Of all the toxic ideologies in the world, one of the worst is neo-Litvish lomdisitis, the notion that the only worthy activity in life is Gemara lomdus on the yeshivish mesechtas and that you must do it every second of your life. You know, stick your feet in cold water, put broom sticks under your arms so you can stay awake to learn more Gemara. I remember hearing that in my first year in BT boot camp.
What that produces is a contempt for everything else. You come to hate the entire world and everything in it. This is worse than Nazism. They Nazis looked down on and even abhorred everybody but them, but they did like themselves, their uniforms, their wine, their howitzers. With lomdisitis, you hate even your own life. You are annoyed at your own urge to sleep. Even Chumash is called bitul Torah. Everything is bitul Torah: work, errands, conversation. It's the ultimate nihilism. It's much worse than mere misanthropy. You come to despise all people, all cultures, all things, and all activities, anything that's not a yeshivish mesechta. And this is passed off as religious idealism! It's Amalek. As Rabbi Chananya Weisman wrote, "Whereas Esav wanted 'only' to destroy the Jewish people, Amalek set out to destroy the entire world. If he couldn't have everything for himself, on his terms, then he would bring it all down with him (Eliyahu Rabba 24:1)."
What happens to many people is that they give up all their interests and then become so crazy that they don't study Gemara either. They are left floating around the room, doing nothing but feel guilty. That's when really disturbing behavior can emerge. Idleness breeds vice. And people who feel rotten don't notice when they engage in rotten behavior.
And that's just the way Amalek wants it.
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