Musar su Proverbi 14:41

[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.

The fifth principle is worry: As he will worry and fear from the punishment of his iniquities. For there are iniquities for which the repentance has the atonement depend upon cleansing afflictions, as it is stated (Psalms 38:19), "I acknowledge my iniquity; I am fearful over my sin." The content of grief is about the past, whereas the content of worry is about the future. And he will also doubly worry - maybe he is falling short in his obligation of repentance with pain, bitterness, fasting and crying. And even if he has multiplied the pain and multiplied the crying, he should crawl and fear - maybe corresponding to this had he multiplied his guilt; so that all of his affliction and having his soul cry in its fast did not fill his measure. And one who examines the greatness of the service to the Creator upon his creatures and that there is no end to the evil of one who rebels against His word [will know that even with] all of what he adds to his service and in the ways of repentance, is it not small? Behold it is like a little in his eyes. And King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 14:16), "A wise man is afraid and turns away from evil." And its explanation is that even though a wise man turns away from evil with all of the efforts of his ability, he should crawl and fear - maybe he did not complete his measure, and he was not careful according to the standard of what needs to be done. And like this is (Proverbs 28:6), "than a rich man whose ways are crooked" - even though he is rich. And likewise did our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, say in Yilamdeinu (Tanchuma, Lech Lecha, 15), "Do not explain [it as] 'A wise man is afraid and turns away from evil'; but rather, 'A wise man turns away from evil and is afraid.'" And the end of the verse (Proverbs 14:16) proves this - "but a fool rushes and is confident." He states abut the traits of a fool, that they are the opposite of the traits of a wise man. For a fool rushes, but is nevertheless confident that iniquity and damage will not come to him. Yet the angry person is given to sins and open to damages, as it is stated (Proverbs 29:22), "A hot-tempered man commits many offenses." And it is [also] stated (Proverbs 25:28), "Like an open city without walls is a man whose temper is uncurbed."

Thus the simpletons walk confidently, fall and are lost without having felt any prior fear. This is what scripture refers to: "the way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble" (Prov. 4:19), and "the clever one foresees the evil and hides himself, but the foolish commits transgression and is punished" (Prov. 22:3), and "[a wise one fears and departs from evil], but the fool transgresses and feels confident" (Prov 14:16). For they feel as secure as an edifice, and they fall before having any knowledge whatsoever of the stumbling block.

And fourthly, because they are bringing down the honor of people of truth, and nullifying their service. And there is no success in the honor of the righteous, except after the lowering of the [evildoers’] honor - as it is stated (Proverbs 14:11), “The house of the evildoers will be demolished, and the tent of the upright will flourish.” And it is [also] stated (Proverbs 11:11), “A city is built up by the blessing of the upright, but it is torn down by the speech of the evildoers.”

The second section: The one who mocks people because he disdains them in his heart for their lack of reaching virtues or temporal successes regarding honor or power; or he disdains them for their poverty or indigence. And it is pride that brought him to this trait; or much tranquility and pampering, like the matter that is stated (Psalms 123:4), “Long enough have we endured the scorn of the complacent, the contempt of the haughty.” And sometimes the scoffer will mock holy ones and prophets, like the matter that is stated (Jeremiah 20:7), “everyone jeers at me.” And King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 14:21), “He who disdains his fellow is a sinner.” It was also stated (Proverbs 11:12), “He who disdains his fellowman is devoid of sense.” And it was stated (Proverbs 17:5), “He who mocks the poor affronts his Maker; and he who rejoices over another’s misfortune will not go unpunished.” One who mocks the poor shows about himself that he imagines that successes are in the hands of people to surely achieve them with their wisdom - like the matter that is stated (Deuteronomy 8:17), “My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me.” And it is stated (Isaiah 10:13), “For he thought, ‘By the might of my hand have I wrought it, by my skill.’” And because of this, he mocks the poor; for he says in his heart that he did not reach wealth from lack of intellect and from the lowliness of his [work]. And behold he affronts the One who makes the poor and the rich, because it is all from God, may He be blessed - like the matter that is stated (Proverbs 22:2) “Rich man and poor man meet; the Lord made them both.” And about “he who rejoices over another’s misfortune,” he said, ‘He will not go unpunished” - for even though he did not injure with an action or with speech, “he will not go unpunished.” However the evil of the one that rejoices is not as great as the evil of the one who mocks. And because scoffing is caused by pride - which is the opposite of humility - King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 3:34), “If at scoffers, He scoffs; but to the lowly He shows grace.” Its explanation: “If at scoffers” - truly, God mocks scoffers who mock people, like the matter that is stated (Psalms 2:4), “He who is enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord mocks at them.” And the expression, “if,” is to confirm the matter. And so [is such a usage found] (in Numbers 24:22) “Yet if Kain be consumed”; (Proverbs 23:18) “For if you will have a future.”

