Examination of created things means a close study of the elements of which the Universe is composed; the products that result from the combination of these elements; the character of the constituents of each composite; the ways in which it is useful; the marks of wisdom exhibited in its production, form and shape, and in the purpose for which it was created; the beautiful spirituality of this world; its causes and effects; and the complete perfection for which it was created; to know its contents - spiritual and physical, rational and irrational, the immobile and the mobile (solid and fluid), minerals and plants; its higher and lower parts; and to realize that the Creator created the Universe in a perfect and orderly combination - each of its parts distinctly recognizable, - so that it hints and teaches on the Creator, as a work points to the workman, or a house indicates the builder.
It is proper that you should know that the whole world is synthesized of the physical and the spiritual, so intimately mixed and fused, that each of them sustains the other, like body and soul in living creatures.
(1) Those of the first kind are clear and apparent, and do not escape the notice even of the fool, and of course not of the thinking person. An example is the [relative] movement of the sun above the earth to illuminate the habitable portion of the globe, to benefit the creatures that live there; as Scripture said (Tehilim 104:22-24) "The sun arises, they assemble and crouch in their dens. Man goes forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening. How manifold are Your works, O L-ord! With wisdom have You made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions".
(2) The second kind consists of marks of wisdom, whose benefit and necessity is hidden from most people and known only to the intelligent person who comprehends that they are right. Such as death, the fate that overtakes all flesh and which is necessary for the welfare of the world. As our sages expounded the verse: (Bereishis 1:31) " 'And G-d saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good'. 'Behold it was very good' - this refers to death." (Bereishis Raba 9:5). So, too, the wise king said "wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive" (Koheles 4:2).
(3) The third kind consists of marks of wisdom that are partly obscure and partly clear. The man endowed with but little mental power will not recognize them unless he ponders them and studies them in minute detail. An example is the changes that take place in the year, its four seasons etc.
The wise and intelligent man will choose from the world for study its fine and spiritual elements; use them as a ladder by which to obtain proofs of the existence of the Creator of all, to Whose service he will then cling to according to his heartfelt recognition of the greatness and exaltedness of the Creator, and his realization of the Almighty's gracious benevolence to all of His creations and that G-d has graciously bestowed abundant benefits to him, and has elevated him (above the animals, etc.) while he had done nothing nor possessed any moral quality that would entitle him to deserve any divine reward.
Afterwards, he will select for himself, of the material things, only those that promote his physical benefit and material well-being, but only to the extent needful and sufficient. He will abandon the rest, of the superfluities and worldly desires which turn the heart away from G-d. He will rather busy himself with working for his final home, the place to which he will go after his death. The world and its possessions, he will regard as a means of providing for his appointed day, his latter end. He will take of this world only what can accompany him on his journey.
But a person ignorant of the ways of the world and of its evidences of divine wisdom, regards it as his everlasting home and fixed abode. He busies himself with it strenuously, sets all his heart and concentrates all his energies upon it, thinking that he is rapidly furthering his own interests and does not realize that the fruits of his toil and the superfluity that he has gathered will go to others possibly during his lifetime and undoubtedly after his death. And thus he totally neglects his interests hereafter.
How analogous these types are to two brothers who inherited from their father a piece of land that needed cultivation. They divided it between themselves. Neither of them possessed anything else. One of them was sensible and industrious; the other was the opposite.
The sensible brother realized that if he occupied himself solely with his plot of land, this would prevent him from earning his livelihood and attaining his immediate needs. So he hired himself out as a day-laborer in a field belonging to another person and was thus able to subsist on the wages he received. After he had finished his daily task he worked an hour every evening in his own field industriously and zealously. When he had saved enough out of his wages to keep him for one or more days, he stopped working for others and labored on his property with the utmost energy and zeal. In this course he persevered until his plot was in a proper state of cultivation. When the harvest time came he gathered the products of his field and orchard, stored them and had sufficient produce to support himself for the next year. Then he cultivated his land as he desired and planted more trees until it not only produced enough for his maintenance, but yielded a surplus with which he bought additional land.
