Musar do Królów I 1:55

And King Solomon, peace be upon him, essentially composed the book of Ecclesiastes in order that man put to his heart that the world is a vanity of vanities and [that] he only use it for the service of the Creator, may He be elevated. And he made his intention known in his introduction and his conclusion: For he opened and said, (Ecclesiastes 1:2), "Vanity of vanities, said Kohelet, vanity of vanities - everything is vanity." And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Kohelet Rabbah 3:13), "If another man had said this, we would have said, 'Maybe he has not gathered two small coins in his entire days; therefore the world is considered like vanity in his eyes.' However it is appropriate for King Solomon - about whom it is written (I Kings 1:27), 'The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones' -to say that the world is vanity of vanities." And he concluded his book and said (Ecclesiastes 12:13), "The sum of the matter, when all is said and done; revere God and observe His commandments, for this is all of man."

“And not be like Korach and like his community” (Numbers 17:5). And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Sanhedrin 110a), “Anyone who perpetuates a dispute violates a negative commandment, as it is stated ‘and not be like Korach and like his community.’” But it is permissible to say evil speech about disputatious people, as it is stated (I Kings 1:26), “But he did not invite me your servant, or the priest Zadok, etc.”

Our sages of blessed memory roused us to the truth of this matter in reference to the coronation of Shlomo. David told Beniyahu (in Melachim 1:33-36) "take him down to Gihon". Beniyahu replied: "Amen, may G-d say so [too]".

The means through which Zeal is acquired are the same ones through which Watchfulness is acquired, and their levels are likewise similar as I wrote earlier.

There are a few instance where it is commendable to engage in gossip. For example, in the case of two wicked men who have taken counsel to do evil, it is permitted, by gossip, to make them hate each other and do evil to one another, in order that they do not do evil to good people. And so is it with an adulterer who is pursuing an adultress, it is a good deed to gossip about them so that they should not commit the transgression. And there are times when even though the sinner is a completely wicked person it still is not proper to shame him in public — when there is the danger that this will cause him to become an unbeliever. It is permissible to use gossip against people who are always starting quarrels, as it is said, "I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words" (I Kings 1:14) (See T.P. Peah 1:1).

Concerning the other method of sanctifying the body, the method described in the Torah by the words: והייתם קדושים, Rabbi Shimon said that when one indulges too much in words, דברים, one is bound to commit a sin sooner or later. Rabbi Meir says in Avot 6,1 that כל העוסק בתורה לשמה זוכה לדברים הרבה "Whosoever studies Torah for its own sake will merit many דברים." In view of Rabbi Shimon's statement about the potential problems arising out of דברים הרבה, we seem to have a contradiction between the statements of these two sages. We also wonder what these דברים הרבה can possibly be in view of the long list of benefits listed in that same Mishnah as accruing to people whose preoccupation with Torah is totally altruistic. It seems that the answer may be found in something the Rivash (Rabbi Yitzchak ben Sheshet) wrote in a responsum about prayer. Concerning the ability to understand mystical dimensions as alluded to in Psalms 37,5: גול על ה' דרכך ובטח עליו והוא יעשה, "Leave all to the Lord, trust in Him; He will do it," the Rivash explains that G–d will arrange and reveal, יגלה, these hidden aspects of Torah to you. These hidden aspects are called דברים הרבה. The reason they are called this is that whatever is revealed in our world is only a little, whereas the ramifications of these hidden dimensions of Torah in the Celestial Regions are many. This is why the sages said: מקדש עצמו מלמטה מעט, מקדשין אותו מלמעלה הרבה, "If someone sanctifies himself a little in our world one will add a great deal more sanctity to him in the "higher" world." These are the דברים הרבה which Rabbi Meir referred to in Avot 6,1. This is also what Rabbi Shimon referred to when he said that if one is involved in such דברים הרבה it will lead to one's soul being out of step with the development of the body. One's soul will cleave to G–d whereas one's body will cease to function normally and one will have caused its death. Since we believe that there is no death without sin of some kind, the sin in such a case would be the unbalanced progress toward דבקות ה'. It is also possible that when Rabbi Shimon mentioned the word חטא, he equated it with חסרון, a deficiency. A biblical example of this would be אני ושלמה בני חטאים, in Kings I 1,21 where Bat Sheva reminds king David of his oath that Solomon would be his successor. She tells the king that unless arrangements for Solomon's succession to the throne are made prior to his death, both she and her son will be deprived of his promise. The word חטאים in that context can certainly not mean that Bat Sheva and Solomon would be sinners because David died. It means rather that the "physical aspect,” i.e. גופנית, of the promise that Solomon would rule would go unfulfilled. The word may also allude to the fact that when the revealed and the hidden do not go hand in hand, when the משכן and מקדש aspects of the Tabernacle do not work in unison, something will go awry. Man was created בצלם אלוקים, a combination of the physical and the spiritual; the two parts must work in tandem.

The word אנכי is the mystical dimension of אחד, since when you "square" the letters of the word אחד, the total equals the numerical value of אנכי. The calculation is as follows: you multiply each letter in the word אחד by itself, i.e. 1 by 1=1; +8 by 8=64; +4 by 4=16. This adds up to a total of 81. The word 81=אנכי. The conceptual common denominator between the two words is that just as G–d is unique, i.e. אחד, so Rebeccah as potential founder of the twelve tribes making up the people of Israel is unique. The letters in אחד can also be read as follows: "The nation Israel consisting of 8 tribes born by Jacob's major wives ח, and 4 tribes born by Jacob's minor wives ד, together form one nation, א-אחי. The word אנכי is equivalent to the numerical value of כסא, G–d's throne, where Jacob's likeness is inscribed. After Jacob had received assurances that he would be the founder of twelve tribes, and that these tribes would enjoy G–d's blessings and be the forerunners of the eventual redemption when G–d would be "walking in their midst," he exclaimed that he had absorbed this information and that he had now received the answer to what had troubled his mother when she had questioned the value of her existence, i.e. her אנכי. The Talmud Chulin 91 even describes the ascent and descent of the angels as motivated by their desire to compare the features of Jacob with the image engraved on the throne of G–d. The angels tried to cause Jacob trouble, when G–d intervened. This is the reason why the Torah says: "Here G–d stood on top of him."