Brainy, I don’t think every Jew is obligated to become a Talmid Chacham. I don’t think you’ll find any halachic sources to support you, because not everyone is capable of being a talmud chacham. This, among many others, was a point addressed in the shiur. In fact, the Netziv on parshat Eikev and Shlach (i don’t know the passuk in Eikev off hand, but it was the last Emek Davar on Shlach) says the opposite. The Netziv breaks clal yisroel down into four categories. The leaders, who’s cheif obligation is yirat hashaem (not to be a talmud chacham; not even talmud torah for that matter), secondly there are the talmidai chachamim, who’s chief obligation is to be oisek in torah and be makpid on the mitzvos. the third is the ba’al habatim and the fourth is the women and children. The Netziv explains that the pasuk in eykev teaches that Hashem wants different things from different people.
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