In this chapter there will be given wondrous counsel for rescuing oneself from lashon hara and from other sins between a man and his neighbor; a telling analogy for this.
And now, let us conclude the book as we began, with the verse (Psalms 34:13): "Who is the man who desires life, who loves days to see good?", by introducing my explanation of the verse (Psalms 140:12): "The man of the tongue will not be established on the earth. The man of violence — evil will hunt him to his downfall." We shall preface this by a general introduction to this work. In sum, one who truly wishes to guard his mouth and his tongue, in order not to come to machloketh [contention] and lashon hara and cursing and "whitening of the face" will acquire for himself with full payment the trait of patience, to "overlook his traits" in all regards. That is, to acquiesce within himself that for this holy trait he will expend every year about four or five silver rubles. And, for a richer man, a larger sum, as will be explained.
We shall explain our words: For the most part, the issur of machloketh and lashan hara and rechiluth comes about through a small thing which makes one think that Ploni has offended him, and he follows "the line of din," not to overlook his traits and yield at all. And, as a matter of course, this leads to agitation and contention. But if he resolved always (that is, before the provocation occurred) that for this trait of "overlooking one's traits" (which is itself a trait of guarding one's tongue, as I have written above) he must expend some money every year, as for all of the other mitzvoth, he would not take offense at all! Think of some other mitzvah, such as that of tzitzith (if we had tcheleth [the blue string[ in our time), or if it were impossible to obtain an ethrog or the like in our time unless one spent four or five silver rubles on it (even if he were not wealthy; and if he were, even more than that), certainly no man in Israel would be suspected of foregoing the mitzvah because of this unless he had nothing at all, G-d forbid.
So should one act in regard to the trait of overlooking one's traits, and, in doing so, he would be rescued from many severe sins, even though this is not a positive commandment, but only a good trait in general. Is it not known that because of the smallness of our minds it is very difficult for us to know the din of the Torah clearly as to when it is permitted to take offense against one's friend and quarrel with him. For very often it may [only] seem to one that Ploni has offended him in something (for we are not speaking of outright robbers or the like, who would pick our pocket). And also because "a man is close to himself" and "a man does not see a fault in himself," one who does not overlook his traits is always liable to come to the issur itself of theft, machloketh, and lashon hara, and the like; and certainly these issurim are greater than that of foregoing a positive commandment alone.
And I know the "rebuttal" of the yetzer — that if so, he will constantly have to spend four or five silver rubles for these things; and this is impossible. Therefore, I shall explain myself: If one bethinks himself well of the accounting for one week, he will see himself that many of the offenses and quarrels and [episodes of] lashon hara and the like are over small things, his feeling that Ploni has wronged him over some zahuv [a coin] or the like. For we are not speaking of wealthy persons, but of plain ones. Therefore, if one will resolve within himself to expend for [the cultivation of] this trait four or five silver rubles every year, he will avoid thereby in any event a thousand words of forbidden speech, [the avoidance of] which is well worth four or five silver rubles, and "one who comes to cleanse himself is helped [by Heaven]." And, in the end, he will merit the attainment of this trait in completeness (and, as a result, he will come to the attainment of the great trait of chesed [lovingkindness] (see next chapter)
But if he does not do this, but always takes offense at every small thing, he must know that he will certainly come in the end to many forbidden things, and that he is very likely to become impoverished thereby, G-d forbid, (as I have written above in the Gate of Remembrance, Chapter VI, in the name of Sefer Hakaneh, that through lashon hara one is reduced to poverty).
I shall elucidate this with a telling analogy: There was once a great miser who never shared his bread with the poor, and scrounged for many years with every household expense, whereby he accumulated several hundred rubles of silver. This miser was always contemplating new possibilities of saving, and he finally decided that he would begin to be sparing of the bread that he ate, and so he did. The first month he habituated himself to doing without a quarter of a litre of bread every day. By doing so, his pocket became fuller and he rejoiced greatly in this as was his wont; and he felt no frailty of heart because of this. And, in the third month, when he had become accustomed to this, he began to scrimp on another quarter of bread, until, with the passage of days, he began to feel frail of heart and went to a doctor, who said to him: "You are suffering from emaciation, and there is almost no cure for this; however, I have a certain drug, which may cure you, but it will cost you two hundred silver rubles." When the miser heard this, he fled from the doctor's house. But his condition worsened every day, and he saw that his end would be terrible, so he went again to the doctor, and begged him: "Give me that drug that you spoke about and I will give you whatever you want, for 'my soul is at the gates of death.'" The doctor replied: "I will have to know the source of your disease to know how to prepare the drug." The miser turned to him and said: "I must admit that I myself am the cause of it." And he told him the whole story. The doctor responded: Silly man, all together you have saved about four or five rubles, and you have endangered your life. And who knows for a certainty that this drug will help you! What is more, you must now spend fifty times your profit!"
