הַרְחֵ֣ק מֵעָלֶ֣יהָ דַרְכֶּ֑ךָ וְאַל־תִּ֝קְרַ֗ב אֶל־פֶּ֥תַח בֵּיתָֽהּ׃
Jauhkanlah jalanmu darinya, dan janganlah mendekati pintu rumahnya,
Tosafot Yom Tov
DISTANCE YOURSELF [Heb. harchek] FROM A BAD [Heb. ra] NEIGHBOR, AND DO NOT KEEP COMPANY [Heb. titchaber] WITH A WICKED PERSON [Heb. rasha]. The mishna says to “distance yourself” from a bad neighbor because a neighbor lives close by, whereas one need not distance oneself from an evil person who is not a neighbor, as it is sufficient not to keep his company.
The mishna uses ra, “bad”, to describe the neighbour, whereas the one who is not a neighbor is called rasha, “wicked”, even though both of them are resha`im, because having a rasha as a neighbor brings a person much ra`ah, harm, and his presence does great damage, but a rasha who does not live close by, though he be wicked in the eyes of Heaven, might cause no harm to a person unless he keeps his company—so Midrash Shmuel in the name of R. Yosef ibn Shoshan the Pious.
He also writes that R. Yehuda Lerma asks why the mishna uses the verb harchek, which is in binyan hif`il,30A verb form in Hebrew, usually with the causative sense. If it is causitive here it is a transitive verb meaning “to distance another.” and not hitrachek, which is in binyan hitpa``el,31A verb form in Hebrew, usually with the reflexive sense. It would mean “to distance oneself,” and would seem to be more appropriate here. and answers that should someone new come to the neighborhood and make his residence near that bad neighbor whom he doesn’t know, one ought to distance and warn the newcomer about his neighbor.
I feel that the tanna uses both the verbs harchek and titchaber the way they are used in the Bible. For while hitrachek, which is in hitpa``el, never appears in the Bible, harchek in hif`il appears in “Keep your path distant [Heb. harchek] from her” (Proverbs 5:8). Hitchaber, in hitpa``el, appears in “On account of your joining [Heb. behitchabercha] with Ahaziahu, G-d will destoy what you have made” (2 Chronicles 20:37). Echoing this verse, the tanna then concludes and don’t despair, because punishment will come.32The verse in Chronicles reads in full: Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “On account of your joining with Ahaziah, G-d will destroy what you have made.” The ships were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade. The tanna puts together the two parts of the mishna on the basis of the verse: do not join with an evil person (“on account of your joining…”), and don’t despair, because punishment will come (“the ships were wrecked…”) It is possible that the author is understanding the mishna as saying: do not join with an evil person, and, should you do so, don’t despair—i.e., you won’t have to wait long—because punishment will come. In this case, the parallel to the verse in Chronicles is exact.
The mishna uses ra, “bad”, to describe the neighbour, whereas the one who is not a neighbor is called rasha, “wicked”, even though both of them are resha`im, because having a rasha as a neighbor brings a person much ra`ah, harm, and his presence does great damage, but a rasha who does not live close by, though he be wicked in the eyes of Heaven, might cause no harm to a person unless he keeps his company—so Midrash Shmuel in the name of R. Yosef ibn Shoshan the Pious.
He also writes that R. Yehuda Lerma asks why the mishna uses the verb harchek, which is in binyan hif`il,30A verb form in Hebrew, usually with the causative sense. If it is causitive here it is a transitive verb meaning “to distance another.” and not hitrachek, which is in binyan hitpa``el,31A verb form in Hebrew, usually with the reflexive sense. It would mean “to distance oneself,” and would seem to be more appropriate here. and answers that should someone new come to the neighborhood and make his residence near that bad neighbor whom he doesn’t know, one ought to distance and warn the newcomer about his neighbor.
I feel that the tanna uses both the verbs harchek and titchaber the way they are used in the Bible. For while hitrachek, which is in hitpa``el, never appears in the Bible, harchek in hif`il appears in “Keep your path distant [Heb. harchek] from her” (Proverbs 5:8). Hitchaber, in hitpa``el, appears in “On account of your joining [Heb. behitchabercha] with Ahaziahu, G-d will destoy what you have made” (2 Chronicles 20:37). Echoing this verse, the tanna then concludes and don’t despair, because punishment will come.32The verse in Chronicles reads in full: Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “On account of your joining with Ahaziah, G-d will destroy what you have made.” The ships were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade. The tanna puts together the two parts of the mishna on the basis of the verse: do not join with an evil person (“on account of your joining…”), and don’t despair, because punishment will come (“the ships were wrecked…”) It is possible that the author is understanding the mishna as saying: do not join with an evil person, and, should you do so, don’t despair—i.e., you won’t have to wait long—because punishment will come. In this case, the parallel to the verse in Chronicles is exact.