Halakhah zu Mischlej 21:1

If an individual stood steadfast in a meritorious deed let him not boast of it saying, “How pious I am.” But rather let him offer praise and thanks to the Lord, praised and exalted be His fame, Who has rescued him from sinning before Him, who has it in His power to incline the heart to all that He desires, as it is written, “ The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord as the watercourses” (Prov. 21:1). And he says, “and I also withheld thee from sinning against Me” (Gen. 20:6). Each one who wishes to return in repentance and achieve a status of piety and fathom the depths of God’s law, the depths of His glory, let him not enter (attempt to do so) except if he be discerning and a soul of goodwill without anger. Let him forsake converse with people and playing with children,¹Aboth 3:14. also converse with his wife except during coitus.²Hagigah 5b. And let him be as careful in the observance of a light command as a more serious command,³Aboth 2:1. and on guard to rise before an elder even a hundred times. And let this not be as a burden upon him because of his love for the Creator.

"The heart of a king is in the hand of God as the watercourses; whithersoever he wishes He turns it" (Proverbs 21:1). There are events in the lives of men that, irrespective of their morality or immorality, are nevertheless harnessed by God and utilized by Him as instruments of divine providence. Proverbs declares that acts of sovereign powers that pertain to the destiny of Israel are integral to God's providential guardianship of His people. Jews believe with enduring faith that a redemptive moment permeates all of Jewish history. "From Lebanon you shall come"—the events of the summer of 1982 in their entirety are but one more link in a long chain of events that will culminate in the complete redemption. May we be privileged to witness the redemption of Israel speedily in our day.