Mei HaShiloach · Volume I, Writings, Proverbs, Chapter 21
1
אוצר נחמד ושמן בנוה חכם וכסיל אדם יבלענו. אוצר נחמד ושמן בנוה חכם היינו כל הד"ת הם אוצר נחמד ושמן למי שירצה להטות אזניו ולהתחכם בהם, אך וכסיל אדם היינו מי שמצפה לד"ת ומבין ערכו כי במקום הזה הוא כסיל והוא נצרך מאוד לישועה מד"ת, לכן כאשר ישמע ד"ת השייכים לו יבלעם בכל אבריו בעומק, וזה דאיתא בגמ' במס' ברכות [כ"ד:] שאמר ר' זירא הא מילתא אבלעאי לי ביה רב המנונא המתעטש בתפלתו וכו', כי ר' זירא היה מתעטש ומאוד הפחיד בשעה ששמע שסימן רע לו, אך כאשר שמע החילוק בין עיטוש לעיטוש היה לו למשיב נפש שהשלימו חפצו. ע"כ אמר אבלעא לי כי נודע לו שהיה שלם מתחילה.
“There is a fine treasure and oil in the dwelling place of the sage, but a foolish man will swallow it.” (Mishlei, 21:20) “A fine treasure and oil in the place of the sage,” for all words of Torah are a fine treasure for he who seeks to lend his ear and become wise from them. Yet “a foolish man” means one who looks into the words of the Torah and sees his own inability to understand them, for in this area he is a fool, and is in great need of salvation from the words of Torah. Therefore when he hears words of Torah that connect with him, he swallows them into the depth of his every fiber of his being. This is as it is written in the Gemara (Berachot, 24b), “Rav Zeira said: I learned this incidentally in the house of Rav Hamnuna, and it is worth all the rest of my learning. It is a good sign to sneeze during the prayer, for just as one is relieved below, so too is their relief from Heaven.” This is because Rav Zeira had sneezed during his prayer, and he feared greatly because he heard that it might be a bad sign. Yet when he learned the difference between a sneeze (in this world) and a sneeze (on high), his soul was restored in that he could realize his desire (and sneeze). Therefore it says specifically, “I learned incidentally,” avla’ah in Aramaic, spelled with the same letters as “swallowed,” bala’a for then he knew that he was complete from the outset.
2
פלגי מים לב מלך ביד ה' על כל אשר יחפוץ יטנו. היינו כי יש לפעמים איזה ענינים לאדם שאינו יודע איך להתנהג ולפנות, היינו שמצד אחד הוצרך להיות שב ואל תעשה ומצד אחד קום ועשה כמו שיתבאר למטה, וזאת יקרא פלגי מים, היינו שד"ת מפליגים לשתי הצדדים, אז העצה לזה למסור את עצמו להש"י והוא יאיר לו איך לעשות, וזהו לב מלך היינו שימלוך אדם על לבו וימסרו לה', ואם ח"ו לא יאיר לו הש"י, על זה נסמך כאן פסוק עשה צדקה וחסד נבחר לה' מזבח ולא כתוב לעשות צדקה רק עשה לשון הוה, והוא לא שתעשה במעשה רק השב ואל תעשה הוא צדקה ומשפט, מאחר שאין ידוע איך לעשות, וזה נבחר לה' מזבח כי זבח הוא קום ועשה, וכמו שמצינו בפלוגתא דר' אליעזר ור' יהושע במס' זבחים [פ'.] כשנתת עברת על בל תוסיף ועשית מעשה בידך אבל כשלא נתת עברת על בל תגרע ולא עשית מעשה בידך.
“The heart of the king is like streams of water in the hands of God, wherever He desires he shall direct it.” (Mishlei, 21:1) Sometimes man is in a situation where he does not know how to act or where to turn. On the one hand he should refrain from action, and on the other hand he needs to go ahead and act, as will be explained below. This is called “streams of water.” The words of Torah turn in two ways like a fork in a stream.10Palgei mayim, streams of water, comes directly from the word for division, peleg. In this case one is advised to deliver his being over to God who will then illuminate into him what to do. This is “the heart of the king.” Man should then reign over his heart and deliver it over to God. If God does not illuminate the direction into him, God forbid, then he is advised in the next verse, “doing justice and judgment is more acceptable to God than sacrifices.” The verse does not say “go and do justice,” but rather is simply expressed in the present tense, “doing justice.” This means not to go ahead and perform the action, rather to sit and refrain from action, and this is in itself justice and the proper judgment, since he does not know in which way to act. This is “more acceptable to God than sacrifices,” which represent going forth and acting. This is as we find with the dispute between Rabbi Eliezar and Rabbi Yehoshua in the tractate Zevachim (80a, discussing what to do if blood of a sacrifice that required four applications (sprinklings) on the altar were mixed with blood that only required one), “Rabbi Elazar said, if you added another application you then transgressed the commandment, ‘do not add,’”11Two of the 613 mitzvot are “do not add” to add a commandment not written in the Torah, and similarly, “do not diminish.” and you have performed an action. “If you do not add another application you are transgressing, ‘do not diminish,’” and you have refrained from an action.