And King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 14:9-10), “Fools will advocate guilt; among the upright, good will. The heart knows its own bitterness, and no outsider can share in its joy.” Its explanation is - the fool advocates guilt, since he searches for the blemishes of people and their guilt. So he will attribute defects to them and never speak about their praise or about something good that is found with them. And the analogy for this is that flies always all land on dirty places. And his saying, “fools will advocate (literally, fools advocates),” in the singular is [to address] each and every one of the fools, like (in Genesis 49:22), “(literally) daughters treads on the wall.” And our Rabbis said (Kiddushin 70a), “Anyone who is of flawed lineage never speaks in praise of [others]. And [his way is to] disqualify them with his own flaw.” “Among the upright, good will” - for it is the way of the just to cover over transgressions, and to praise a man when a good thing is found with him. And they spoke in ethics about a [simple] man and a sage who were walking past a carcass. The [former] said, “That carcass is so rotten!” The sage said, “How white are its teeth!” And [Solomon] said after this, “The heart knows its own bitterness.” And every sage knows that Solomon did not bring words that are not useful among his chosen teachings (Proverbs). Rather the matter is coming with regard to the first verse - to say that the evil of the fool that advocates guilt is because it is probable that the sinner has repented from his way. And no one knows the bitterness of the soul of a person, and its joy, besides him. And that lifts up the sin, for the essentials of repentance are according to the bitterness of his soul. Therefore the fool that mentions his iniquity sins and is guilty.

For after this has become clear to them and likewise after it has become clear to them that the means to perfection are good deeds and traits, they will certainly never consent to diminish these means or be lenient in them. Since, it has already become clear to them that if they diminish in these means or are weak in these means, not employing the full force necessary, they will not attain the true perfection. Rather, it will be reduced in proportion to their reduction in exerting themselves to the necessary extent, leaving them lacking in perfection which is a great calamity and great evil to them.

The pinnacle of this level called "fear of sin", one of the greatest levels, is when a man is constantly afraid and worried lest he have in his hand some trace of sin which obstructs him from the perfection that he is under duty to strive for.

Regarding this our Sages of blessed memory said: "this teaches each person is burned from the Chupa (canopy) of his fellow" (Bava Basra 75a). This [burning] does not refer to jealousy which falls only to people lacking in understanding as I will explain with G-d's help. Rather, it is due to seeing oneself lacking from the perfection that he was capable of attaining just as his fellow had attained it.

This is the intent of Shlomo's warning: "do not mingle with those who make changes" (Prov.24:21). If a man claims to you: "a person's mind should always be associated with his fellow men" (Ketuvot 17a), reply to him, "this refers to human beings who act like human beings. Not human beings who act like animals." Shlomo warns further: "Go from before a foolish man" (Prov. 14:7). And King David said: "Fortunate is the man that walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers" (Ps. 1:1). Our sages expounded this: "If he walks, he will eventually stand. If he stood, he will eventually sit" (Avodah Zara 18b). And "I did not sit with men of falsehood, neither did I go with hypocrites. I have hated the congregation of evil-doers, and will not sit with the wicked" (Ps. 26:4-5).

