Musar su Salmi 35:78

The third section: The flatterer who praises the evildoer to his face, yet his wisdom restrains him - for he does not praise him in front of [other] people, lest he be a stumbling block for them. The sin of this flatterer is also great, as he blandished him in his eyes; such that he will not repent from his evil path and not worry about his iniquities - for he is righteous in his eyes. And when they praise anyone who is not from the congregation of the righteous - he will say in his heart, “Indeed, I knew that it was like this''; like the matter that is stated (Proverbs 11:9), “The flatterer destroys his neighbor through speech; but through knowledge, the righteous is rescued.” The explanation is that the flatterer destroys his neighbor with his mouth, because he will praise him and [the neighbor] will believe [his] words. So he will harden his spirit and he will see himself with honor, and not understand that his soul is murky. And with this stumbling block in his hand, he will fall into the trap of his pride. So behold, he surely destroyed him with his flattering lips. “But through knowledge, the righteous is rescued”: The righteous are saved from the damage of the flatterer through their knowledge. For if he flatters him, his heart will not be elevated as a result, like our Rabbis said (Niddah 30b), “Even [if] all of the world says about you, ‘You are righteous’ - be like an evildoer in your [own] eyes.” And they [also] said (Avot D’Rabbi Natan 29), “If you have companions, some of whom praise [you], and some of whom reprimand [you] - love the ones that reprimand you, and hate the ones that praise [you]. For these are bringing you to life eternal, and those, when they praise you, are gladdening you to your [own] detriment." And it is also possible to explain [it as]: “Through knowledge, the righteous rescue” their neighbors - as they will not flatter them; but will rather reprimand them and show them the path, when they err in the chaos that is not a path. And it is stated (Proverbs 26:28), “and a flattering mouth throws one down.” This compares a flattering mouth with a crooked path; and it says that just like a man falls and is thrown down by walking on a crooked path - like the matter that is stated (Psalms 35:5-6), “Let them be as chaff, etc., the Lord’s angel throwing them down. Let their path be dark and slippery” - so too does a man fall and get thrown down by a flattering mouth. And that is the mouth of the flatterer. And about the matter that we are discussing, King David, peace be upon him, said (Psalms 12:4), “May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, every tongue that speaks arrogance.” He cursed a flattering mouth, since he destroys his neighbor with it; and a harsh tongue - which is the opposite of the smooth [one], and that is evil speech. And among the flatterers, there are those that intend to flatter intimidating people, in order that they should honor them and promote them. And our Rabbis said (Avot D’Rabbi Natan 29), “Anyone that flatters his fellow for the sake of honor will in the end be removed from it in shame.”

For the cruel person feels no pain at the troubles of his companions, as you see in contrast with David who said: "As for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth, I afflicted my soul with fasting, and as for my prayer for them — may it return to my own bosom" (Ps. 35:13). And in the Book of Job it is written: "If I have not wept for him that was in trouble and if my soul grieved not for the needy" (Job 30:25). And all this is very far from the cruel man. This trait of cruelty is found only in people whose natures are like the nature of lions that prey and violently rend. When the spirit of wrath takes strong hold of a man then the quality of mercy flees, and Cruelty grows powerful to ruin and destroy as it is written: "Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming" (Prov. 27:4). There is no wrath like the anger of Cruelty. In the attributes of the Creator, may He be Blessed, you will find : "In wrath remember Compassion" (Hab. 3:2). But this is far from man's ability — to have mercy in the midst of his anger. And there is this aspect of the quality of Cruelty in the soul of man — to avenge himself on his enemies as it is written: "And he will not spare in the day of vengeance" (Prov. 6:14). The meaning of this verse is that where there is the desire for vengeance there is no compassion, only cruelty. And Scripture says: "You shall not avenge nor bear a grudge" (Lev 19:18). We are warned not to bear a grudge even in our heart — all the more so not to do any deed with the hands to hurt a companion. Even when your enemy has fallen through no fault of yours, you must not rejoice as it is written: "Rejoice not when your enemy falls and when he stumbles let not your heart be glad" (Prov. 24:17). The avenger or the grudge-holder never overlooks a grievance and never forgives his companions who have wronged him, and this attitude drags after it quarrels and hatred, and you already know how good and how pleasant is the quality of peace.