The foolish brother, recognizing that working on his land alone would prevent him from earning a living, neglected his property completely, hired himself out to others as a field-laborer, spent the whole of the wages he received and saved nothing. Whenever he had enough left of his earnings to provide him with food for a single day, he turned it into a day of rest, idleness and amusement, never giving a thought to his property. The hours during which he was free on the days when he worked, he spent in the bath. His land remained waste and yielded nothing. It was all covered with thorns and thistles. Its fences were broken. Its trees were swept away by a flood. It was in the condition described by the wise man in the text (Mishlei 24:30-31) "I passed by the field of the slothful and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down."
The intelligent reader who reflects intently upon this parable will draw from it the lesson as to his final end, which is his true home, and he will work on it with all his might. While for his earthly needs, he will work as one does for others, in moderation and only to the extent absolutely necessary. The fool, however, acts oppositely in two ways. His interests here on earth he pursues with zeal and diligence while for his welfare in the hereafter he utterly ignores; even as the wise man said, when he observed the fool (Mishlei 24.32), "Then I saw and considered it well. I looked upon it and drew lessons".
אַךְ אֵיךְ אָפְנֵי הַבְּחִינָה בַּבְּרוּאִים.
How are the several ways of examination to be conducted?
נֹאמַר כִּי הַבְּחִינָה בַּבְּרוּאִים הִיא הָעִיּוּן בְּפִנּוֹת הָעוֹלָם וְתוֹלְדוֹתֵיהֶם הַמְחֻבָּרוֹת מֵהֶם וּבִתְכוּנַת חֶלְקֵי כָּל מֻרְכָּב וְאָפְנֵי תּוֹעַלְתּוֹ וְסִימָנֵי הַחָכְמָה בִּבְרִיאָתוֹ וּבְמַתְכֻּנְתּוֹ וּדְמוּתוֹ וְעִלָּתוֹ הַתְּמִימָה אֲשֶׁר לָהּ נִבְרָא וְהַכָּרַת רוּחָנִיּוּת הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וְגַשְׁמוּתוֹ וַעֲלוּלָיו וּמְעוֹלְלָיו וְתַקָּנָתוֹ הַתְּמִימָה שֶׁנִּבְרָא בַּעֲבוּרָהּ וְלָדַעַת רוּחָנִיּוּת הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וְגַשְׁמוּתוֹ וּמְדַבְּרוֹ וְדוֹמְמוֹ וְנָחוֹ וְנָעוֹ וּקְפָאָיו וּצְמָחָיו וְעֶלְיוֹנוֹ וְתַחְתּוֹנוֹ וְשֶׁהַבּוֹרֵא יִתְעַלֶּה הִרְכִּיבוֹ הַרְכָּבָה נְכוֹנָה וְסִדְּרוֹ סִדּוּר מְתֻקָּן וְחִלֵּק אוֹתוֹ חִלּוּק מְבֹאָר וְשָׂמָהוּ רוֹמֵז אֵלָיו וּמוֹרֶה עָלָיו כַּאֲשֶׁר תּוֹרֶה הַמְּלָאכָה עַל עוֹשָׂהּ וְהַבְּנִיָּה עַל בּוֹנָהּ (ס״א וְהַבַּיִת עַל בּוֹנֵהוּ.).
Examination of created things means a close study of the elements of which the Universe is composed; the products that result from the combination of these elements; the character of the constituents of each composite; the ways in which it is useful; the marks of wisdom exhibited in its production, form and shape, and in the purpose for which it was created; the beautiful spirituality of this world; its causes and effects; and the complete perfection for which it was created; to know its contents - spiritual and physical, rational and irrational, the immobile and the mobile (solid and fluid), minerals and plants; its higher and lower parts; and to realize that the Creator created the Universe in a perfect and orderly combination - each of its parts distinctly recognizable, - so that it hints and teaches on the Creator, as a work points to the workman, or a house indicates the builder.
וְרָאוּי שֶׁתֵּדַע כִּי כָּל הָעוֹלָם מְחֻבָּר מִגַּשְׁמִיּוּת וְרוּחָנִיּוּת נִמְזְגוּ וְנִתְעָרְבוּ עַד שֶׁשָּׁב קְצָתָן מַעֲמִיד אֶת קְצָתָן כַּנֶּפֶשׁ וְכַגּוּף בַּחַיִּים.
