שְׁאוֹל֮ וְעֹ֪צֶ֫ר רָ֥חַם אֶ֭רֶץ לֹא־שָׂ֣בְעָה מַּ֑יִם וְ֝אֵ֗שׁ לֹא־אָ֥מְרָה הֽוֹן׃
Dunia orang mati, rahim yang tertutup, bumi yang tidak pernah kenyang akan air, dan api yang tidak pernah berkata: “Cukup!”
Rabbeinu Bahya
With these words Solomon warned us to display faith in the Lord and in His ability and willingness to provide our needs for us. The practical way of demonstrating this faith is the setting aside of a portion of our harvests for the Lord or those whom he has appointed to be the recipient of these “gifts.” One should not begrudge the money or food given to the poor and destitute seeing in them something that impoverishes the giver. On the contrary, one should view such gifts as insuring that one will continue to be the beneficiary of G’d’s bounty. Solomon spells this out even more clearly in Proverbs 28,27 where we read: ”He who gives to the poor will not be in need.” We must truly believe that G’d will add to our resources as a result of our demonstrating this faith by sharing what we have with others. This is the meaning of Proverbs 11,24: יש מפזר ונוסף עוד, “one man gives generously (appears to waste) and winds up with more.” Solomon also said (Proverbs 10,2) ”the treasures of wickedness are useless; whereas charity saves from death.” The author of Proverbs means that the excess accumulated by means of robbery and extortion will prove ineffectual, whereas the very giving up of part of one’s fortune to assist the poor and needy is what will prove effective in determining the individual’s fate, so much so that it may save the donor from what otherwise would have been certain death.
Our sages in Ketuvot 66 phrase it thus: מלח ממון חסר, “if someone wants to treat money as if it were salt, i.e. enduring forever, he will find that it decreases.” Others quote the proverb as ממון מלח חסד, “if someone wants his money to endure as does salt, he should use it to perform acts of loving kindness(with it).” Seeing that this is so it behooves a person to spend his money (part of it) on the performance of commandments which involve expense, especially the commandment to give charity. He who gives to the poor in fact gives to the Almighty. [I suppose the meaning is that thereby G’d will not have to trouble Himself to sustain that poor person. Ed]. Similarly, he who donates money for sacred purposes such as the Temple, etc., is only giving to G’d what belongs to G’d in the first place. David spelled this out in Chronicles I 29,14 when he said: “for everything emanated from You and that which comes from Your hand we have given to You.” All of these considerations prompted Solomon to say in the verse quoted above: “honour the Lord with your wealth.”
The expression הון used by Solomon includes all kinds of things which a person accumulates in order to keep and preserve them. The word is derived from Psalms 119,14: כעל כל הון, “as over all riches.” Other examples of the word in the Bible occur in Proverbs 30,16 ואש לא אמרה הון, “and the fire never says ‘enough’”. Fire’s appetite to devour things is never satisfied. As long as an object subject to burning is available fire is anxious to devour it.
According to a Midrashic explanation found in the Midrash Mishley on our verse, the word “fire” here refers to the fires of hell and Solomon means that there is no end to the sufferings which people who are in Gehinom have to endure. It would seem that the two verses quoted at the introduction to our Parshah both describe the need to be generous with one’s wealth in order to avoid paying for one’s miserliness by undergoing the afflictions of Gehinom. It is in order to “put G’d to the test” by fulfilling the obligation to be charitable, to give away some of one’s accumulated wealth in order to see whether indeed G’d will compensate one for doing so. This is why Solomon added at the outset: “so that the Lord will fill your barns with plenty.” The word וימלאו, “and they will be filled,” is to be understood as the result of one’s fulfilling the first half of verse 9, i.e. to honour the Lord from one’s wealth. The words: “and your vats will overflow with new wine,” are in response to the words: “from the first fruits of all your harvests” in verse 9 of that chapter. This is also why the Torah refers to “the harvest of the vineyard” in Deuteronomy 22,9.
Concerning the giving of tithes, the prophet Maleachi 3,10 has stated that if someone were to test the Lord (His promises and if they come true), the only way he is allowed to do this is by means of performing the commandment of giving charity and observing if G’d indeed will enrich him thereby rather than make him poorer. The prophet describes this as an exception to the general rule not to put G’d to the test by saying: “I will perform a certain commandment in order to be enriched materially by the reward.” Compare Deut. 6.16: “you must not put the Lord to the test.” Our sages in Taanit 9,1 have stated that the verse quoted from Malachi represents the single and solitary exception to the prohibition spelled out in Deut. 6,16. They understand the prophet’s words: “bring your tithes, etc.,” as almost an invitation to prove that G’d does reward those who diminish their wealth by sharing the harvest with the poor, as resulting in an addition to those people’s material possessions forthwith. When Solomon spoke about the positive results accruing to the individual who honours the Lord from his wealth, he too meant this not as something given on condition that G’d would reward the individual forthwith but as a statement of fact, of what would ensue as a result of such conduct by those individuals. This is why he did not preface his comments with the words: “if you do such and such.” Basically, the lesson is that although putting the Lord to the test is forbidden, the subject of tithing is an exception to this rule.
