Not study, but practice is the main thing

Not study, but practice is the main thing. This thought is parenthetical to the flow of the mishnah, and is intended to avoid a possible misconception. The first part of the mishnah stated that the discipline of maintaining silence is appropriate, because one should exercise the intellect instead of the body. One might erroneously conclude from this that the exposition of the Torah,מש is primary and that its practice, מעשה, is secondary. The truth is that, while study is great, practice is the foundation on which intellectual achievement must be built. One can acquire the highest level of intellect only by building, a level at a time, on this firm foundation. This concept is dealt with in Chapter 3, mishnah 12: "Anyone whose good deeds exceed his wisdom, his wisdom will endure."

— from The Flight Plan (Purpose/Wisdom/Risk) · Maharal of Prague Pirkel Avos: A Commentary based on selections from Maharal's Derech Chai

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Einstein drew the line in a single stroke: a clever person solves a problem, but a wise person avoids it. You do not receive wisdom as a gift handed down — you must discover it for yourself, after a journey no one else can take for you; that is why its beginning is humility, and why in the end it is not study but practice that is the main thing. And the third part of the plan is the one no one volunteers for: risk, the fare you pay for going anywhere worth going. — The Flight Plan (Purpose/Wisdom/Risk)

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