אוצר נחמד ושמן בנוה חכם וכסיל אדם יבלענו. אוצר נחמד ושמן בנוה חכם היינו כל הד"ת הם אוצר נחמד ושמן למי שירצה להטות אזניו ולהתחכם בהם, אך וכסיל אדם היינו מי שמצפה לד"ת ומבין ערכו כי במקום הזה הוא כסיל והוא נצרך מאוד לישועה מד"ת, לכן כאשר ישמע ד"ת השייכים לו יבלעם בכל אבריו בעומק, וזה דאיתא בגמ' במס' ברכות [כ"ד:] שאמר ר' זירא הא מילתא אבלעאי לי ביה רב המנונא המתעטש בתפלתו וכו', כי ר' זירא היה מתעטש ומאוד הפחיד בשעה ששמע שסימן רע לו, אך כאשר שמע החילוק בין עיטוש לעיטוש היה לו למשיב נפש שהשלימו חפצו. ע"כ אמר אבלעא לי כי נודע לו שהיה שלם מתחילה.
“There is a fine treasure and oil in the dwelling place of the sage, but a foolish man will swallow it.” (Mishlei, 21:20)
“A fine treasure and oil in the place of the sage,” for all words of Torah are a fine treasure for he who seeks to lend his ear and become wise from them. Yet “a foolish man” means one who looks into the words of the Torah and sees his own inability to understand them, for in this area he is a fool, and is in great need of salvation from the words of Torah. Therefore when he hears words of Torah that connect with him, he swallows them into the depth of his every fiber of his being. This is as it is written in the Gemara (Berachot, 24b), “Rav Zeira said: I learned this incidentally in the house of Rav Hamnuna, and it is worth all the rest of my learning. It is a good sign to sneeze during the prayer, for just as one is relieved below, so too is their relief from Heaven.” This is because Rav Zeira had sneezed during his prayer, and he feared greatly because he heard that it might be a bad sign. Yet when he learned the difference between a sneeze (in this world) and a sneeze (on high), his soul was restored in that he could realize his desire (and sneeze). Therefore it says specifically, “I learned incidentally,” avla’ah in Aramaic, spelled with the same letters as “swallowed,” bala’a for then he knew that he was complete from the outset.
פלגי מים לב מלך ביד ה' על כל אשר יחפוץ יטנו. היינו כי יש לפעמים איזה ענינים לאדם שאינו יודע איך להתנהג ולפנות, היינו שמצד אחד הוצרך להיות שב ואל תעשה ומצד אחד קום ועשה כמו שיתבאר למטה, וזאת יקרא פלגי מים, היינו שד"ת מפליגים לשתי הצדדים, אז העצה לזה למסור את עצמו להש"י והוא יאיר לו איך לעשות, וזהו לב מלך היינו שימלוך אדם על לבו וימסרו לה', ואם ח"ו לא יאיר לו הש"י, על זה נסמך כאן פסוק עשה צדקה וחסד נבחר לה' מזבח ולא כתוב לעשות צדקה רק עשה לשון הוה, והוא לא שתעשה במעשה רק השב ואל תעשה הוא צדקה ומשפט, מאחר שאין ידוע איך לעשות, וזה נבחר לה' מזבח כי זבח הוא קום ועשה, וכמו שמצינו בפלוגתא דר' אליעזר ור' יהושע במס' זבחים [פ'.] כשנתת עברת על בל תוסיף ועשית מעשה בידך אבל כשלא נתת עברת על בל תגרע ולא עשית מעשה בידך.
“The heart of the king is like streams of water in the hands of God, wherever He desires he shall direct it.” (Mishlei, 21:1)
Sometimes man is in a situation where he does not know how to act or where to turn. On the one hand he should refrain from action, and on the other hand he needs to go ahead and act, as will be explained below. This is called “streams of water.” The words of Torah turn in two ways like a fork in a stream.10Palgei mayim, streams of water, comes directly from the word for division, peleg. In this case one is advised to deliver his being over to God who will then illuminate into him what to do. This is “the heart of the king.” Man should then reign over his heart and deliver it over to God. If God does not illuminate the direction into him, God forbid, then he is advised in the next verse, “doing justice and judgment is more acceptable to God than sacrifices.” The verse does not say “go and do justice,” but rather is simply expressed in the present tense, “doing justice.” This means not to go ahead and perform the action, rather to sit and refrain from action, and this is in itself justice and the proper judgment, since he does not know in which way to act. This is “more acceptable to God than sacrifices,” which represent going forth and acting. This is as we find with the dispute between Rabbi Eliezar and Rabbi Yehoshua in the tractate Zevachim (80a, discussing what to do if blood of a sacrifice that required four applications (sprinklings) on the altar were mixed with blood that only required one), “Rabbi Elazar said, if you added another application you then transgressed the commandment, ‘do not add,’”11Two of the 613 mitzvot are “do not add” to add a commandment not written in the Torah, and similarly, “do not diminish.” and you have performed an action. “If you do not add another application you are transgressing, ‘do not diminish,’” and you have refrained from an action.