Yakov, even the very last quote, “He who engages exclusively in Talmud Torah is as one who has no God” (b. Avodah Zarah17b)." speaks of a tension.  Clearly there were some rabbis who thought that talmud torah was superior to deeds  - so much so that some of them engaged in it exclusively, while others simply put more emphasis on studying (like the giant figure of Akiva).  The very fact that some people favored studying torah exclusively (you do not cry out against something that does not exist) and that the rabbis needed to censure them, shows you that a tension existed. 

Naftali - I understand your personal reading of the texts.  You want the text to speak to you, and that is great.  But I hope you recognize there are other ways to read them.  

 That is all I want to say about this subject.  Did not mean to take away the focus from Gerson's excellent article.