Kommentar zu Mischlej 19:7

All the kinsmen of a poor man lit. the brothers, the kinsmen.

surely his friends distance themselves Surely his friends, his companions, and his lovers.

he pursues statements that are fit for him He says, “So-and-so and so-and-so are my relatives. So-and-so and so-and-so are my friends.” And all are words of futility. This can be interpreted as concerning one who is poor in Torah and in good deeds.

he pursues statements which are futile He seeks to promulgate the halachah, but it is not in his possession. The midrash interprets it as concerning Joseph, who spread slander about his brothers. He would say to his father that they were suspected of [eating] limbs from a living animal. Therefore, they hated him, and he was called a poor man because he would spread false rumors about them and look for statements that were not true (לא המה). We read לו, “to him,” for he would pursue statements for his own benefit, and in Joseph’s matter, they were his, because his slander returned upon him. He would say that they ate limbs from a living animal, but Scripture testifies about them that even in the time of sin, they would slaughter a kid, as it is said: (Gen. 37:31) “and they slaughtered a kid.” He would say that they degraded the sons of the maidservants. Therefore, Joseph was sold as a slave. He would say that they gazed upon the women of the land. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, “By your life, I will incite a bear upon you.” Therefore, (ibid. 39:7) “his master’s wife lifted, etc.” [This appears] in Genesis Rabbah [see 84:7].