Behold, Shlomo repeatedly exhorted many times on this in seeing the evil of laziness and the greatness of the harm resulting from it. He said "a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. Then shall your poverty come as a traveler" (Mishlei 24:33). For behold, even though the lazy person is not doing evil actively, nevertheless he brings evil on himself through his very inactivity.

"it was all grown over with thorns" - refers to one who seeks the interpretation of a portion of the Torah and does not find it.

The quality of Joy comes to a man out of the peace and security in his heart without an evil happening clouding it. And a man who achieves his desire without a sad event to mar it will be happy always, and his face will glow and his radiance will gleam, and his body will be healthy and old age will not quickly come upon him, as it is said: "A merry heart is good (healing) medicine" (Prov. 17:22). From joy will come laughter, but it is not fitting for an intelligent man to laugh too much, for with too much laughter goes a frivolous mind, as it is said: "For as the crackling of thorns under a pot so is the laughter of the fool" (Eccl. 7:6). And it has already been said that one of the signs of a fool is that he laughs when and where laughter is not proper. And it is not fitting for one who has the obligation of correcting others to conduct himself laughingly at meetings or gatherings, for the sages have said concerning him, "He who laughs much loses the respect of others, for when he laughs, another is unable to revere him (with the reverence due his teacher i.e.) with the fear of Heaven^** The concept involved here is that when one receives a teacher with reverence, it is as though he had received the Divine Presence.. Therefore, a man should reprove and strengthen himself not to laugh at the slightest pretext, nor should he acquire a teacher or companion who is given to much laughter, as it is said : "I did not sit in the assembly of them that make merry and rejoice" (Jer. 15:17). And it is written : "In all sadness there is some profit" (Prov. 14:23) (something to be learned or gained).

And concerning one who deliberately places himself in danger and says, "I trust in the Lord, may He be Blessed," about him it is said : "But the fool behaves overbearingly and is confident" (Prov. 14:16). And the Torah has warned us concerning this as it is written : "You shall not try the Lord your God" (Deut. 6:16). And he who places himself in danger and kills himself through his folly, his punishment is greater than that of a man who kills others.

There are those whose folly has grown so great that if he sees some good by his fellow, he will rot inside. He worries and suffers so much that even the good things he has do not give him any enjoyment due to the pain of what he sees in his fellow's hands. This is what the wise man said: "jealousy is the rot of the bones"(Mishlei 14:30).

Therefore, it is good for a man not to wear conspicuous or expensive garments — neither he nor his wife nor his children, and so should it be with food and other matters so that others will not envy him. Let that man who has been blessed bountifully by the Creator see to it that others get some enjoyment from his possessions whether they be rich or whether they be poor. Let him conduct himself with his companions gently and deal kindly with them. We have already dwelt at length about this matter — the matter of a man being loved by his fellow creatures — if he is loved by everyone, then they will not envy him, and they will not covet anything that belongs to him. However, it is fitting for a man, that he should attempt to excel in good qualities, so that others may envy him and long to do as he does. And he who is careful not to envy others, — his body will not wither, and no worms will rule over him. As it is written : "But envy is the rottenness of the bones" (Prov. 14:30), "Any man who has envy in his heart, his bones rot; every man who has not envy in his heart, his bones do not rot" (Shabbath 152b).

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.

Now, hearken to the importance of generosity and of the men who give freely to the poor, as it is written, "Righteousness will exalt a people" (Prov. 14:34). Come and see, how great is the power of charity, for it is described as being at the right hand of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is said, "Thy right hand is full of righteousness" (Ps. 48:11) (Midrash to Prov. 14).

