Whoever engages in Torah study for its own sake merits many things … he becomes like an ever-strengthening spring of water, and like an unceasing river …
The Vilna Gaon states that when a person wants to get water from a pit or a well, he has to descend into it or he has to draw the water up from its depths. But when a person drinks from a spring, he doesn’t have to exert himself at all.
The Tiferes Yashar points out that the mishnah describes the individual who engages in Torah study as both a spring and a river. Characteristically, a spring has sweet water but not in abundance; a river has a large supply of water but it is not sweet. The Torah knowledge of this individual will be equally sweet and plentiful.
