Musar su Proverbi 21:23

It is written (Proverbs 21:23), "One who keeps an eye on his mouth and tongue protects his life from trouble." In order to comprehend chaperoning the mouth and tongue and preventing life trouble which the Scripture defines, even more than all other ideas, that the perfect man needs to watch during the days, look in the basic commentaries. And I too shall speak over my part which Hashem has granted me, and with this we shall also understand that which is written (Psalms 34:13), "Whoever is a man who desires life and covets [his] days in order to perceive benevolence, shield your tongue from evil" etc.

Chazal have also been very specific in their holy language in the term "in this world" [("What is the craft of a man in this world? Let him make himself mute, etc.")] That is, let a man not think: "I have already been habituated to this ["muting"] for more years than a craftsman to his craft, and I no longer need to devote my eyes and my heart to it so much" — wherefore Chazal have taught us that this is not so; but a man must train himself in this craft of making himself a natural mute all the days of his life, as the GRA has written in Alim Litrufah: "And until the day of his death a man must chastise himself, not with fasts and mortifications, but by putting a rein to his mouth and his lusts. And this is tshuvah [repentance], and this is all the fruit of the world to come, as it is written (Mishlei 6:23): 'For a mitzvah is a lamp; and Torah, light, and the chastisements of mussar [moral discipline], the way of life.' This is [worth] more than all the fasts and mortifications in the world. And Scripture states (Psalms 34:13-15): 'Who is the man who desires life, who loves days to see good? Guard your tongue from evil, etc.' And in this way all of his sins will be forgiven and he will be saved from the depths of Sheol, as it is written (Mishlei 21:23): 'One who guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from suffering,' and (Ibid. 18:21): 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue.' Woe unto him who puts himself to death for one particle of speech. And what advantage is there to the man of the tongue?"

ענין מצורע . The affliction of a body with צרעת reflects that the soul has first been infected with spiritual blemishes. We know from the Zohar that the usual cause is abuse of one's power of speech.

And let this not be cause for wonder in your eyes, that we find many who speak lashon hara and have no plague spots. We find an answer for this in the midrash of Chazal on the verse (Mishlei 21:23): "He who guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from troubles [tzaroth]" — (like "tzara'ath," plague-spots).

"It is written: 'He who guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from troubles.'" For if his lips and his tongue speak evil things, these words rise above. And when they rise, all proclaim: "Remove yourselves from the vicinity of the lashon hara of Ploni. Make way for the coming of the mighty Serpent!" And then his holy soul flies far away from him and cannot speak, as it is written (Psalms 39:3): "I was dumb in deep silence. I was stilled from good." And this soul rises in shame and great suffering and is not given a place as before. And of this it is written: "He who guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from troubles." This is its language in short.

And this, [lashon hara] is more likely to result in "the troubles of one's soul" [see introductory paragraph] than anything else. For by this, its [the soul's] perfection is undermined more than by anything else, (it being called "the soul of man" by virtue of the power of speech inherent in it [see Rashi in parshath Bereshith.]) And this is the intent of "One who guards his mouth and his tongue [in this world] guards his soul from troubles [in the next world]." And this is the intent of King David, may peace be upon him, in singling out this trait [of guarding one's tongue], for this is of great benefit for eternal life [see what we shall write below, the L-rd willing, in chapters IV and V.]