In this case there are many transgressions and much punishment. First of all, he should have reproved the offender for his sins, yet not only does he fail to do this, but he says to him, "You have not sinned," thus strengthening the bonds of evil-doers. This flatterer will be punished because he was not zealous for the truth. Not only this, but the flatterer places a stumbling block before the sinner by saying, "You have not sinned," for then the offender will not repent of his evil deeds and will continue to sin. This is apart from the guilt that the flatterer incurs because of the injury and pain of the people whom the sinner has injured and given pain, and whom the sinner will not reimburse for the damage nor conciliate his victims because of the flattery of the flatterer. For the flatterer justifies the wickedness, it is said, "He that justifieth the wicked and he that condemneth the righteous, even they both are an abomination to the Lord" (Prov. 117:15). All the more is this true if the wrong of the sinner is known to many, and the flatterer flatters the sinner publicly and says, "Pure and upright are you," then the flatterer has profaned the Name of God, he has shown contempt for law and judgment.

We know from Proverbs 14,30, "envy is iike rottenness of the bones," that ordinarily, jealousy is a natural cause of death. Greed, lust, cause man's death, while he remains unsated, since "man dies while half his desires remain unfulfilled" (Kohelet Rabbah 1,34). We also have the statement of our sages that "he who chases after glory and honour, glory and honour flee from him" (Jerusalem Talmud Avodah Zarah 3,1). On this the sages comment that he dies one hundred deaths from jealousy and not just one. Rashi explains the Mishnah in Avot by Rabbi Elazar Hakappor as applying to Adam; it was these negative virtues that caused him to become mortal. He describes the angels who had to serve him delicacies in גן עדן as becoming jealous of his status, his כבוד, honor. He cites Adam's greed to eat from the tree of knowledge as contributing to his death. The honour he enjoyed in Gan Eden caused him to be expelled. He quotes other opinions that apply this Mishnah to the jealousy displayed by Korach versus Moses and Aaron. Actually we have to view these three evils as the root causes of all impurities, i.e. טומאות, which include all negative virtues. When these three characteristics are used positively, they in turn are the root causes of all positive virtues. Concerning this fact, Ben Zoma asks at the beginning of that chapter in Avot "Who is a wise man? He who is willing to learn from any person. Who is a hero? He who is able to restrain his passions. Who is wealthy? He who is satisfied with his lot." "Heroism" is an aspect of "jealousy," as we know from Jeremiah 46,12, גבור בגבור כמותן, "for hero encounters a hero of similar stature" [the competitive element is the jealousy]. We also have Rashi's comment on Numbers 25,11, בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם, "when he displayed jealousy on My behalf," that this "jealousy" displayed by Pinchas was the retribution G–d was entitled to exact from Zimri, i.e. it was נקמה. We know that קנאת סופרים, a competitive spirit between scholars is laudable, since it means that a person battles his evil urge, trying to excel in good deeds and character traits. This is the most important battle a person has to fight in his life. We have the story of the philosopher who encountered soldiers returning from a great conquest. He told them: "you did win a minor battle, but you have failed to win the major battle, namely man's battle with his evil urge." The reason it is called "the great battle," is that it is a never-ending battle. Concerning that battle, Ben Zoma said that the true hero is he who vanquishes his evil urge. The statement "who is wealthy, he who is satisfied with his lot," is the exact opposite of the negative virtue of תאוה, greed, i.e. never being satisfied. This is why the rabbis said that a person who is afflicted with the disease of being greedy dies before he has achieved even half of what he had hoped for. Lastly Ben Zoma described the חכם, wise person, as someone who is willing to learn from anybody else. The true meaning of honour is to be considered a wise man, as we know from Proverbs 3,35: "The wise shall inherit honour." When a person does not chase after glory it is liable to pursue him. Rabbi Yossi is on record as saying: "I have learned a great deal from my teachers; I have learned even more from my friends; but most of all have I learned from my students" (Taanit 7).

