"The sages taught that the Torah was given with three things: with fire, with water, and in the desert" (Bamidbar Rabbah, 1:7). These three elements reflect three aspects of the proper attitude that one must develop in order to fully acquire Torah.
The first element is fire. This symbolizes the passion that one must feel for Torah. A person should engage in talmud Torah with diligence (hasmadah) and effort (ameilus). He should approach each day of Torah study with a newfound exhilaration. Rashi comments on the possuk (Yisro 19:1), "On this day, they came to the wilderness of Sinai" - "Why does it say 'on this day?' To highlight that the words of Torah should be fresh and exciting as if they were given to you today." What's more, Torah should be seen as something precious. Shlomo Hamelech says, "If you seek it as if it were silver, and search for it as if it were hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of Hashem and discover the knowledge of G-d" (Mishlei 2:4). Only if one appreciates the priceless value of every word of Torah will he truly acquire its knowledge.
But fire also alludes to the fact that one has to be willing to sacrifice in order to accomplish in the study of Torah. "Nullify your will in the face of His will" (Avos 2:4). One should always be willing to sacrifice his personal desires to fulfill the ratzon Hashem, but this is especially true regarding talmud Torah. "The words of Torah are retained only by someone who 'kills' himself over them" (Berachos 63b). Chazal say that Yaakov Avinu did not sleep in a normal fashion for the 14 years he studied Torah in the yeshiva of Shem and Eiver (see Rashi, Vayeitzei 28:11). Yaakov serves as a model of how every Jew, on his own level, should be willing to give up some of his time, his comforts and his conveniences in order to accomplish in his Torah learning.
The second element with which the Torah was given is water. This symbolizes the thirst a person should feel for words of Torah. Chazal comment, "'V'yidgoo larov b'kerev ha'aretz - may they proliferate like fish in the midst of the land' (Vayechi 48:16), just as fish grow in water, but when a single drop falls from above they receive it thirstily like one who never experienced the taste of water in all their days, so it is with Klal Yisrael, they grow in water, in Torah, but when they hear a novel matter of Torah, they receive it thirstily like one who has never heard a matter of Torah in all their days" (Bereishis Rabbah, 97:3).
One should thirst for Torah not only because he feels excited for every new idea of Torah, but because he feels that Torah is a necessity, without which he simply cannot exist. On a fast day, one often doesn't feel right. Some people find it hard to concentrate while davening in the morning before having a cup of coffee. That is how one should feel about Torah. The study of Torah should be such an integral part of one's day that when, for some reason, one is not able to keep to his daily schedule of learning, something feels off.
One of the questions that a person is asked in the beis din shel ma'alah is whether he had set times for learning Torah - ka'vata itim l'Torah (Shabbos 31a). He is not asked whether he studied Torah, but rather whether he had set times for talmud Torah because the question really is: did you feel so connected to Torah that you could not go a day without learning? This is the lesson symbolized by water. A person should feel that Torah is like water. It is a necessity that one simply cannot live without - ki heim chayeinu.
The third element associated with kabbolas haTorah is the midbar, the desert. Why was the Torah given in the wilderness, in midbar Sinai? The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 1:7) explains that this was meant to allude to the fact that anyone who does not render himself like a wilderness, accessible to all (hefker), is unable to acquire the wisdom of the Torah. Similarly, Rava comments (Nedarim 55a), "Once a person renders himself like a wilderness, deserted before all, the Torah is given to him as a gift (matana), as it says, 'And from the wilderness to Matana'" (Chukas 21:18).
What does it mean to render oneself like a wilderness? One answer might be that a person should study Torah with humility and without a personal agenda. His sole focus should be to find the truth in Torah, not to promote his own interpretation. Such an individual is given an extra gift of Torah; he is blessed with additional siyata dishmaya (divine assistance), and that enables him to retain his Torah more easily.
R. Chanina ben Tradyon says (Avos 3:2) that if two people are sitting together, but there are no words of Torah between them, that is a moshav leitzim (a session of scorners). Rav Chaim Volozhiner (Ruach Chaim there) explains that the Mishna is actually referring to two people who are learning Torah, but are not sharing Torah with each other; rather, each one is interested only in promoting his own Torah. That is why their learning session is called a moshav leitzim because each one belittles the Torah of the other.
By contrast, the halacha is generally decided in accordance with the opinion of Beis Hillel and not Beis Shammai, because Beis Hillel were pleasant, they did not respond to insults, and they would teach both their own opinions and those of Beis Shammai as well (Eiruvin 13b). Beis Hillel studied Torah with humility, recognizing the value of the opinion of those who argued against them. They studied Torah for its own sake, to arrive at the truth. As a result, their opinion is the one we generally follow.
Talmud Torah is a mitzvah like no other - v'talmud Torah k'neged kulam. But if we internalize the multiple messages of fire, water, and the desert, we can take our Torah study to an entirely different level.