Moussar sur Les Proverbes 23:21

ובגדיכם לא תפרומו . The reason that the priests must not rend their garments (10,6) is connected with their function as a sign of honor and dignity. We can apply the treatment to be accorded to these garments to the treatment we must accord to our bodies. The body is the garment of the soul. How much more insulting would it be to the soul if our body, its showpiece, would be torn, i.e. would bear signs of the sins we have committed!

שלא לקרוע המעיל. Rabbi Menachem Ha-Bavli comments on this too. He sees allegorical meaning in the words לפיו סביב in the same verse. The rim, פיו, of the robe which must not be torn is a symbol for the High Priest's mouth. In view of the High Priest's function of restoring harmony between G–d and His people, he, more than anyone else, must be sure not to say anything that could impair the unity or innocence of the people. Every individual who claims to be a servant of the Lord must in this regard conduct himself on the same level as did the High Priest.

The "winds" mentioned in the Midrash are references to the dispersal of Israel among the nations. We know this from Zecharyah 2,10: "For I have scattered you like the four winds." Rashi on Genesis 25,21, explains the word ויעתר to mean repeating, multiplying; he cites Proverbs 27,26: "the kisses of the enemy are profuse," in support of this. We already said that this verse in Proverbs alludes to the curses turning into blessings, i.e. the "enemy" showers you with kisses. Another thoroughly treacherous aspect of Bileam comparing Israel to cedars prior to adding the words עלי מים, is that the ארזים are always a symbol for the Patriarchs. The merit of the Patriarchs has always stood by Israel and saved it from destruction. Bileam wanted them to rely on that merit, thus make them feel they did not have to repent while in exile. This is why he emphasizes "there is no harm in sight for Jacob, no woe in view for Israel" (23,21). By lulling Israel into complacency with these flattering comments he hoped to prevent Israel from returning to G–d in penitence. If someone truly loves a person, has his real interests at heart, he will reprove him rather than flatter him, and will draw attention to any blemish such a person may suffer from. The word ארזים, cedars, also has a connotation of stubbornness as we know from Taanit 20b, that "a person should strive to be soft as a reed and not hard like a cedar. The remedy to such hardness lies in one's humbling oneself." Words of Torah are compared to water, since just as water starts in a high place and flows downwards, i.e. water is content to "lower" itself, so words of Torah which originate in high places cannot be fulfilled except by people who are first prepared to humble themselves (Taanit 7a). In light of the foregoing, the comparison to "cedars" is a great blessing indeed. It means that we ourselves are now comparable to the Patriarchs who in turn had been compared to the "cedars of Lebanon."