Yosef was thrown in to the pit. “VihaBor Rayk Ain Bo Mayim” – “The pit was empty there was no water inside. Rashi asks, if the pit was empty, obviously there wasn’t any water inside! Why is it necessary to say,”Ain Bo Mayim”? Rashi answers, “Mayim Ayn Bo Aval Nichashim ViAkrabim Yesh Bo” – “There wasn’t water in the pit, but there were snakes and scorpions.”
The Baalei Mussar explain this concerning the Torah.
The Gemara in Taanis says that Torah is compared to water. The pasuk is saying, “VihaBor Rayk Ain Bo Mayim” – if a person is empty without Torah (Mayim), “Nichashim ViAkrabim Yesh Bo” – you can be sure that he is filled with snakes and scorpions – Bad Middos and other Aveiros.
Therefore a person can not say , “I can still be a good Jew without learning Torah”. He must have both.
