פּירוש אויף משלי 23:23

Buy truth If you do not find to learn for nothing, learn for pay [pay to learn], but do not say, “Just as I learned for pay, so will I teach it for pay.”

“Buy the truth.” Even if you must pay a high price for the truth, such as giving up your desires, childhood pleasures, and what your soul craves—give all this as the price for the truth. “And do not sell.” This means that you should not acquire it like a merchant who buys in order to sell for another price. In other words, you should not learn with the intention of gaining wealth or honor, as this is akin to “buying and selling,” where one receives a different price in return for their acquisition. Therefore, it says, “Buy the truth,” meaning that the essence of truth is to do it for its own sake. The verse clarifies: What should you acquire? What is truth? Wisdom, ethics, and understanding. It has already been explained that wisdom includes the moral laws and customs one must follow according to the Torah. All of these are received (i.e., based on tradition) and are not derived from human intellect. They often contradict one’s natural tendencies, as one’s desires conflict with the laws of wisdom. The soul cannot accept the laws of wisdom except through discipline (mussar), which is rooted in the fear of God—fearing the Lord who observes one and punishes wrongdoing, as He commanded the laws of wisdom. When one restrains their soul with the bonds of fear to not transgress His word, they will also acquire understanding (binah). Understanding refers to the ability to discern between truth and falsehood in matters dependent on intellectual reasoning. However, if one accepts the laws of wisdom along with discipline so that they are firmly established in their heart as truth—through believing in God, who established these laws and knows their reasoning—then one will be able to derive one matter from another and extract conclusions. This is achieved through acquiring truth, which is believing in the laws of wisdom as being true.

Truth. Behold, attaining truth is something to be acquired, and although it is something transient (hava), from this perspective, it is not subject to loss, as the philosopher thought about all things transient—that they are bound to perish. However, the knowledge and acquisition you attain in any wisdom, in political philosophy, and in divine wisdom (which is called understanding), cannot be taken away or removed from you. For acquired intellect is eternal, as we have mentioned. It has already been clarified that it is impossible for a person to forget intellectual attainment, as explained in the first discourse of Sefer Mevo HaYediah (Introduction to Knowledge) and in its commentary on Sefer HaNefesh (The Book of the Soul).