I reiterate my request that you guide your sons and daughters with words of kindness and Mussar that will find a place in their heart. This is true especially if we merit to arrive in Eretz Yisrael, because one must be extra cautious to follow Hashem's ways there. Therefore, train them well, since one must work hard on one's speech and character traits, and only through good habits can we control ourselves (Shaarey Teshuvah). All beginnings are hard (Mechilta Yisro). But afterwards, one is worthy of praise (Mishlei 20:14). For the wicked person knows that he is taking the wrong path, but it is hard for him to change. But this is man's main task, not to go after his desires, but (Tehillim 32:9) "to restrain himself with a bit and bridle when he is being groomed." Man must deprive himself until he dies, not by fasting or asceticism, but by controlling his mouth and desires. This is teshuvah. And this is the whole reward of the World-to-Come, as it is written (Mishlei 6:23): "For the commandment is a lamp and the Torah is a light" - but "the way to life is the rebuke that disciplines." And that is worth more than any amount of fasting and self-affliction! For every second that man controls his tongue, he merits some of the "hidden [by Hashem for the righteous] light," something which no angel or [other] creature can imagine (Midrash). And it is stated (Tehillim 34:13,14): "Who is the man who desires life, and loves days that he may see good? Guard your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceitfully." This will atone for any sin and save one from Gehinnom, as we find (Mishlei 21:23): "He who guards his mouth [from too much eating and drinking] and tongue [from idle words] guards himself from trouble." Also (ib. 18:21): "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." Woe to one who gives away his life for one word! Then what advantage is there to one who has a tongue (see Koheles 10:11)? And, "Everything has a cure except, etc." It is most important to refrain from speaking words of praise about anyone. How much more so does this apply to speaking ill of anyone! Why must one speak about others? "The mouth that speaks strangely is a deep pit; he who angers Hashem falls into it" (Mishlei 22:14).

We have also opened in this part an additional gate, the third gate, "The Gate of Torah," which subsumes all of the gates, as Chazal have said: "He who lacks this [Torah], what has he acquired? And he who has acquired this, what does he lack?" (And it [Torah], too, is of great benefit to the man who wants life. As they have said (Arachin 15b): "What is the amendment of the "man of lashon hara? If he is a Torah scholar, let him occupy [himself] in [the study of] Torah.") And in it will be explained the greatness of the reward of the man who sanctifies his speech with Torah, and the reward of him who dedicates his sons to Torah, and various other things that branch out of this. And because there will be in this part, with the help of the Blessed L-rd, many things that are essential for a Jew to know and to fulfill, it [this part] is especially beloved of me, and I have given it a name by itself. It shall be called "Shmirath Halashon" ["The Guarding of the Tongue,"] as per Mishlei 21:23: "One who guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from troubles."

The person suffering from צרעת, however, is afflicted with the essence of the impurity, and there is no way for him to avoid it. Hence he has to leave all three camps as long as he is afflicted. Such impurity in any Jew is of the kind that infects even the נפש, i.e. part of the camp of the Israelites. This is in accordance with Proverbs 21,23 שומר פיו ולשונו שומר מצרת נפשו – that "he who guards his mouth and tongue, keeps his soul from troubles." The Zohar suggests that the reading of מצרת is equivalent to מצרעת, i.e. from that skin eczema. Our sages are agreed that evil gossip is a principal cause of this affliction. Classic examples are Miriam (Numbers 12,10), and Moses (Exodus 4,6), both of whom were punished for having made inappropriate comments about Moses or Israel respectively. We observe many slanderers in our day who are never afflicted with this disease; this makes the matter even worse for them, since they have already forfeited the part of the נפש that would be stricken, and they are therefore no longer capable of being rehabilitated through that disease and the subsequent purification process. The מצורע, at any rate, has to leave all three camps.

[And we can say that this is the intent of (Mishlei 21:33): "One who guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from troubles." For, on the surface, does he not merit the world to come for this, as it is written (Psalms 24:13): "Who is the man who wants life, etc.," the intent being eternal life, as the exegetes have written? But, according to what we have said, the verse can be understood as saying that one who guards himself [against speaking] constantly, even when there is a possibility that in his speaking [demeaningly] he might be doing a mitzvah — still, since he guards himself [from speaking demeaningly] because it is not perfectly clear to him [that he may do so], for that reason the verse affirms that the din is with him. For, in any event, he certainly rescues himself thereby [(by his remaining silent)] from the 'troubles' of Gehinnom. As opposed to his doing the reverse, where it might be that instead of entering Gan Eden for this, as he hopes, he might enter Gehinnom thereby if it becomes clear that the din (in speaking disparagingly of the other) is not with him.]

