מדרש על משלי 1:9

R. Joshua b. Levi said: "One who walks on a road and has no companion, shall study the Torah; for it is said (Pr. 1, 9.) For a wreath of grace are they; if a man have a headache, let him study the Torah, for it is said (Ib. ib. ib.) Are they unto thy head; if a man have a sore throat, let him study the Torah, for it is said (Ib. ib. ib.) And necklaces for thy neck; if a man have stomach sickness, he shall study the Torah, for it is said (Ib. 3, 8.) It will he healthy to thy body, if a man is sick with rheumatism, he shall study the Torah, for it is said (Ib. ib. ib.) And marrow to thy bones; if a man is sick in all or any part of his body, he shall study the Torah, for it is said (Ib. 4, 23.) And to the whole body a healing." R. Juda, the son of R. Chiya, said: "Come and see how the nature of the Holy One, praised be He! differs from that of mortal man. The nature of mortal man is that if a man prescribes a remedy, it may benefit one and injure another; but the Holy One, praised be He! gave the Torah to all Israel, as a remedy for all, and for the whole body, as it is said (Ib. ib. ib.) And to the whole body a healing." R. Ami said: "What is meant by the passage (Ib. 22, 18.) For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thy bosom, if they be altogether firmly seated upon thy lips, i.e., when are the words of the Torah a pleasant thing? If thou keepeth them within thy bosom. And when canst thou keep them in thy bosom? If they are firmly seated upon thy lips." R. Zeira said: "We know from the following: (Ib. 15, 23.) A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth; and how good is a word spoken at the proper time! i.e., when has a man joy? If his mouth is able to answer [a question]." R. Isaac said: "We deduce the above from the following (Deu. 30, 14.) But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it, i.e., when is the word nigh unto thee? If it is in thy mouth and in thy heart to do it." Raba said: "We deduce the above from the following (Ps. 21, 3.) The longing of his heart hast Thou given him and the request of his lips hast thou not withheld, Selah, i.e., when hast Thou given him the request of his heart? If the request was not withheld by his lips, Selah." Raba raised the following contradictory question: "It is written (Ib. ib. ib.) The longing of his heart hast Thou given him; [even without praying]; and immediately following, And the request of his lips hast Thou not withheld, Selah. And he answered thus: If the man has merited it, the longing of his heart is given him without requesting it; but if he has not merited it, he must first request it before it is granted to him." In the school of R. Eliezer b. Jacob it was taught: "Wherever we find Netzach, Selah, Va'ed, forming the conclusion of a passage, it signifies that it will be forever, without interruption." As for Netzach, it is written (Is. 57, 16.) For not to eternity will I contend, neither will I be wroth (Lanetzath) forever. As for Selah, it is written (Ps. 48, 9.) As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of Hosts, in the city of our God; God will establish it forever, Selah; as for Va'ed, it is written (Ex. 15, 18.) The Lord will reign forever, and ever (Va'ed) . R. Elazar said: "What is the meaning of the passage (Pr. 1, 9.) And necklace around thy neck, i.e., just as a necklace is loose around the neck and is not seen, all the time [as when the wearer is bending down, so is it with a man. If he is not constantly seen in the streets or markets, but sits at home and studies] he will retain his learning; but if otherwise, he will not retain his learning."

Rabba said further in the name of R. Jochanan: "The Holy One, praised be He! will make a succah for the righteous from the skin of the leviathan, as it is said (Ib. 31) Canst thou fill his skin with Succoth. If the righteous merits he will have a booth; but if he does not merit he will get a little hut, as it is said (Ib.) And with fist spear his head; and if still less, then a necklace will be made for him, as it is said (Prov. 1, 9) And chains for thy throat; and if still less, an amulet will be made for him, as it is said (Job 40, 29) And tied him up for thy maidens? And tlie remainder of the skin the Lord will spread on the walls of Jerusalem, and the brightness of it will shine from one end of the world to the other, as it is said (Is. 69, 3) and nations shall walk by thy light, and kings by the brightness of thy shining."

The Holy One, blessed be He, said that there is no ailment that does not have its cure; and the cure and drug for every ailment have been predetermined. If you desire your body to be free of pain, devote yourself to the Torah, for it is a healing balm to the entire body. We know that it is a cure for the head, since it is said: She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace (Prov. 1:9); for the heart, as it is said: Write them upon the table of thy heart (ibid. 3:3); for the neck, since it is written: And chains about thy neck (ibid. 1:9); for the hands, as it is said: And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand (Exod. 13:9); for the navel, for it is written: It shall be health to thy navel (Prov. 3:8); and for all of the bones of the body, as it is said: And marrow to thy bones (ibid.). R. Joshua the son of Levi declared: The Holy One, blessed be He, demonstrated this when he gave the law. Prior to the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, some of them had been injured as a result of the hazardous labor they performed with mud and straw. Stones from the buildings had fallen upon them, breaking their hands and mutilating their legs. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: It is not right that I should give my law to imperfect men. What did He do then? He instructed His angels to descend and heal them. Whence do we know that none of them were blind? It is said: And all the people perceived the thunderings (Exod. 20:15). How do we know that there were no deaf ones among them? It is written: We will hear (ibid. 24:7). Whence do we know that there were none among them without hands? They said: We will do (ibid.). How do we know that there were none with crippled legs among them? It is written: And they stood at the nether part of the mount (ibid. 19:17). R. Judah the son of Simon said: Because they were as new, the Holy One, blessed be He, called that month “master of renewal.”¹²The giving of the Law, which took place in the third month renewed Israel both spiritually and physically. Whence do we know this? We know it from what is written about this matter in the section In the third month.

