Musar su Proverbi 14:28

[The Gemara (Chullin 89a) continues: "I might think even in respect to Torah study; it is, therefore, written (Psalms, Ibid.): 'righteousness [i.e., Torah] shall you speak.' I might think that [he could do so] even to the point of haughtiness; it is, therefore, written: 'with justness shall you judge the sons of men.'" On the face of it, this is to be wondered at: Why would it occur to us to say that he should be mute to words of Torah? Why was speech created in a man if not to speak in the Torah of the L-rd and of His exalted majesty? And also, the end of the apothegm — "I might think even to the point of haughtiness" — is to be wondered at. For what does this have to do with "muteness"? [The resolution would seem to be as follows:] It is known that one can study Torah in two ways: a) by himself; b) with others. Each way has an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage of learning by oneself is being protected against forbidden speech — for there is no one to speak to. But there is a disadvantage, that the learning lacks the clarification [that comes from an interplay of minds.] And if he learns with others there is the disadvantage that their company sometimes leads to idle talk, lashon hara and levity. But, countering that, there is the great advantage of greater clarification. And this is the intent of the Gemara: "I might think even in respect to Torah study." That is, not that he not speak at all in Torah, but that he utilize the trait of "muteness," (which affords greater protection), even for words of Torah, that he not speak even Torah with other men at all, out of fear that he will be drawn by this in the end to forbidden speech, so that he should study only by himself. And, similarly, with other mitzvoth which involve speech, such as prayer and the like. [I might think that] he should not associate with any man, so as not to come to forbidden speech. And the Gemara answers: "It is, therefore, written: 'Righteousness [Torah] shall you [(plural) speak,' and not 'righteousness shall he speak,'" in the singular, as per the introduction ["eilem"] — to teach us that he should speak in Torah in company [chavurah]. As Chazal have said (Berachoth 63b): "A sword upon the 'loners'" — a sword upon 'the foes of Torah scholars' [a euphemism for 'Torah scholars'] who study Torah by themselves. And, what is more, they stupefy themselves." And the same is true of congregational prayer, viz. (Mishlei 14:28): "The multitude of people glorify the King." According to this, the "complete man" is on that exalted level where he must conduct himself as two opposites. That is, in the affairs of the world he must be like a mute and not speak even what is permitted, but only what is essential. And in the area of Torah and mitzvoth he must "expand" speech as far as he can, to study with many and to converse with them in matters of holiness. But, in any event, he must be on guard not to speak with them on any forbidden matter — wherefore the Gemara concludes: "I might think that [he could do so] even to the point of haughtiness." That is, when he sees others who are completely irresponsible in their speech and who sully their mouths with lashon hara, levity, and other [forms of] forbidden speech, [I might think that] he should hold them to be absolutely wicked, and himself, to he absolutely righteous," it is, therefore, written (Psalms, Ibid.): 'with justness shall you judge the sons of men.'" That is he must judge them equably and in [the scales of] merit, assuming that they do not [really] know what lashon hara is (and the like, with other [forms of] forbidden speech), and also that they do not know the severity of the sin of forbidden speech.]

Now that it has been made clear that the world was not created for any need of God, we can say that the world was created for a great reason and that that reason is the service of the Creator, blessed be He. For just as a king is not called king until he has a people, as it is said (Proverbs 14:28), “In the multitude of people is the king’s glory”, so similarly the name “Creator” cannot be applied to one unless there is something that He has created. He is not called “God’ until He has a people, as it is said (Leviticus 26:12), “And I will be your God and ye shall be My people.” Even though the Divine name does not lack anything⁸See Psalms 10:16, "The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations are perished out of His land." M. L. Malbim in his commentary on the Psalms Kitbe Kodesh Psalms, (Vilna: Romm. 1911), p. 21 observed "although the nations are absent from His land, God is God with or without people." because of the lack of men nor does It gain by them , nevertheless, in the creation of the world, it was fitting that the name of the Creator should be “God.” For example, the smiter can smite, but he is not called “the smiter” until he has smitten something. Even if there is no smitten object, there may be nothing lacking in the strength of the smiter, yet only when there is a smitten object is it proper to call the smiter by that name. Thus with the Creator, nothing was lacking in His power before the world was created, but in the creation of the world His perfection increased. This is the cause for which the world was created. Thus we know and understand that the Creation of the world was the perfection of God’s name.