ויגש אברהם . The Midrash Ne'elam of the Zohar on this verse (Sullam edition page 60) quotes Rabbi as saying that it is a מצוה for a person to pray that sinners become penitent so that they will not wind up in purgatory. We know this because it says in Psalms 35,13: ואני בחלותם לבושי שק, "Yet when they were sick, my dress was sackcloth." [David prayed when sinners suffered afflictions. Ed.] Rabbi also says that it is forbidden to pray that the sinners should be wiped out, for if G–d had wiped out Terach while he was still an idol-worshiper, our patriarch Abraham would never have seen the light of day, there would have been no Jewish people, neither would there have been a David. Torah would not have been given to mankind, and all the righteous and pious people would never have existed.

From all of our elaborating until now on the greatness of the punishment for lashon hara in this world and the next, it should be understood how much we must distance ourselves from the sin of machloketh. For aside from the sin itself, which is a grave one, as we shall explain, it is a potent cause of other grave sins, namely: vain hatred, lashon hara, rechiluth, anger, verbal wronging, "whitening of the face" [in shame], revenge, bearing a grudge, vain curses, undermining a person's livelihood, and, sometimes, even desecration of the Name, G-d forbid, an extremely grave transgression. And it is also common to come through this to the sin of flattery, whereby one gains adherents for his quarrel, as we find with Korach, as Chazal have said (Sanhedrin 52a) on the verse (Psalms 35:16): "Because of the flattery of the quaffing of a draught, he has ground his teeth against me" — Because of the flattery they accorded Korach for the drinks that he plied them with, the plenipotentiary of Gehinnom ground his teeth against them." And machloketh also leads to levity, to mock the opposing party and thereby draw adherents to one's counsel. And all this was the conduct of the first man of machloketh — Korach, as we find in Midrash Rabbah, Korach. And it is known that the punishment for levity begins with suffering and ends with destruction, as Chazal have said. And more than this. It is found that when the yetzer entices one to strengthen the machloketh and to draw men to his counsel, and he fears lest they turn away from him and leave him by himself, the yetzer entices him to create a strong bond [of unity] by means of an oath. All this we find in the Midrash and in the Gemara in respect to Korach, Dathan, and Aviram. And see, my brother, how much blindness there is in this. For the oath is close to being a vain one, their having sworn to transgress a mitzvah [See Yoreh Deah 236:2, and the Shach there, section 4]. And even if he fulfills his oath, it still does not leave the category of "a vain oath" [See 238:5]. And the severity of the punishments for a vain oath is well known, the Holy One Blessed be He not absolving one for this, as it is written (Shemoth 20:7): "The L-rd will not absolve one who takes His name in vain" [See Shevuoth 39a]. I have written all of this only to show to all the great "blindness of the eyes" that inheres in this. And even if in the beginning he does not intend such evil, still, in the end, he will not be absolved of the aforementioned transgressions, as should be clear to anyone with a knowledge of the world.

The words לארצך מפני עמך are an allusion to the כנסת ישראל in the Celestial Regions and in the corresponding Sanctuary in those Regions. We know that that Region is known as ארץ חפץ. The words מפני עמך in the corresponding verse in Chronicles I 17,21, refer to the people of Israel on earth, as David there speaks about the need לגרש, to expel nations on account of "the people whom You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt." David says in effect that G–d redeemed the people and their G–d, meaning that the שכינה had also been in exile. We have other examples in scripture which suggest the same theme, i.e. that the redemption of Israel goes hand in hand with the "redemption" of the שכינה. To mention one, קומה בעזרתי, "Arise when I am helped" in Psalms 35,2, suggests a simultaneous salvation for Israel and G–d, so to speak. Or, Isaiah 45,17 ישראל נושע בה' תשועות עולמים. Here too the meaning could be that the ישועה for G–d כביכול, is dependent on Israel being helped.

But he who does kindness will receive kindness, and the more he does, the more he will receive. David would exult in possessing this good trait, striving to do kindness even to those who hated him, as written "but when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I afflicted my soul with fastings" (Tehilim 35:13), and "if I have repaid the one who did evil to me" (Tehilim 7:5).

