ABSTRACT
The significance of study and the life of the mind seems rather obvious to those of us who have made our lives in academia. Those who have engaged in and for our lives in the practice of study live daily in wonder and renewal. Study had become secular and not sacred. Study had lost its base in wonder and awe and had become mundane. The Rabbis of the Talmud are also very much concerned with the time of the coming of the Messiah—an advent that seems very much linked to study. Prophetic time becomes messianic time in the act of study. Prayer and study (and teaching) are the public personal acknowledgment of wonder and awe. The great teacher has a great spirituality. Perhaps there is a significant connection between great teaching and great praying, for the story suggests that Rabbi Hiyya is both a great teacher and a great prayer. Study and prayer engage us in eternity.