It is proper that you should know that the whole world is synthesized of the physical and the spiritual, so intimately mixed and fused, that each of them sustains the other, like body and soul in living creatures.
וְסִימָנֵי הַחָכְמָה בְּכָל זֶה עַל ג׳ עִנְיָנִים.
The marks of wisdom exhibited in all of this are of three kinds.
הָא׳ מֵהֶם סִימָנִים מְבֹאָרִים וּגְלוּיִים אֵינָם נֶעֱלָמִים מִן הַכְּסִילִים כ״ש מִן הַמַּשְׂכִּילִים כִּתְנוּעַת גַּלְגַּל הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ מִמַּעַל לָאָרֶץ בַּיּוֹם לְהָאִיר פְּאַת הַיִּשּׁוּב וְיֵהָנוּ בָּהּ הַבְּרוּאִים כמ״ש הַכָּתוּב (תהלים קד) תִּזְרַח הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ יֵאָסֵפוּן וְגוֹ׳ יֵצֵא אָדָם לְפָעֳלוֹ וְלַעֲבֹדָתוֹ עֲדֵי עָרֶב מָה רַבּוּ מַעֲשֶׂיךָ ה׳ כֻּלָּם בְּחָכְמָה עָשִׂיתָ וְגוֹ׳.
(1) Those of the first kind are clear and apparent, and do not escape the notice even of the fool, and of course not of the thinking person. An example is the [relative] movement of the sun above the earth to illuminate the habitable portion of the globe, to benefit the creatures that live there; as Scripture said (Tehilim 104:22-24) "The sun arises, they assemble and crouch in their dens. Man goes forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening. How manifold are Your works, O L-ord! With wisdom have You made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions".
וְהַשֵּׁנִית סִימָנִים נֶעֱלָמִים מִן הַבְּרוּאִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא יֵדַע פִּשְׁרָם כִּי אִם הַמַּשְׂכִּיל הַמֵּבִין יָשְׁרָם כַּמָּוֶת הַכּוֹלֵל כָּל בָּשָׂר וּבוֹ תַּקָּנַת הָעוֹלָם כמ״ש זַ״ל (בראשית א׳:ל״א) וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְהִנֵּה טוֹב מְאֹד וְהִנֵּה טוֹב מְאֹד זֶה הַמָּוֶת וְאָמַר הֶחָכָם (קהלת י) וְשַׁבֵּחַ אֲנִי אֶת הַמֵּתִים שֶׁכְּבָר מֵתוּ מִן הַחַיִּים אֲשֶׁר הֵמָּה חַיִּים עֲדֶנָה.
(2) The second kind consists of marks of wisdom, whose benefit and necessity is hidden from most people and known only to the intelligent person who comprehends that they are right. Such as death, the fate that overtakes all flesh and which is necessary for the welfare of the world. As our sages expounded the verse: (Bereishis 1:31) " 'And G-d saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good'. 'Behold it was very good' - this refers to death." (Bereishis Raba 9:5). So, too, the wise king said "wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive" (Koheles 4:2).
וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁי סִימָנֵי הֶחָכְמָה שֶׁהֵם נִרְאִים מִצַּד א׳ וְנֶעֱלָמִים מִצַּד א׳ וְלֹא יַכִּירֵם מִי שֶׁבִּינָתוֹ מְעוּטָה אֶלָּא לְאַחַר שֶׁהִתְיַשֵּׁב בָּהֶם וִידַקְדֵּק עֲלֵיהֶם כְּהִשְׁתַּנּוּת עִנְיְנֵי הַשָּׁנָה בְּאַרְבַּע תְּקוּפוֹתֵיהֶם וְהַדּוֹמֶה לָזֶה.
(3) The third kind consists of marks of wisdom that are partly obscure and partly clear. The man endowed with but little mental power will not recognize them unless he ponders them and studies them in minute detail. An example is the changes that take place in the year, its four seasons etc.