But there are times when silence can be evil, as it is written, "Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes" (Prov. 26:5). With respect to words of the Torah, if a person sees that the fools are scorning the words of the wise, he should answer in order to turn them back from their errors so that they do not imagine themselves wise in their eyes. If a man sees another man committing a transgression, he should protest and reprove him. And long ago Solomon said, "A soft answer turneth away wrath" (Prov. 15:1), "and a soft tongue breaketh the bone" (Prov. 25:15). Therefore, a man should accustom himself to speak gently and not harshly. And be careful to guard your tongue like the apple of your eye, for "A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are the snare of his soul" (Prov. 18:7). And it is further written, "Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles" (Prov. 21:23). And it is said, "Oh, that ye would altogether hold your peace! And it would be your wisdom" (Job 13:5). And if you are sitting in a group, it is better that they should say to you, "Speak, why are you so silent?" than that you should speak and your words become such a burden to them that they finally say to you, "Be silent!"

Datan and Aviram accused Moses and Aaron of misleading the people when they said in 16,14: "should you gouge out those men's eyes? we will not come!" These words alluded to a metaphysical dimension, that Korach was the reincarnation of Cain. All our commentators say that when Moses slew the Egyptian (who was part of Cain's reincarnation as we have explained), it was Datan and Aviram who told on him and who made an issue of Moses' taking the law into his own hands, etc. (Exodus 2, 13/14). Now they concentrated on their greed for money. This was because, according to tradition, they had become impoverished as a result of having reported Moses' action to Pharaoh. When Moses had been bidden to return to Egypt the Torah said that all the people who had sought his death had already died (Exodus 4,19). Since Datan and Aviram were obviously still "alive," this meant that they had lost their influence to cause harm, since "poor people, childless people, leprous people, and blind people are considered dead people" (Zohar Beha-alotcha 153, Nedarim 64). Our sages also say that while in Egypt both Datan and Aviram were childless, and not like the other Jews who had been blessed with an abundance of children. They now lost the children they had fathered since the Exodus, due to their rebellious behaviour. It is almost certain that they were afflicted with צרעת, seeing that this is the standard penalty for malicious gossip, something they had certainly been guilty of. Even if their bodies had not been afflicted by that disease, certainly their souls had become afflicted by it. The Zohar explains Proverbs 21,23, "He who guards his mouth and tongue guards his soul from troubles," i.e. מצרות נפשו. He says we should read instead מצרעת נפשו, from afflicting his soul with "leprosy." By sarcastically asking: "Are you going to gouge out the eyes of these men, etc.?" Datan and Aviram described a method of "death" of someone who is compared to the dead since he does not possess eyesight. This explains Rashi's comment on Exodus 4,19, where he quotes Nedarim 64 that the poor are considered as if dead. Their sin consisted of greed, the opposite of the virtue of enjoying one's share, which is the true wealth.

When Rav spoke about the righteous "sitting," he referred to their mode of life in this world Even in this world their physical enjoyments, i.e. נהנין, came from the brilliance of G–d's Presence; they made use of the comforts of this world only in order to better appreciate the brilliance of G–d's Presence. Rabbi Yehudah Hanassi's testimony meant that he had used all the comforts of this world only in order to further his Torah study and his spiritual advancement. When the Torah (Exodus 24,11) speaks about the אצילי בני ישראל, the spiritually most highly placed Israelites eating and drinking and enjoying a vision of G–d, this is an allusion to the motivation which should be present when we eat and drink while in this world. A similar allusion is found in Psalms 40,9: ותורתך בתוך מעי, "Your Torah is within my entrails." The correct way to live in this world is spelled out in Proverbs 21,23: שומר פיו ולשונו שומר מצרות נפשו, "He who guards his mouth and tongue, keeps his soul from troubles." Onkelos already explained (Genesis 2,7) that what makes a person into a human being is the power of speech. It follows that we have to sanctify ourselves through the manner in which we use this power of speech.