Our sages in Ketuvot 66 phrase it thus: מלח ממון חסר, “if someone wants to treat money as if it were salt, i.e. enduring forever, he will find that it decreases.” Others quote the proverb as ממון מלח חסד, “if someone wants his money to endure as does salt, he should use it to perform acts of loving kindness(with it).” Seeing that this is so it behooves a person to spend his money (part of it) on the performance of commandments which involve expense, especially the commandment to give charity. He who gives to the poor in fact gives to the Almighty. [I suppose the meaning is that thereby G’d will not have to trouble Himself to sustain that poor person. Ed]. Similarly, he who donates money for sacred purposes such as the Temple, etc., is only giving to G’d what belongs to G’d in the first place. David spelled this out in Chronicles I 29,14 when he said: “for everything emanated from You and that which comes from Your hand we have given to You.” All of these considerations prompted Solomon to say in the verse quoted above: “honour the Lord with your wealth.”
The expression הון used by Solomon includes all kinds of things which a person accumulates in order to keep and preserve them. The word is derived from Psalms 119,14: כעל כל הון, “as over all riches.” Other examples of the word in the Bible occur in Proverbs 30,16 ואש לא אמרה הון, “and the fire never says ‘enough’”. Fire’s appetite to devour things is never satisfied. As long as an object subject to burning is available fire is anxious to devour it.
According to a Midrashic explanation found in the Midrash Mishley on our verse, the word “fire” here refers to the fires of hell and Solomon means that there is no end to the sufferings which people who are in Gehinom have to endure. It would seem that the two verses quoted at the introduction to our Parshah both describe the need to be generous with one’s wealth in order to avoid paying for one’s miserliness by undergoing the afflictions of Gehinom. It is in order to “put G’d to the test” by fulfilling the obligation to be charitable, to give away some of one’s accumulated wealth in order to see whether indeed G’d will compensate one for doing so. This is why Solomon added at the outset: “so that the Lord will fill your barns with plenty.” The word וימלאו, “and they will be filled,” is to be understood as the result of one’s fulfilling the first half of verse 9, i.e. to honour the Lord from one’s wealth. The words: “and your vats will overflow with new wine,” are in response to the words: “from the first fruits of all your harvests” in verse 9 of that chapter. This is also why the Torah refers to “the harvest of the vineyard” in Deuteronomy 22,9.
Concerning the giving of tithes, the prophet Maleachi 3,10 has stated that if someone were to test the Lord (His promises and if they come true), the only way he is allowed to do this is by means of performing the commandment of giving charity and observing if G’d indeed will enrich him thereby rather than make him poorer. The prophet describes this as an exception to the general rule not to put G’d to the test by saying: “I will perform a certain commandment in order to be enriched materially by the reward.” Compare Deut. 6.16: “you must not put the Lord to the test.” Our sages in Taanit 9,1 have stated that the verse quoted from Malachi represents the single and solitary exception to the prohibition spelled out in Deut. 6,16. They understand the prophet’s words: “bring your tithes, etc.,” as almost an invitation to prove that G’d does reward those who diminish their wealth by sharing the harvest with the poor, as resulting in an addition to those people’s material possessions forthwith. When Solomon spoke about the positive results accruing to the individual who honours the Lord from his wealth, he too meant this not as something given on condition that G’d would reward the individual forthwith but as a statement of fact, of what would ensue as a result of such conduct by those individuals. This is why he did not preface his comments with the words: “if you do such and such.” Basically, the lesson is that although putting the Lord to the test is forbidden, the subject of tithing is an exception to this rule.
Ibn Ezra
I shall turn to you i.e., by increasing your wealth; and also by making you fruitful, and by increasing you with sons and daughters. In my opinion, the word I shall make you fruitful is the opposite of “the barren womb” [Proverbs 30:16].
Kli Yakar
And you shall not contaminate [tachnifu, which can also mean flatter] the land. The explanation of this matter is as follows: The land appears as if it has opened its mouth without limit to swallow everything upon it, as it is said, Therefore the grave has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth without measure (Isaiah 5:14), and it is written, The earth that is not satisfied with water (Proverbs 30:16). For truly, the earth is never satisfied, and the wicked murderers flatter the land by giving it something to swallow, and this is flattery. For anyone who gives something to one who is unworthy of it, so that they in turn will give him something back — this is called flattery. And so it is that the land flatters the wicked by giving them its produce for all their needs which come from the earth, and also a place to dwell and establish themselves upon it, even though the wicked are not worthy of all this, as it is said, The earth is contaminated/flattered beneath its inhabitants (Isaiah 24:5).