וְהֶחָכָם הַמֵּבִין יִבְרֹר לוֹ מִן הָעוֹלָם דַּעַת רוּחָנִיּוּתוֹ וְדַקּוּתוֹ וִישִׂימֵן כְּסֻלָּם לַהֲבָאַת הָרְאָיוֹת עַל בּוֹרֵא הַכֹּל יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִדְבַּק בַּעֲבוֹדָתוֹ כְּפִי גָּדְלוֹ וְרוֹמְמוּתוֹ בְּלִבּוֹ וּכְפִי הַכָּרָתוֹ סִימָנֵי טוֹבוֹתָיו וְחַנּוֹתוֹ עַל כָּל מַעֲשָׂיו וְאֶת אֲשֶׁר חֲנָנוֹ מֵרֹב הַטּוֹבוֹת וְאֶת אֲשֶׁר נִשְּׂאוֹ מִבְּלִי מַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁקָּדַם לוֹ וְלֹא מִדָּה יְתֵרָה הִתְחִיל בָּהּ. הִתְחַיֵּב לוֹ בַּעֲבוּרָם הַגְּמוּל הַטּוֹב מֵאֵת הָאֱלֹהִים.
The wise and intelligent man will choose from the world for study its fine and spiritual elements; use them as a ladder by which to obtain proofs of the existence of the Creator of all, to Whose service he will then cling to according to his heartfelt recognition of the greatness and exaltedness of the Creator, and his realization of the Almighty's gracious benevolence to all of His creations and that G-d has graciously bestowed abundant benefits to him, and has elevated him (above the animals, etc.) while he had done nothing nor possessed any moral quality that would entitle him to deserve any divine reward.
וְאַחַר כָּךְ יִבְרֹר לוֹ מִגִּשְׁמֵי הָעוֹלָם מָה שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ הֲנָאַת גּוּפוֹ וְתִקּוּן עִנְיָנוֹ בָּעוֹלָם כְּפִי הַצֹּרֶךְ וְהַסִּפּוּק בִּלְבַד וְיַעֲזוֹב שְׁאָר מוֹתְרֵי הָעוֹלָם וּמַשְׂכִּיּוֹתָיו הַמַּטְרִידִים אֶת הַלְּבָבוֹת מִן הָאֱלֹהִים. וְיִשְׁתַּדֵּל לַעֲשׂוֹת לְאַחֲרִיתוֹ וְלַאֲשֶׁר הוּא הוֹלֵךְ אֵלָיו לְאַחַר מוֹתוֹ. וְיַחְשֹׁב הָעוֹלָם וְקִנְיָנוֹ צֵדָה מַגַּעַת לְיוֹם מוֹעֲדוֹ וּלְאַחֲרִיתוֹ וְיִקַּח מִמֶּנּוּ מָה שֶׁיֵּלֵךְ עִמּוֹ בִּנְסִיעָתוֹ בִּלְבַד.
Afterwards, he will select for himself, of the material things, only those that promote his physical benefit and material well-being, but only to the extent needful and sufficient. He will abandon the rest, of the superfluities and worldly desires which turn the heart away from G-d. He will rather busy himself with working for his final home, the place to which he will go after his death. The world and its possessions, he will regard as a means of providing for his appointed day, his latter end. He will take of this world only what can accompany him on his journey.
וְהַסָּכָל בְּדַרְכֵי הָעוֹלָם וּבְסִימָנֵי הַחָכְמָה בּוֹ יַחְשְׁבֵהוּ בֵּית עוֹלָמִים וּמְכוֹן שִׁבְתּוֹ וּמִשְׁתַּדֵּל בּוֹ בְּכָל יְכָלְתּוֹ וְיָשִׂים כָּל לְבָבוֹ אֵלָיו וְכָל עֲמָלוֹ וְהוּא סוֹבֵר כִּי הוּא רָץ לְתַקָּנַת נַפְשׁוֹ וְאֵינֶנּוּ שׁוֹעֵר כִּי עֲמָלוֹ וּמוֹתַר קִבּוּצוֹ יִהְיֶה לְזוּלָתוֹ בְּחַיָּיו וְאַחֲרֵי מוֹתוֹ וְהִתְעַלֵּם מֵעִנְיַן אַחֲרִיתוֹ:
But a person ignorant of the ways of the world and of its evidences of divine wisdom, regards it as his everlasting home and fixed abode. He busies himself with it strenuously, sets all his heart and concentrates all his energies upon it, thinking that he is rapidly furthering his own interests and does not realize that the fruits of his toil and the superfluity that he has gathered will go to others possibly during his lifetime and undoubtedly after his death. And thus he totally neglects his interests hereafter.
