Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Mga Kawikaan 16:1

In this verse King Solomon warns regarding the importance of displaying faith in the Lord. The reason Solomon does so is because faith in the Lord is such a central pillar of Torah and the observance of G’d’s commandments. Solomon means that if a person has been endowed by G’d with intelligence, wealth, physical strength and all the other attributes which are observed amongst successful people, he should not put his trust in any of these attributes. He should put his trust exclusively in G’d. This is what the prophet taught us in Isaiah 44,25 when he said: משיב חכמים אחור ודעתם יסכל, “who turns sages back, and makes nonsense of their knowledge.” All of man’s machinations, his planning, even his deeds amount to nothing unless G’d decrees that they should succeed. If man amassed a great deal of wealth he has no reason to be smug about it and to attribute it to his sagacity. This is precisely what Solomon said in Kohelet 9,11: “the race is not won by the swift, nor the battle by the strong, nor does bread come to the wise, riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the learned; but time and death will happen to them all.” He also said in Proverbs 16,1: “A man may plan with his heart; but the answer of the tongue comes from the Lord.” If even his speech is not (entirely) under his control, how much less can he be in control of matters involving external factors? He therefore has no reason to place his trust in his own insights and other attributes. He must not rely on the efficacy of his diligence, etc., but only on G’d. This is what David meant when he said in Psalms 62,6: “Truly my soul waits quietly for G’d; my deliverance comes from Him.” David contrasted G’d’s input in whatever success he experienced with that of his own effort.

King Solomon, of blessed memory, said: “A ready response is a joy to a man” [Proverbs, 15:23]. It is known that when the person speaks wise things with his mouth. This is a joy, since the words come from the intellect. It is also known that the speech of the person is from the Holy One, as the verse says, “A man may arrange his thoughts, but what he says depends on the Lord” [Proverbs, 16:1]. That is to say, to the person whose heart is prepared for all types of wisdom. However, God gives speech. Therefore, when the person speaks something with wisdom, this must be with the help of God. Therefore, the person has joy when he speaks with wisdom. “And how good is a word rightly timed” [Proverbs, 15:23]. When the words of a person are always good, but in any event when the speech is in its time, it is very good when the speech is appropriate. However, when a person would sing in the presence of a mourner, or the opposite, he would be mournful at a wedding, then it is not right. This is called speech not in its time. Similarly, when a person preaches on Sukkot about what relates to Passover. This is not right, since the speech is very good in its time. The Midrash says about the verse “A joy to a man” [Proverbs, 15:23]. This is the Holy One who is called man, who rejoiced with his words. Therefore, he was joyous and everything that he created was in its time. That is to say, at the appropriate time. Similarly, the person was created last; yet it was in its time, because the person is the most important creation. The whole world was only created because of the person who comes and knows the Holy One with his intellect. Similarly, the Sabbath is after six days, which is more important than the six days. Similarly, the world to come is after the world in which we live. It is more important than this world. Similarly, Israel was born last. The evil Esau came out of Rebecca first, and then Jacob came out. Similarly, the children of Esau were born first, since Esau took a wife at forty. Jacob took a wife when he was sixty years old. The sages say, first the thought and the deed in the end. That is to say, the beginning and the first is the thought and the deed is the end. A parable. A person wants to study Torah and has no house in which to study. He must build the house and afterwards he studies. That is, the study is at the end and the thought was first. That which was created was at the end and the thought was first. Therefore, he built the house. From this we can learn that the last is more important than the first. That which is created last was first in the thought to be created. As we find at the story of creation, that the trees, grasses, wild and domestic animals were created before the person was created. The person was first in the thought of the Holy One to be created. That is to say, the Holy One created everything for the sake of man. So too here, the Torah first told us how to behave with domestic and wild animals, which are kosher and which are not. The creatures are from the earth. Afterwards, the Torah tells us which fish in the water are kosher to eat. Then the Torah tells us about the birds that are created from the air. Lastly, the Torah tells us the commandments of the person and says that he should observe the commandment of circumcision, the first commandment for the person. That is to say, the person was created only to study Torah and keep the commandments.¹Bahya, Tazria, Introduction.

In this verse Solomon explains that if a person speaks wisely, weighing his words carefully, he will derive pleasure from this; the reason is that such words originate with the intellect at the instigation of the intellectual soul which is part of man. This is what gives man his advantage over other creatures on earth. This is why the gift of speech is attributed to G’d of whom Isaiah 57,19 said בורא ניב שפתים, “who creates the fruit of the lips.” By making this comment the prophet praised the Lord just as he had praised Him for having created heaven and earth and the stars (Isaiah 42,5) which are viewed as “independent” creations imbued with intelligence (compare Maimonides Yesodei Hatorah 3,9). The gist of Solomon’s statement is that when man prepares his words carefully so that they express his thoughts accurately, and he uses his G’d-given intelligence to do so, he will enjoy the results. It is well known that whereas it is within man’s power to plan what he wants to do, the actual words he speaks (execution of his plans) are not under his control but are under G’d’s control as we know from Proverbs 16,1: לאדם מערכי לב ומה' מענה לשון, “a man may plan with his heart; but the answer of the tongue comes from the Lord.” When man’s planning and the thoughts he expresses as a result of his planning are in tandem, reflect his thoughts, this is cause for joy as it proves that G’d has approved what he had in mind. It means that he enjoys Divine assistance in what he is embarking on.
Solomon also means that although everything man thinks may be fully correct, expressing his thoughts at the wrong time and at the wrong place are not. If a man has composed a beautiful poem and set it to music and proceeds to sing his song in the house of mourning, this would be a prime example of doing the right thing at the wrong time. The same applies to someone composing an elegy and proceeding to read it in public at a joyous occasion. In both instances the misplaced sense of timing results in the composer’s words not being appreciated, not causing joy to the composer. Hence Solomon emphasises in the above verse the importance of “speaking the right words at the right time.” Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 27,4 have said that at a time of joy it is appropriate to say things of a joyful nature, whereas at a time of mourning the reverse is in place. Our sages in Megillah 32, speaking of the same subject, have stipulated that the laws about the observance of Passover should be studied and discussed at or before Passover, whereas the laws pertaining to Tabernacles should be discussed thirty days prior to that festival, etc. Discussing the laws of Tabernacles around Passover time does not reflect a proper sense of timing. All these considerations prompted Solomon to write the verse we quoted at the introduction, i.e. emphasising the importance of a sense of timing. Sometimes we have an urge to share some thought with our peers or our students because we are so convinced of the importance of the message of our thoughts. One needs to consider carefully if the time is appropriate for voicing such a thought, as voicing it at the wrong time or in the wrong environment may diminish its impact. Even the best ideas must be presented only at the appropriate time.