Behold the story of Gedalia ben Achikam where it is clear to our eyes that due to his great Chasidut to not judge Yishmael ben Netanya negatively, nor to accept an evil report, he said to Yochanan ben Kareach "you are speaking falsely of Yishmael" (Yirmiyahu 40:16). What resulted from this? He was murdered, the Jews went into exile, and their last ember was extinguished. Scripture attributes the murder of these people as if Gedalyah himself murdered them, as our sages of blessed memory, said (Nida 61a) on the verse: "all the bodies of the men whom he had killed through Gedaliah" (Yirmiyahu 41:9).

But as for the righteous man, if a man praises him, he will not be proud of this, because our Sages said, "Even if all the world says, concerning you, that you are righteous, be in your own eyes like a wicked man" (Niddah 30b). And they said, "If you have friends, some of whom praise you, and some of whom correct and rebuke you, love the ones that rebuke you, and hate the ones that praise you, for the ones that rebuke you are conducting you to life eternal, and those who praise you will rejoice in your misfortune even though they praise you" (Abot de R. Nathan, 29). And it is said, "And a flattering (smooth) mouth worketh ruin" (Prov. 26:28). Scripture has likened a smooth mouth to a smooth (slippery) path, for just as a man will fall and be thrust down if he walks upon a slippery path — as it is said, "The angel of the Lord thrusting them, let their way be dark and slippery" (Ps. 35:5-6) — so will a man be thrust down and fall by a smooth mouth, which is a flattering mouth filled with sin. And concerning this it is said, "May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaketh proud things" (Ps. 12:4). He has cursed the smooth mouth, for with it a man destroys his friends, and he has also cursed the hard tongue that carries gossip which is the opposite of the smooth tongue.

This is the meaning of the words, “Seeing that they are beasts, unto themselves.” That is, they should remain by themselves and not be associated with the righteous. And what were the words of these wicked ones that Shlomo was reflecting upon? It was their vain and false hypothesis that the same fate befalls both men and beast. On the basis of this doctrine they concluded that everyone may do as he pleases, since there is in any event no reward for the righteous and no punishment for the wicked, nor, in fact, is their any Judge or justice at all! But may their souls expire, for they are like beasts! They are faithless fools! Woe to them and to their souls! King Shlomo continues, “And who knows if the spirit of man ascends on High and if the spirit of a beast descends below to the earth?” That is to say, “who knows” among these fools who have no knowledge of our holy Torah and the ways of awe! They hold fast to the trait of arrogance “in order to join the quenched [i.e., the unintentional sinner] to the thirsty [i.e., the intentional sinner]” (Devarim 29:18). They should be informed that the “spirit of man” — those who are worthy of being called men, that is, the faithful and innocent servants of Hashem — do indeed ascend On High. They rise to the highest levels where they bask in the supernal light and are bound up in the bond of life. As the traveler explained to Rabbi Chizkiya and Rabbi Yeisa, the word “ascend” [olah] hints that the spirit of the righteous resembles a flawless burnt offering [olah] before the King. On the other hand, the “spirit of a beast” — that is, the souls of the wicked, against which they themselves sin by turning themselves into beasts — descends below to the earth. They descend to the place where their souls will indeed expire. Concerning them it states, “Let them be as chaff before the wind with the angel of Hashem thrusting them away” (Tehillim 35:5).

Every Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh the ruach ascends to the upper Gan Eden where it receives the illumination and pure radiance of the neshamah. With this it descends to its place at the conclusion of the day. Afterwards the nefesh ascends and receives some of that illumination and radiance that the ruach brought with it from the neshamah in the upper Gan Eden. Then the nefesh descends and enters the grave where it takes the image of the body as it was when it was alive in this world and through this it clothes itself in a body, precisely as it was when the person was alive. In this manner the righteous stand upon their graves uttering words of praise and acknowledgement to God, may His name be blessed, for the lofty illumination of the neshamah, their faces radiating with great luminance. At that time they sing many songs and praises, precisely as they originally appeared, their bones knitted together and fleshed out like an actual body. If the living were allowed to perceive them they would see them at the conclusion of every Shabbos, Rosh Chodesh and Yom Tov in bodily form, standing upon their graves reciting songs and praises. This is the meaning of the verse, “All my bones will declare, Hashem, ‘Who is like You!” (Tehillim 35:10). Note that it is not stated that they “say” but that they “will say.” This is an allusion to the reciting of songs and praises by the dead at the conclusion of every Shabbos, Yom Tov and Rosh Chodesh.