If a man revealed your sin, do not say, "Just as he revealed my sin, I will now reveal his sin," As it is said, "Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge" (Lev. 19:18). Neither may you boast and say, "Even though he has revealed my sin, I will not reveal his," for by so speaking you have already revealed the half of it. And this matter is a very great principle in the whole concept of reverence of God. But if the one who sins does not fear God then he is as one who throws off the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven from upon him, and if he does not guard himself against a single transgression which all the people of the city know to be a sin, then one does well to speak evil of him and to reveal his sins and to cause the sinner, to be odious in the eyes of the people, in order that the people may hear and despise him and set themselves apart from transgressions, as it is said, "An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous" (Prov. 29:27). And it is said, "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil" (Prov. 8:13). And they said, a wicked man who is the son of a righteous man may be called "a wicked man, son of the wicked," while a righteous man who is the son of a wicked man may be called "a righteous man, son of the righteous" — and precisely in this way is it permitted to shame him for the sake of Heaven. But a man who quarrels with another and intends to shame him for his own satisfaction and not for the sake of Heaven, may not reveal his sin (Sanh. 52a). And similarly if the one who reveals the transgression of his companion is himself a sinner, he should not reveal the wrong of another sinner, for he certainly is not revealing the secrets of the sinner for a good purpose. "But the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury" (Prov. 14:23).

And through every word of Torah, holiness is added to a man's soul. For with every word he fulfills the mitzvah of talmud Torah, as written in the sefarim. And through each mitzvah a man's soul is sanctified, as it is written (Bamidbar 15:40): "So that you remember and do all of My mitzvoth; and you shall be holy to your G-d." And there is no mitzvah performed by the organs, where a man has mitzvoth added to him as profusely as that of speech [of Torah] granted him by the L-rd. For whatever mitzvah one does with his organs, he must allocate to it [at least] several minutes, and in this time, if he were learning Torah, he could utter hundreds of words of Torah. Therefore, a man is not permitted to leave off Torah study if the mitzvah can be performed by others. And this is what is intimated by Mishlei 14:4: "Wealth adds many friends," which the GRA explained: Through the wealth of Torah many friends are added to a man. For with every word of Torah with which one fulfills the mitzvah of Torah study, there is created for him one defender, and these [defenders] are the true friends of a man.

He prayed for the דבקות to become manifest already before the conquest of the land of Canaan. As long as Israel carries out G–d's wishes this affinity exists, and the name of G–d as well as the throne of G–d is complete. When Israel sinned with the golden calf, one of the four supports of G–d's throne, i.e. the פני השור, "slipped," causing G–d's throne and His name to become impaired. As long as Israel carry out G–d's desires, they are the carriers of the Presence of G–d, they serve as the throne. As long as such a situation continues they are called אדם, i.e. they represent the פני אדם mentioned in Ezekiel's vision as one of the four carriers of G–d's throne (Ezekiel 1,10). The study of the Torah is one leg of the four legs supporting G–d's throne, the one called פני השור. This is based on ורב תבואות בכח השור (Proverbs 14,4). Our sages have said that one should apply oneself to Torah study as an ox applies himself to the yoke (Avodah Zarah 5). When it comes to the practical performance of what is written in the Torah one should behave like a lion and an eagle, as we know from Rabbi Yehudah ben Teyma in Avot 5,20. The Rabbi refers to the sharp eye possessed by the eagle and the courage possessed by the lion, a function of the heart. The Torah itself warns us not to allow our eyes and our hearts to make us stray from the path of Torah (Numbers 15,39), evidence that these two organs are of prime importance in carrying out G–d's commandments. Should Israel fail to live up to these obligations, also these two legs of G–d's throne would collapse.

He prayed for the דבקות to become manifest already before the conquest of the land of Canaan. As long as Israel carries out G–d's wishes this affinity exists, and the name of G–d as well as the throne of G–d is complete. When Israel sinned with the golden calf, one of the four supports of G–d's throne, i.e. the פני השור, "slipped," causing G–d's throne and His name to become impaired. As long as Israel carry out G–d's desires, they are the carriers of the Presence of G–d, they serve as the throne. As long as such a situation continues they are called אדם, i.e. they represent the פני אדם mentioned in Ezekiel's vision as one of the four carriers of G–d's throne (Ezekiel 1,10). The study of the Torah is one leg of the four legs supporting G–d's throne, the one called פני השור. This is based on ורב תבואות בכח השור (Proverbs 14,4). Our sages have said that one should apply oneself to Torah study as an ox applies himself to the yoke (Avodah Zarah 5). When it comes to the practical performance of what is written in the Torah one should behave like a lion and an eagle, as we know from Rabbi Yehudah ben Teyma in Avot 5,20. The Rabbi refers to the sharp eye possessed by the eagle and the courage possessed by the lion, a function of the heart. The Torah itself warns us not to allow our eyes and our hearts to make us stray from the path of Torah (Numbers 15,39), evidence that these two organs are of prime importance in carrying out G–d's commandments. Should Israel fail to live up to these obligations, also these two legs of G–d's throne would collapse.

