How to Spend Free Time

Hi What is the Bibles view on spending time on things like philosophy ,music,personal growth,self mastery,gardening ,spending time with animals etc

Shalom!

Thank you for your question!

While it is true that the book of Joshua teaches us that, “this book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth; rather, you shalt meditate on it day and night….” Which seems to be a requirement to spend all of one’ time studying Torah, and it is also true that the sages spoke harshly against using one’s times for non-Torah pursuits, there is no true ban on practicing hobbies that one enjoys.

The sages acknowledge that full time study is simply not for everyone and that some people need other activities to re-charge their batteries to make the learning they do engage in more meaningful and of higher quality.

Sports and exercise is one example of a recommend pastime and break from Torah study when needed. Indeed, Maimonides speaks at length about he benefits of exercise. Many people need music to keep their spirits up, and this too, is completely acceptable to pursue. In your examples of “philosophy, music, personal growth, self-mastery, gardening, spending time with animals” all sounds good! Some people need a nap or a vacation. There are many more examples of permitted activities, as well. Indeed, the Shulchan Aruch rules that one may enjoy the pleasures of this world so long as one’s intention is to better serve God. As King Solomon said “Find G-d in all that you do.”

Bottom line: You may engage in anything that brings you closer to G-d.

Sanhedrin 99a; Proverbs 3:6; Mishna Berura 155:4; Rambam, Hilchot Deiot 4; OC 231:1