In general, the mitzva of learning Torah consists of two separate commandments: The obligation each person has to learn Torah, and the obligation to teach Torah to others, especially one's children.

Although a person might naturally think that the mitzva of learning Torah oneself takes precedence over that of teaching others, we find that the opposite is true. Both Maimonides' writings and the Code of Jewish Law begin the section on the laws covering the learning of Torah with the duty each parent has to teach his children. Why is this the case? And furthermore, how can a person teach others before he himself is well-versed enough in the subject matter?

We learn from the emphasis on teaching children the proper approach we must have when we begin to learn Torah. To understand this, let us examine the difference between Torah learning and the performance of mitzvot.

When a Jew does a mitzva he effects a change in the physical world, elevating and making holy the physical objects he uses in the mitzva's performance. The practical performance of the mitzva is therefore more important than the intentions of the person doing the deed, for the action itself serves to bring spiritual illumination into the world.

Torah learning, on the other hand, serves to refine and elevate the individual. When a Jew studies Torah his intellect becomes united with the G-dly wisdom contained in the Torah and causes him to be a G-dly person whose thoughts are those of holiness. The essence of learning Torah is therefore the humility and self-nullification one must feel before even approaching it to learn. In order to learn Torah properly one must have the sincere desire to understand G-d's wisdom without ulterior motives.

Before a Jew learns Torah he must subjugate his own ego and ask, what does the Torah itself want from me? Without this prerequisite, say our Sages, Torah learning can even be detrimental and becomes a "poisonous drug."

Emphasizing the duty to teach our children before we ourselves learn the Torah stresses that our goal is not merely the acquisition of knowledge, for the mind of a young child cannot possibly grasp the greatness of what he is learning. Our goal is to emulate the child's purity and innocence with regard to how he learns the Divinely written words. We must approach the Torah in the same way, and not try to "fit" what we learn into our view of the world. All of us, no matter how old we are, are like children to our Father in Heaven.

Adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.