All sages agree that reason can grasp only two things the Creator and things created, and that there is nothing besides these two; furthermore, that God is of all times, whereas everything else has been created; that the Creator has neither a beginning nor an end, while things created do have both. They also tell us the Creator is not in need of anything, for if He were, He would not be perfect. Since the Creator is perfect, He does not lack anything; therefore He did not create the world out of need of something, but in order to do good to those who acquire merit.⁴²I, Similarly Joseph ibn Zaddik, who devotes a special chapter to the fact that God is not in need of anything (Microcosm p. 52) .אם יצטרך לדבר שברא, היא חםרון בעצמו ולא יוכל לברא אותו והואיל והתבאר שהוא עשיר, הוא ברא העולם לרוב נדבתו וחםדו ולא לדבר אחר Therefore we read in the creation story that God created the heavenly bodies in order to illuminate the earth and not the heavens; it is not the heavens and God who are in need of them but rather the earth and its inhabitants. If that which has been created had been made for the benefit of the Creator, it would be as eternal as He is, for whatever benefits Him cannot be separated from Him but always joined with Him.⁴³ib. p. 52. ואם הוצרך התחדש בו, לא ימלט או שהתחדש בו כהתחדש החום בגוך אחר הקור והתנועה אחר השכון, ואם כן יהיה אז נערך אל החדושים וכל נעדך לחידושים מחודש וכו׳. He also states that if God’s needs were not eternal but had arisen at some time, God Himself would not be eternal. Since the world has been created and is not eternal God did not need it before it was created, and since He did not need it before it existed, He is not in need of it afterwards either. God did create the world for the benefit of man, but not so for evil and sinful man (for this would contradict reason), but for the benefit of the pious, who recognize His divinity and serve Him in a fitting manner. But why create sinful men altogether? This touches on the important problem of the reason for the existence of evil, a problem which is decisive for the justification of the Jewish view of God. But his reply shows that the author did not understand the problem at all⁴⁴Similarly strange is another observation which refers to the problem of theodicy. Man’s sufferings are a sign of divine love, while a peaceful, non-suffering life proves that man is not beloved by God. IX, ועור כשיבואו על אדם ייםורין וחליים וצרות או יגלה מארצו, ידע כי הבורא אוהב אותו ויםרחו כאשר ייםר איש את בנו, ואם יראת כי שקט ובוטח בלא ייםורין וחליים והוא עומד בשלוה ולא עכרו עליו נםיונות, ידע כי אין הבורא אוהב אותו. , for he justifies the existence of sinners in a way which is incompatible with the belief in God’s omnipotence: God created the world for the benefit of the pious, while the sinners were created unintentionally as it were, out of the nature of creation. The fruit has a shell, and the purpose is what is inside—so are the pious the fruit of creation, and the evil-doers their shells. The sower is concerned with the growth of the wheat, yet weeds must be expected to grow also, just as thorns grow together with the rose. Thus does God intend to create only the pious; but the power of creation brings sinners forth at the same time.⁴⁵I, ועוד נדע ונבין, כי העולם לא בראו הבורא בעבור הרשעים וחמכעיםים אותו, כי זה לא יחייב אותו בשכל, ואולם בראו בעבור החםידים היודעים אלוהותו והעובדים אותו כראוי, וכל סוונתו היתד לברוא החםידים, אך נבראו הרשעים מכה טבע הבריאה, וכאשר יש לפרי קליפה והמבחר הוא טה שבתוך הקליפה, כן החסידים הם פרי בריאת העולם והרשעים הם כטו הקליפות וכאשר נראה כוונת הזורע להצמיח החטה לבדה אבל כה הצמח יוציא עם החטה באשה ועם השושנה מיני קוצים, כך כוונת הבורא לברוא החםידים אבל כה הבריאה יוציא עם החםידים רשעים. The author uses also an analogy from the area of human activities. Every good artisan wants to create a beautiful and useful object. The intelligent potter wants to make beautiful containers. If one of them turns out to be ugly, crooked or imperfect, he will not put it together with the beautiful ones, but he will throw it out and destroy it. Similarly, God wants to create in the world only pious and good people. He rejects the sinners because they do not fit in the work of creation. The pious glorify the divine work of creation, while the sinners contribute to the profanation of the divine Name.⁴⁶II וכאשר האומן החכם בעשותו מלאכה נאה, יתפאר בת לכל רואיו, כן הבורא יתברך יתפאר בחםידיו כאשר אמר: ובישראל אתפאר ואומר: ישראל אשר בך אתפאר, ויתפאר בחםידיו מפני שהם אות גדול על תקון מלאכתו וראיה ברורה על יושר פעולותיו, והרשעים הפך מה שאמרנו, כי הם נותנים פגם בבריאתו והם םבה לחלל שם כבודו וכו׳ If one might object that the fact that God had to create the world proves that He was in need of it, the answer is that no power in the world can force God to do anything—it is His own power which forces the creatures to proceed from non-being to being. He does this so that His divinity be recognized, His glory be revealed, and that He may be happy with His creatures as a father is happy at having a wise and intelligent son who grants him the honor due to him. The creation of the world does therefore not stem from God’s need, and yet it has an important reason, namely the glorification of God. As no king is a king unless he has subjects—as it says, “In the multitude of people is the king’s glory” (Prov. 14:28)—so is God a Creator only after He has created, and God only if He has a nation, as it says, “I shall be your God, and you shall be My people” (Lev. 26:12). Although the name of God is not weakened by the absence of human beings, nor exalted through their existence, the name of God becomes His only through creation. Although the power of the Creator existed before the creation, the name of the divinity has been perfected by it.⁴⁷ibid. ואחרי אשר התבאר, כי לא נברא העולם לצורך, נאמר כי נברא לםבה גדולה והוא עבודת הבורא ית׳ כי כאשר המלך לא יקרא מלך עד אשר יהיה לו עם, כמו שנאמר ברוב עם הדרת מלך, כמו כן שם הבורא לא נקרא בורא, עד אשר יהיה לו נברא ולא נקרא אלהים עד אשר יהיה לו עם כמ״ש והייתי לכם לאלהים ואתם תהיו לי לעם, ואע״פ ששם האלהות לא יחםר בחםרון בני אדם ולא יוםיף בהם, אך בבריאת העולם היה ראוי להקרא שם הבורא…וכן הבורא לא יחםר כהו בטרם נברא העולם, אך בבריאת העולם הוםיף שלמות שלו, וזו היא הםיבה אשר למענה נברא העולם. By worshipping and revering God and by fulfilling His will, man reaches the highest perfection of his power, his reason and his status, thereby testifying to the perfection of his creator.⁴⁸I כן מלכות הבורא ית׳ תוםיף שלמות והדור בעבודת בני האדם ויראתם ממנו, ואע״פ שלא יחםר שלמותו לחםרון עבודתם, אך כשישלים העבד רצון אדוניו יהיה העבד בתכלית השלמות בכחו ושכלו וכל עניניו ותהיה שלמותו לאות על שלמות אדוניו.

