Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Mga Kawikaan 16:28

On a mystical level our verse also targets the hidden connections, i.e. interactions known only to G'd whereby man's actions in our world help unify branches of sanctity in the celestial regions. The same occurs in reverse, of course. Proverbs 16,28 ונרגן מפריג אלוף, "a quarrelsome one alienates his friend," refers to the אלופו של עולם. [Just as man's sins create a chasm between him and his Creator, so his מצוה-performance can close any chasm which existed between man and G'd. Ed.] Moses hints at this interaction. In terms of sanctity, the word מה refers to the presence of G'd, שכינה, as explained by the Talmud Sotah 11 in connection with Exodus 2,4: "his sister (Moses' sister Miriam) stood from afar to know what would happen to him." Rabbi Yitzchok demonstrates there how every word in that verse can be viewed as referring to celestial powers, and he understands the verse as speaking about the שכינה. Just as the word מה in that verse is a reference to the שכינה, so the word מה in our verse refers to the שכינה.

There are mystical elements involved in this legislation which are not evident to the average person. The Midrash alluded to this when it described the manner in which G'd explained the appearance, i.e. significance, of the coin in question. The very expression זה יתנו of which our verse speaks begs the question. G'd told Moses that the visible element in the legislation is secondary to the invisible element. This is why the coin described as being shown to Moses is presented as only an image, not as the real thing. We have mentioned several times that the Presence of G'd is usually referred to by our sages as the Throne of G'd's Glory. This "Throne" and its location are determined in large measure by the conduct of the Jewish people. The prophet Isaiah refers to this in Isaiah 50,1 when he describes G'd telling the Jewish people that not He had divorced them, but their iniquities had resulted in the alienation between them. Solomon uses a similar hyperbole in Proverbs 16,28 when he describes quarrel-someness as alienating one's friends. The alienation between Israel and its G'd resulted from the episode of the golden calf which affected the roots of all the Jewish souls. G'd therefore commanded that the people give a "half-shekel" to symbolise that their previous action had resulted in something whole having become divided. The contribution of this half-shekel was to repair the damage done to the whole through the people's participation in the sin of the golden calf. When G'd showed Moses the coin of fire as being immediately beneath the throne of G'd, He drew his attention to the mystical dimension of this legislation. Payment of a ransom is not merely a transaction in this material world, but has far-reaching effects in a spiritual domain. Performance of G'd's commandments is predicated on the participation of the heart of the performer in his deed, i.e. רחמנא לבא בעי. Every מצוה is meant to close a gap that may exist between man and G'd. This is why the Torah added the words את תרומת השם, the contribution restores one's closeness with G'd.

V. 27. ותרגנו באהליכם וגו׳. Die Etymologie von רגן ist dunkel. Stellen wie ונרגן מפריד אלוף (Prov. 16, 28), באפם עצים תכבה אש ובאין נרגן ישתק מדון (daselbst 20) beweisen, daß רגן eine Streit erregende und Streit unterhaltende Tätigkeit bezeichnet. Es scheint Hetzen zu bedeuten, und הרגן: sich gegenseitig hetzen, und נרגן, ja auch Nifalform, einen solchen Hetzer, der, unter dem Scheine, seine eigene Sache zu führen und über selbst erlittenes Unrecht aufgebracht zu sein, oder die Kränkung des andern wie seine eigene zu fühlen, andere zum Streit aufgeregt. Daher denn der Satz: דברי נרגן כמתלהמים והם ירדו חדרי בטן (Pro. 26, 22): des Hetzers Worte klingen, als ob sie ihren eigenen Streit führen und gehen doch tief in das Innere des anderen hinab. In Mosches milder Weise erwähnt er nur das, was sie unter sich in ihren Zelten geredet (Bamidbar 14, 1), übergeht aber den Aufruhr und die förmliche Revolte gegen ihn und Gott (daselbst 2, 4).