(Ib. b) We are taught that R. Maier says: "It is proper to compel one to escort his associate, for the reward of escorting is unlimited, as it is written (Jud. 1, 24) And the watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, 'Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city and we will deal kindly with thee.' And it is written further, And he showed them the entrance into the city. And what was the kindness they showed him? They smote the entire city with the edge of the sword, but the man and all his family they let go free. (Ib., ib., 36) And the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city, and called it Luz. We are taught in a Baraitha; that is the same Luz where they dye the Techaileth, it is the same Luz against which Sennacherib came to destroy but was not able to do so; and which Nebuchadnezzar had beseiged but could not destroy it, and even the angel of death has no right to pass and enter it. Its old people when they desired to die were brought outside of its surrounding walls where they died. Is this not an a fortiori conclusion? If this Canaanite who had not performed any duty through walking with his feet, nor through talking with his mouth, nevertheless was rewarded that he and his children until endless generations should be saved from the Angel of Death. He, who speaks with his mouth and walks with his feet to perform good things, how much more should he be rewarded? If so, then how did that man show them the city, if he neither walked nor spoke. Ezekiah said: "He made grimaces so that they received a hint." R. Jochanan said: "With his finger he showed them." We are taught in a Baraitha in accordance with the opinion of R. Jochanan: As reward for having shown them the entrance of the city within Canaan and his children until endless generations were rewarded to be saved from the Angel of Death. R. Joshua b. Levi said: "If one walks on the road and has no escort with him he shall study the Torah, as it is said (Pr. 1, 9) For the wreath of grace are they unto thy head, and chains for thy throat." R. Joshua b. Levi said also: "On account of the four cubits space which Pharaoh escorted Abraham, the latter's children had to serve four hundred years." R. Juda said in the name of Rab: "If one escorts his associate even four cubits within the city, the traveler will not meet any injury of his trip." Rabina escorted Rabba b. Isaac four cubits and protected him from an incident with which he was met on the road. Our Rabbis were taught: A teacher should escort his disciple to the boundaries of the city; two colleagues should escort each other as far as it is permitted to walk on the Sabbath outside of the town. The distance a disciple is to escort his teacher is limitless. How far should this be? Said R. Shesheth: "A mile." And this refers only when the teacher is not a distinguished scholar, but if he is a distinguished scholar, he should go three Parthoa. R. Cabana accompanied R. Shimi b. Assi from Pum-Nahara to the place called "Between the Palm," in Babylonia. When they reached this place they said: "Is it true, master, what people say that those palm trees of Babylon date from the days of Adam, the first?" "Thou recallest to my mind," answered R. Cahana, "what R. Jose, the son of R. Chanina said: 'What is the meaning of the passage (Jer. 2, 6) Through a land through which no man had passed and where no man had dwelt. Since no man had passed through it, how is it possible for any man to have dwelt in it? It means to teach that whatever land Adam the first decreed, should become inhabited, indeed did become inhabited; but whatever land Adam, the first man, decreed that it should not become inhabited, remained uninhabited." R. Mordecai escorted R. Shimi b. Assi from Hagrunia as far as the place called Bekipai, and according to others, to the place called Be-dura.

Another interpretation: The precepts of the LORD are straightforward (Psalm 19:9) — Taught Ḥizkiyah son of Ḥiyyah, these are words of Torah, which are a crown for the head, as it is said For a graceful wreath are they on your head, a necklace on your throat. (Proverbs 1:9). A remedy for the heart — making the heart rejoice. A salve for the eyes — The commandment of the LORD is clear, illuminating the eyes. An elixir for plague — Cure for your gut it will be (Proverbs 3:8). And a potion for the intestines — and a potion for your innards. (ibid.) And the number of swallowings is 248 organs — and to all his flesh it heals. (Proverbs 4:24).

— But perhaps, just as wine is sometimes bad for the head and for the body, so, words of Torah; it is, therefore, written (Song of Songs 1:3) "For fragrance Your oils are good; poured-forth oil is Your name." Just as oil is good for the head and good for the body, so, words of Torah, as it is written (Proverbs 3:8) "It is healing for your navel and marrow for your bones," and (Ibid. 4;9) "It will give your head an adornment of grace; a crown of glory will it accord you." Words of Torah are compared to oil and honey, viz. (Psalms 19:11) "and they are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb."

"and as showers upon the grass": Just as showers descend upon the grass and beautify and preen it, so, words of Torah beautify and preen their disciples. And thus is it written (Proverbs 1:9): "For they (words of Torah) are a chaplet of grace to your head," and (Ibid. 4:9) "It (Torah) will set a chaplet of grace upon your head."