Halakhah sobre Provérbios 4:30

And not only has He given us His special treasure, but He has also commanded us not to forsake it, as it is written (Mishlei 4:2): "For a goodly acquisition have I given you; do not forsake My Torah" — unlike the way of flesh and blood, who, if he gives his friend a fine gift, and the other does not deport himself with it correctly, and it is not beloved in his eyes, he pines for the day that his friend will abandon it altogether, so that he can take it back for himself. Not so is the way of our G–d. For He established for us prophets in all the generations of the first Temple to return us to the good. And even in the days of the second Temple, when (in our many sins) Israel descended from its pristine holiness, and when they lacked five things which obtained in the first Temple [ark, ark-cover, and cherubim; the Heavenly fire; the Shechinah; prophecy; and the urim vetumim (viz. Yoma 21b)] — notwithstanding this, when we were on our land and had a Temple, we could fulfill all the mitzvoth of the Torah, and thereby bring to perfection all of the spiritual components within us (the soul [like the body] possessing 248 "organs" and 365 "sinews" [see Sha'arei Kedushah of R. Chaim Vital, Chapter One]).

Perhaps a person might say: "Since envy, lust and glory and the like, are bad character traits that remove a man from the world, I will completely abstain from them, and keep away from them entirely," to the point that he will not eat meat, nor drink wine, nor marry a woman, nor live in a comfortable dwelling, nor wear decent clothes, but he will put on a sackcloth, or something similar; this too is a bad way of life, and it is forbidden to follow it. Anyone who follows this life-style is called a sinner. For in regard to the nazir it is written,²¹Numbers 6:11. (Nazarite) "To atone for him who sinned by the dead,"²²מֵאֲשֶׁר חָטָא עַל הַנֶפֶשׁ—is translated by the Rabbis as “for committing a sin against his soul,” “against himself,” by denying himself things which are permitted. and [our Rabbis] of blessed memory said, "If a nazir who abstained only from drinking wine, needs an atonement, a person who abstains from everything, how much more so does he need [an atonement]."²³Ta’anis 11a. Therefore, our Rabbis of blessed memory ordained that you should abstain only from those things which the Torah prohibits, but do not prohibit to yourself, things which are permitted by means of vows and oaths. Thus said our Sages of blessed memory, "Is not what the Torah forbids enough for you that you have to prohibit to yourself things which are permissible?"²⁴Yerushalmi, Nedarim 9:1. And our Rabbis of blessed memory have forbidden us to inflict pain on ourselves with more fasting than is required. Concerning all these and similar matters, King Solomon, peace be upon him, said, "Do not be excessively righteous, nor overly wise, why destroy yourself."²⁵Ecclesiastes 7:16. And he said [in the same vein],²⁶Proverbs 4:26. "Measure well the path of your foot then you will stay on a straight course."²⁷Malbim explains the word paleis as a form of peles, the name of a measuring instrument. Man should measure carefully to find the middle road of life, staying clear of the extremes.