וּמָה נִדְמוּ בָּזֶה לִשְׁנֵי אַחִים יָרְשׁוּ מֵאֲבִיהֶם אֲדָמָה שֶׁצְּרִיכָה לְעָבְדָהּ וְחִלְּקוּ אוֹתָהּ לִשְׁנַיִם וְלֹא הָיָה לָהֶם דָּבָר זוּלָתָהּ וְהָיָה הָאֶחָד מֵהֶם דַּעְתָּן וְזָרִיז וְהַשֵּׁנִי הֶפְכּוֹ.
How analogous these types are to two brothers who inherited from their father a piece of land that needed cultivation. They divided it between themselves. Neither of them possessed anything else. One of them was sensible and industrious; the other was the opposite.
הַדַּעְתָּן רָאָה כִּי עִסְקוֹ בְּאַדְמָתוֹ בִּלְבַד יִמְנַע אוֹתוֹ מֵעֲסֹק בְּפַרְנָסָתוֹ וּמֵהַגִּיעַ אֶל טַרְפּוֹ וְהִשְׂתַּכֵּר לַעֲבֹד בְּאַדְמַת אֲחֵרִים כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּחְיֶה מִשְּׂכַר עֲמָלוֹ יוֹם יוֹם וּכְשֶׁהָיָה נִפְטָר מִן הָעֲבוֹדָה לָעֶרֶב הָיָה עוֹשֶׂה בְּאַדְמָתוֹ שָׁעָה אַחַת בְּהִשְׁתַּדְּלוּת וַחֲרִיצוּת וּכְשֶׁהָיָה נוֹתַר לוֹ מִשְּׂכִירוּת יָמִים כְּדֵי מְזוֹן יוֹם אֶחָד עַל מְזוֹנוֹתָיו אוֹ יוֹתֵר הָיָה מַנִּיחַ לַעֲשׂוֹת בְּשֶׁל אֲחֵרִים בָּעֵת הַהִיא וְעוֹשֶׂה בְּשֶׁלּוֹ בְּתַכְלִית הִשְׁתַּדְּלוּתוֹ וַחֲרִיצוּתוֹ וְלֹא סָר לַעֲשׂוֹת כֵּן עַד שֶׁנִּגְמְרָה עֲבוֹדַת אַדְמָתוֹ כַּהֹגֶן וּבְהַגִּיעַ עֵת פֵּרוֹתֶיהָ וּזְמַן תְּבוּאָתָהּ קִבְּצָם וַאֲסָפָם וְהִתְפַּרְנֵס מֵהֶם בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית וְהָיָה עוֹבֵד אַדְמָתוֹ כִּרְצוֹנוֹ וְהוֹלֵךְ וּמוֹסִיף בָּהּ אִילָנוֹת עַד שֶׁהָיְתָה תְּבוּאָתָהּ מַסְפֶּקֶת לְפַרְנָסָתוֹ וְהוֹתִירָה לוֹ מָה שֶׁהוֹסִיף בּוֹ אֲדָמָה עַל אַדְמָתוֹ.
The sensible brother realized that if he occupied himself solely with his plot of land, this would prevent him from earning his livelihood and attaining his immediate needs. So he hired himself out as a day-laborer in a field belonging to another person and was thus able to subsist on the wages he received. After he had finished his daily task he worked an hour every evening in his own field industriously and zealously. When he had saved enough out of his wages to keep him for one or more days, he stopped working for others and labored on his property with the utmost energy and zeal. In this course he persevered until his plot was in a proper state of cultivation. When the harvest time came he gathered the products of his field and orchard, stored them and had sufficient produce to support himself for the next year. Then he cultivated his land as he desired and planted more trees until it not only produced enough for his maintenance, but yielded a surplus with which he bought additional land.
