendency with all his might, to not love hearing all sorts of news that are not relevant to his livelihood. Our Rabbis taught: “A man shall not let his ears hear idle things, because they are burnt first of all the organs” (Kesuvos 5b).