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 Tziyoni elaborates on the theme further. Here is part of his commentary: When our sages are on record that our patriarch Jacob did not die, they understood that his צורה form, body, was clothed in a manner similar to original Adam before his sin. Jacob spends his time roving around in this world trying to be helpful to his people. The meaning of this whole aggadic statement is that the souls of the other righteous people are bundled up in a domain of eternal life without donning any kind of "garment" which would make them perceivable in our world, except on rare occasions, some of which are mentioned in the Talmud. When the spirits of such departed צדיקים make their occasional appearance in this world, having donned some kind of "clothing" to make them visible, this is in order that they may perform certain tasks assigned to them. One such example is reported in Shabbat 152b. Some people were digging in the soil belonging to Rabbi Nachman. In the course of their digging they disturbed the grave of Rabbi Achai bar Yoshiah who expressed his anger vociferously. The diggers reported this to Rabbi Nachman. Rabbi Nachman went to the spot and inquired who it was that had expressed this complaint. When he was told by Rabbai Achai that it was he himself, Rabbi Nachman quoted a statement by Rabbi Mori that the righteous return to dust in their graves, so how was it that Rabbi Achai was able to protest from the grave? Rabbi Achai answered: "who is this Mori whom I have never heard of? Rabbi Nachman then quoted a verse from Kohelet 12,7 stating that just as the body returns to dust, the spirit of the righteous returns to G–d. Rabbi Achai countered that whoever had taught Rabbi Nachman Kohelet had evidently failed to teach him Proverbs 14,30: ורקב עצמות קנאה, "only those who have jealousy in their hearts are subject to their flesh rotting away." The Talmud reports other strange phenomena of this kind upon which we will not elaborate. Jacob was able to don "garments" at will just as the prophet Elijah of whom hundreds of appearances in our world have been reported. Whenever the Jewish people are in dire straits Jacob "dons” garments and prays for them. This is what Rabbi Yochanan had in mind when he said in Taanit 5b that he bases himself on scripture (Jeremiah 30,10) "and you My servant Jacob, do not fear Israel; I will deliver you from afar, and your descendants from their land of captivity, and Jacob shall again have calm, etc." In this verse Jacob and his descendants are clearly both referred to as being alive.

In most cases, even at a mitzvah feast, if no words of Torah are spoken and there are no poor people present, quarreling and strife break out. For what pleasure does the Holy One, Blessed is He, derive from an affair of eating and drinking that is devoid of the rejoicing of a mitzvah? And how much more so if the rejoicing is mixed with thoughts of sin, for instance, when men and women, and teenage boys and girls sit together! Great pitfalls are thus created. Men and women dance in circles together, not realizing that the Satan, with many demons are dancing in front of them. What is the value of such rejoicing? Yet this iniquity has become very common, on account of our many sins, throughout the lands of Poland and Lithuania. Therefore let every man who fears the word of Hashem be careful to seat the men and women separately in order to distance himself from transgression and in order that the Satan will not mix up the joy of the mitzvah. For it is stated, “In our rejoicing let no stranger mix in” (Mishlei 14:10). [The “stranger” is the Satan, as it is stated, “Do not bow down to a strange god” — Shemos 34:14 — again referring to the Satan.] And let him be sure to grant a portion of every feast to the poor [as I have discussed at length in Chapter Ten].

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.