וְהָאָח הַכְּסִיל כֵּיוָן שֶׁיָּדַע שֶׁעֲבוֹדָתוֹ בְּאַדְמָתוֹ תִּמְנָעֵהוּ מֵהִתְעַסֵּק בְּעִנְיַן מְזוֹנוֹתָיו עֲזָבָהּ לְגַמְרֵי וְהָיָה מִשְׂתַּכֵּר לִבְנֵי אָדָם בַּעֲבוֹדַת הָאֲדָמָה וְלוֹקֵחַ שְׂכָרוֹ וּמִתְפַּרְנֵס מִמֶּנּוּ וְלֹא הָיָה מוֹתִיר כְּלוּם. וּכְשֶׁהָיָה נִשְׁאָר בְּיָדוֹ מְזוֹן יוֹם א׳ הָיָה מֵשִׂים אוֹתוֹ יוֹם מְנוּחָה וּבַטָּלָה וְשַׁעֲשׁוּעַ וְלֹא הָיָה חוֹשֵׁב בְּעִנְיַן אַדְמָתוֹ. וְהָעִתּוֹת אֲשֶׁר הָיָה נִפְטָר מִן הָעֲבוֹדָה בִּימֵי עֲבוֹדָתוֹ הָיָה הוֹלֵךְ בָּהֶם אֶל הַמֶּרְחָץ וְנִשְׁאֲרָה אַדְמָתוֹ שְׁמָמָה לֹא הִצְמִיחָה דָּבָר וַתַּעַל כֻּלָּהּ קִמְּשֹׂנִים וְנֶהֱרַס גְּדֵרָהּ וְנָשָׂא הַשִּׁטָּפוֹן אֶת אִילָנֶיהָ. כמ״ש הֶחָכָם (משלי כד) עַל שְׂדֵה אִישׁ עָצֵל עָבַרְתִּי וְעַל כֶּרֶם אָדָם חֲסַר לֵב וְהִנֵּה עָלָה כֻלּוֹ קִמְּשֹׂנִים כָּסּוּ פָנָיו חֲרֻלִּים וְגֶדֶר אֲבָנָיו נֶהֱרָסָה.
The foolish brother, recognizing that working on his land alone would prevent him from earning a living, neglected his property completely, hired himself out to others as a field-laborer, spent the whole of the wages he received and saved nothing. Whenever he had enough left of his earnings to provide him with food for a single day, he turned it into a day of rest, idleness and amusement, never giving a thought to his property. The hours during which he was free on the days when he worked, he spent in the bath. His land remained waste and yielded nothing. It was all covered with thorns and thistles. Its fences were broken. Its trees were swept away by a flood. It was in the condition described by the wise man in the text (Mishlei 24:30-31) "I passed by the field of the slothful and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down."
וְהַמַּשְׂכִּיל כַּאֲשֶׁר יְעַיֵּן בַּמָּשָׁל הַזֶּה יִתְבּוֹנֵן מִמֶּנּוּ עִנְיְנֵי אַחֲרִיתוֹ אֲשֶׁר הִיא בֵּיתוֹ בֶּאֱמֶת וְיַעֲשֶׂה לָהּ בְּכָל יְכָלְתּוֹ. וּכְשֶׁהוּא עֹשֶׂה לְעוֹלָמוֹ יַעֲשֶׂה לוֹ כְּמִי שֶׁעוֹשֶׂה בְּשֶׁל אֲחֵרִים כְּדֵי הַצֹּרֶךְ וְהַסִּפּוּק בִּלְבַד. וְהַכְּסִיל עוֹשֶׂה בִּשְׁנֵי הַדְּבָרִים בְּהֶפֶךְ מִשְׁתַּדֵּל בְּעִנְיְנֵי עוֹלָמוֹ וּמִתְעַלֵּם מֵעִנְיְנֵי אַחֲרִיתוֹ כמ״ש הֶחָכָם בִּבְחִינָתוֹ בַּכְּסִיל (שם) וָאֶחֱזֶה אָנֹכִי אָשִׁית לִבִּי רָאִיתִי לָקַחְתִּי מוּסָר:
The intelligent reader who reflects intently upon this parable will draw from it the lesson as to his final end, which is his true home, and he will work on it with all his might. While for his earthly needs, he will work as one does for others, in moderation and only to the extent absolutely necessary. The fool, however, acts oppositely in two ways. His interests here on earth he pursues with zeal and diligence while for his welfare in the hereafter he utterly ignores; even as the wise man said, when he observed the fool (Mishlei 24.32), "Then I saw and considered it well. I looked upon it and drew lessons".