A third custom I have noticed is that the residents of one village often travel to another village far away to attend services. They do this in fulfillment of the verse, “in a multitude of subjects is the glory of the king” (Mishlei 14:28), the King of the Universe, the Holy One Blessed is He. But once they arrive they spend the entire time engaged in vanity. One of them relates how he bought a horse for a good price from a certain gentile and another how he bought a cow and other animals. Their entire conversation revolves around mundane matters. Yet the Sages have taught, based on the verse, “And honor it by refraining from doing your ways…or speaking of a matter” (Yeshayahu 58:13), that one’s conversation on the Shabbos should not be like that on a weekday (Shabbos 113b). Since these villagers do not see one another throughout the week but only on Shabbos, they engage in every manner of conversation, including worldly affairs and business. In such a situation it would be better if they remained at home asleep in bed so that they would not speak of mundane matters on the Shabbos. This stumbling block is very common, on account of our many sins, and is to be found among most villagers.

The Fast of Esther was established on the basis of a statement in the Talmud (Megillah 2a) that the 13th of Adar is “a time of gathering for everyone.” The commentaries explain (Rosh, ad loc., sec. 1; Ran, 1b) that everyone gathers for the Fast of Esther and village dwellers come to the city to recite prayers of repentance and supplication. This is because on that day the Jews gathered to defend themselves and were in need of mercy. Therefore this day was established for the reciting of prayers of repentance and supplication. Village dwellers are obliged to come to the city on the Fast of Esther so that they may join with their fellow Jews in the reciting of the penitential prayers, for this is the meaning of the Sages’ statement that the 13th is “a time of gathering for everyone.” The Holy One Blessed is He loves when people gather in the cities to recite penitential prayers with the congregation. This is because “in a multitude of people is the glory of the king” (Mishlei 14:28). Through these prayers they arouse abundant mercy on the part of the Heavenly host.