Even a rich man should minimize his business and occupy himself with learning Torah. If he knows how to read the Chumash, he should read it, and if not, he should go to a wise man to teach him. If his business and his employees occupy him so much that he does not have time, he must at the very least pray the three daily prayers with the congregation and have fixed times for learning Torah. He should learn works of ethics and listen to studies from books and learned people, so that the saying of Chazal that “One who wastes time from Torah when rich, will end up wasting it when poor!” will not be fulfilled by applying to him. It is obvious that wealth and being occupied do not absolve the rich man from his obligation to serve his Creator. Even if he uses his wealth to support those who learn Torah so that he uses that as a substitute for learning himself all day, and he receives reward as if he had learned like Yissachar and Zevulun, this does not absolve him from the obligation to pray three times a day with a quorum and to fix times for learning Torah, and to occupy himself with learning whenever he has free time so that he will learn to fear Hashem and do that which he is obligated to do. If a person would give all of his assets in order to absolve himself from the obligation to fulfil the commandments of Hashem and to be able to do that which his heart desires, he will suffer for it.
