Commentaire sur Les Proverbes 25:29

These too are Solomon’s proverbs, which...maintained When Hezekiah was appointed king, he returned to expound upon them [Solomon’s proverbs]. Now he placed disciples in every city, as it is stated in chapter “Chelek” (Sanh. 94b): “They searched from Dan to Beersheba and could not find an ignoramus.”

maintained Heb. העתיקו they strengthened.

The honor of God is to conceal a matter For instance, the account of the Merkavah and the account of the Creation.

whereas the honor of kings is to search out a matter When you expound on the honor of the Sages and on the safeguards that they enacted to the Torah, and on the decrees that they decreed upon them, you should search, seek, and ask the reason for the matter. When you expound on the account of the Merkavah or on the account of the Creation, or on the statutes written in the Torah—like the statutes and things that Satan denounces and refutes, such as eating pork, mingled species in a vineyard, and shaatnes—you should not search, but only conceal [the reason] and say, “It is the King’s decree.”

are unsearchable The height of the heaven and the depth of the earth and the heart of kings are unsearchable, for many judgments come before them, as well as many wars, and they must apply their heart to all of them. And if all tongues would speak, and all hands would write, they would not be able to inscribe the intricacy of political government.

Remove dross from silver Heb. הגו, draw away, as in (II Sam. 20:13): “When he was removed (הגה) from the highway.” Just as the silver vessel does not emerge for the work of the refiner until the copper dross is removed from it, similarly, the community cannot be freed from punishment until they remove the wicked from their midst and execute judgment upon them.

Do not glorify yourself before a king to show your honor and to be proud before one who is greater than you, because it is better that they say to you, “Come up here,” than that you should go without his permission, and they should tell you, “Go down, get out.”

as your eyes have seen that this thing is true.

lest [you will not know] what you will do at its end Lest you come to a situation that you will not know what to do at its end.

Have your quarrel with your friend But if, perforce, you must quarrel and debate with your friend, in any event, do not divulge another’s secret Do not mention to him the disgrace of his ancestors, which not everyone knows, and you are revealing it.

lest one who hears embarrass you Heb. יחסדך (Josh. 5:9) “The reproach of the Egyptians” is rendered: חסודא דמצראי. Lest one who hears embarrass you, and they will call you a slanderer.

golden apples Like knobs depicted on silverplated vessels. silverplated vessels Heb. משכיות כסף, vessels plated with silver, as in (Ex. 33:22): “and I will cover (ושכתי) you with My hand.”

a word spoken with proper basis Heb. אפניו, on its basis. An example of it is (Ps. 88:16): “I bear your terrors, it is settled (אפונה) [in my heart],” based and settled within me. This is not from the root of (Isa. 28: 27f): אפן and גלגל, wheel, for, were it so, it would be vowelized with a “pattach” under the “fe” as in (Ezek. 1:16) “האופנים the wheels.” The vowelization of the short kamatz is inappropriate for it.

Like a golden earring and jewelry of finest gold A collection of golden jewelry, as in (Hos. 2: 15): “and adorned herself with her earrings and her jewelry (וחליתה),” and like (Song 7:3): “jewels (חלאים).”

finest gold Heb. כתם an expression of a golden ornament, and likewise (Song 5:11): “His head is as a jewel (כתם) of the finest gold.”

Like the cold of snow Like the cold of the days of snow (winter), for which a person longs at harvest, but not actual snow, because snow is not beneficial during harvest.

Clouds and wind, etc. When there is a false hope—when the heavens thicken with clouds and the wind blows—people hope that it will rain. Now if it does not rain, they are troubled and their eyes languish. So is a man who boasts, saying, “So much and so much charity I will give to the collector,” but he lies, and the eyes of the poor languish for his gift, but it does not come.

The Ruler is won over with slowness to anger As long as the Holy One, blessed be He, holds back His anger and does not requite, the sinners will apply their hearts to win Him over with repentance and prayer.

and a gentle tongue with prayer and supplications.

will break a bone Heb. גרם a bone, the severity of the decree.

Visit your neighbor sparingly Just as, if you find honey, and it is sweet to your palate, you must not eat [too much] of it lest you become sated with it and vomit it, so should you visit your neighbor sparingly, although he is from your midst [of your kin], refrain from going there daily lest he become sated with you and hate you. [Bracketed words appear in Salonica edition only.] According to its homiletic interpretation, do not accustom yourself to sin inadvertently and to constantly bring sin- offerings and guilt-offerings to the house of the Lord, Who is called a friend to Israel, as it is written (Song 5:16): “This is my beloved and this is my friend.”

like a club, a sword Names of weapons.

a broken tooth Heb. רעה, broken.

unsteady Heb. מועדת, as in (Ps. 18:37): “and my ankles have not slipped (מעדו).”

trust in a traitor He disappoints him on the day of his trouble like a broken tooth and an unsteady [foot].

A worn-out garment on a cold day Heb. מעדה בגד, synonymous with (Isa. 64:5): “בגד עדים, a discarded garment,” a worn-out garment that is fit to be taken off since it is worn out, as we translate into Aramaic “ויסר” (Ex. 7:24) as ויעדי, and He shall remove. Now this is its interpretation: A worn-out garment on a cold day is like vinegar on chalk. chalk Heb. נתר, a kind of soft earth, like our earth that is called creide, which they would hew and make vessels therefrom, and if vinegar falls on it, [the earth] is dissolved and ruined. So... is one who sings songs to a broken heart [lit. on a bad heart. This one] resembles them both. Now what is one who sings songs? This is one who teaches the Torah to a wicked student, who has no intention in his heart to fulfill it.

If your enemy is hungry [to be explained] according to its apparent meaning. Our Rabbis, however, explained it as referring to the evil inclination. If he is hungry and tells you to sate him with sins, draw yourself into the study hall and feed him the bread of Torah, and likewise, give him the water of Torah to drink.

for...coals they are to him, that you are scooping from the fire to heap upon his head.

scooping Heb. חותה. Any scooping of coals from a fire is called חותה, as it is stated (Isa. 30:14): “to scoop (לחתות) fire from a hearth.”

will reward you Heb. ישלם לך, will cause him to make peace with you, that he should not overpower you.

As the north wind begets rain It begets and creates the rain.

an angry countenance A backbiting tongue begets [an angry countenance]. Slander causes the countenance of the Holy One, blessed be He, to be angry, and this is the comparison [of the interpretation] of the verse. [The bracketed words do not appear in the Salonica edition, which seems more correct than our edition.] The north wind is accustomed to beget rain and a backbiting tongue is accustomed to [beget] an angry countenance.

It is better to sit on the corner of a roof This is stated concerning the withdrawal of the Shechinah.

than a quarrelsome wife The nation of lsrael, who dealt wickedly and provoked the Holy One, blessed be He.

and a house of companionship A house in which they associated idolatry with the Shechinah.

to a faint soul It [cold water] is accustomed to revive a faint soul.

so is good news That too is equal to it, and so was it with Jacob (Gen. 45:27): “And the spirit of Jacob their father was revived.”

a muddied spring Muddied by the feet.

A righteous man slipping before a wicked man When a righteous man slips before a wicked man and is afraid to reprove him for his way to his face, the matter is hateful like a muddied spring and a ruined fountain.

Eating honey To eat honey to excess. The topic symbolizes one who expounds on the account of the Merkavah and the account of the Creation to the public; the ignoramuses will ridicule the words and ask what is above and what is below.

but fathoming their honor is honor But when is fathoming appropriate? In the words of the Sages, whose honor is honor: We may ask why they decreed such and such a decree, and why they enacted a safeguard in each decree.