Musar su Ecclesiaste 9:8

The sixth path is that he should prepare to meet his God every instant. Therefore he should darken his conscience and prepare in righteousness to return his soul in purity to God who gave it [to him]. So he should search his ways and his plans every day - record them in the mornings and examine them all the time. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Shabbat 153a), "Rabbi Eliezer says, 'Repent one day before your death.' His students asked him, 'Our teacher, but does a person know the day on which he will die?' He said to them, 'All the more so should one repent today, lest he die tomorrow; and so one will spend his entire life in [a state of] repentance.'" And it states (Ecclesiastes 9:8), "Let your clothes always be white, and your head never lack oil." The whiteness of clothes is a metaphor for the cleanliness of the soul that has repented; and the oil is a metaphor for good deeds and a good name. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, also said about this matter (Kohelet Rabbah 9:6), "There is a [relevant] parable about the wife of a sailor who would adorn herself and paint her eyes while her husband was traveling on the seaways. So her neighbors said to her, 'Didn't your husband go on a faraway journey? So isn't this beautifying of yourself for naught?' She said to them, 'My husband is a sailor. Maybe the sea wind will change and ease it for him to come quickly and he will find me - and behold I [will be] adorned.'" And when a person is at ease and tranquil, he should assess in his soul how his heart will worry, fear and tremble when the day of death comes to him - that he should be prepared to rise and give an accounting; and how he will give a confession with a crushed heart at the time of his death. So the fear of heaven will be upon him.

The sixth [reason] is that maybe his days will not be long and he will die before he completes the measure of his repentance. Therefore, Solomon warned (Ecclesiastes 9:8), "Let your clothes always be white."

Therefore, I say that according to the strength of the soul and according to its sweetness, will the power of thought be seen. And if thought inclines to lofty things, then the acts which come from its power will incline towards piety and righteousness, and the acts of the five senses which we have mentioned will be drawn towards righteousness and piety. These five senses are like channels or arteries through which the blood courses to quench the thirst of all the limbs of the body. Similarly, the emotions are channels through which the powers of thought flow in order to quench the thirst of the soul. Concerning this, it is said: (Numbers 15:39), “And that ye go not about after your own heart and your own eyes.” And so did our Sages, of blessed memory, say in the first chapter of the Jerusalem Talmud, “The heart and the eye are two agents of sin, and when evil deeds are mingled in the soul, they corrupt its acts until they turn away from their regimen.” Just as extraneous juices corrupt the structure of the body, so do evil thoughts corrupt the function of the soul. The functions of the soul are knowledge, intelligence, speech, humility, fear and hope, and other good qualities. But when evil lust is mingled with the soul, it destroys all of these good qualities; just as extraneous juices destroy the structure of the body, so does the mixture of lust destroy the work of the soul. Therefore, we must heal the sickness in the same way as we heal the body—just as the sickness which comes from mixtures of the humors needs at the very beginning medicines that will cleanse and purify the wound from within so that the medicine from outside will be of value. For if you should give to the patient a medicament or an ointment or a bandage and the wound is still clearly discernible, the medicament will be of no advantage. It will only unite with the extraneous juices and increase the damage, as it is written (Exodus 1:10), “… and they also will join themselves unto our enemies.” Moreover, what can healing do from the outside when the enemy lurks in ambush from within. He spoils that which you would correct, and between the onslaught of both of them, the body perishes. Therefore, it is necessary to cleanse the body, and when the body is clean, the medicine will be effective. Just as with a soiled curtain—if you want to dye it, the dye will not be fast because of the stains. But if you wash it well it becomes clean. Then, according to its cleanliness, it will receive the dye well. So it is with the soul. When we wash away from it the taints of an evil thought and the lust which stains, then the power of repentance will cleave to it like to a garment which has been washed. And on this subject, King Solomon, peace be unto him, said (Ecclesiastes 9:8), “Let thy garments be always white.” By this, he means cleanliness of the heart, which is to say that your intention at all times should be that your heart be pure, and then you will be able to receive good deeds. So did the prophet say concerning repentance (Isaiah 55:7), “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the man of iniquity his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have compassion upon him.”