"This is the Torah: when a person dies in a tent ..." (Num. 19:14)
While the topic of this passage is the ritual impurity (tum'ah) that comes from contact with the dead, the Talmud (Berachot 63b) gives a homiletic interpretation about those who toil in the study of Torah:
"From where do we learn that Torah study is only truly absorbed by one who 'kills himself' over it? As it says, 'This is the Torah — when a person dies in the tent [of Torah learning].'"
Why does Torah study require such a high degree of self-sacrifice and commitment?
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