So, exactly, in our instance. One who guards his honor and every cent of his money to such an extent that on the slightest suspicion he will not allow anyone to touch it will not escape every week from lashon hara and machloketh; and beyond a doubt there will accumulate in the course of a year, many hundreds of words of forbidden speech and machloketh because of this. And it is quite possible that when on the Day of Remembrance he comes for judgment before the L-rd, he will find that because of this his sins are more than his mitzvoth, for they will create the majority. And because of this he will emerge liable for death by the din of Heaven, as Chazal have said (Rosh Hashanah 16b): "Absolute evildoers (i.e., those with a majority of sins, according to Rashi) are inscribed and sealed immediately for death." But the Hoy One Blessed be He in His abundant mercies redeems him from death (as we find in Tanna d'bei Eliyahu, Chapter One), and He transmutes the punishment of death to one of poverty, and, as a result, he falls from his status.
Now when we delve into the cause of most of the sins which have led to this, we find it to lie in five or six silver rubles. For he may have once spoken lashon hara against his friend and also quarreled with him, suspecting him of having touched his zahav (money), and had stood up against him like a pillar of iron, both to his face and in his absence until he had proved his point. And sometimes the entire sum in question could have been g.p. (a type of coin) or even less than that, so that in sum he may have profited about five or six silver rubles. And what did he gain by all this? Several hundred sins of forbidden speech (aside from the occasional intermixture of the "dust of theft" in his pocket, which, in itself has the power to finish him and his possessions). And because of this there remained only a step between him and death, so that, in the end, he fell from his ["high"] estate.
And this is the intent of (Psalms 140:12): "The man of the tongue will not be established on the earth." That is, he will have no basis or foundation on which to solidly establish his position, but he will be driven from one state to another, as the verse concludes, "Evil will hunt him to his downfall."
Therefore, let a man not act in this manner, but let him "overlook his traits" in all matters, and he will thereby merit being remembered for life when the Day of Remembrance arrives and will remain in his former position. And on Rosh Hashanah the Holy One Blessed be He will certainly add to the influence he had lost through the trait of overlooking one's traits. And this is the intent of the verse (Psalms 34:13): "Who is the man who wants life, who loves days to see good?" (That is, he wants both, life and good) "Guard your tongue, etc." For if he does not, he must lose one (even in this world) either life or good, as mentioned above. But if he guards his tongue from evil, he will be remembered for life and also for good, as we find in Midrash Mishlei, that when it is a man's way to speak good, the angels above also speak good of him.
בּוֹ תְּבֹאַר עֵצָה נִפְלָאָה לְהִנָּצֵל מִלָּשׁוֹן הָרָע וּמִשְׁאָר הָעֲוֹנוֹת שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ וּמָשָׁל נִמְרָץ עַל זֶה.
In this chapter there will be given wondrous counsel for rescuing oneself from lashon hara and from other sins between a man and his neighbor; a telling analogy for this.
וְעַתָּה נְסַיֵּם אֶת הַסֵּפֶר בְּמַה שֶּׁפָּתַחְנוּ, בַּפָּסוּק (תהילים ל"ד י"ג): "מִי הָאִישׁ הֶחָפֵץ חַיִּים, אֹהֵב יָמִים לִרְאוֹת טוֹב" וְגוֹ'. בְּהֶקְדֵּם מַה שֶּׁבֵּאַרְתִּי הַפָּסוּק (תהילים ק"מ י"כ): "אִישׁ לָשׁוֹן בַּל יִכּוֹן בָּאָרֶץ, אִישׁ חָמָס רָע יְצוּדֶנּוּ לְמַדְחֵפֹת". וְנַקדִּים לָזֶה הַקְדָּמָה כּוֹלֶלֶת לְזֶה הַסֵּפֶר. וָאַעַן וָאֹמַר: כְּלָלוֹ שֶׁל דָּבָר: מִי שֶׁרוֹצֶה לִשְׁמֹר פִּיו וּלְשׁוֹנוֹ בֶּאֱמֶת, שֶׁלֹּא יָבוֹא לִידֵי מַחֲלֹקֶּת וְלָשׁוֹן הָרָע וּקְלָלוֹת וְהַלְבָּנַת פָּנִים, יִקְנֶה לְנַפְשׁוֹ בְּכֶסֶף מָלֵא הַמִּדָּה שֶׁל סַבְלָנוּת לְהַעֲבִיר עַל מִדּוֹתָיו בְּכָל עִנְיָן, וְהַיְנוּ שֶׁיַּסְכִּים בְּעַצְמוֹ, שֶׁמִּדָּה הַקְּדוֹשָׁה הַזּוֹ, יוֹצִיא עָלֶיהָ בְּכָל שָׁנָה בְּעֵרֶךְ אַרְבָּעָה וַחֲמִשָּׁה רֻבָּל כֶּסֶף, וּבְאָדָם עָשִׁיר, יוֹתֵר מִזֶּה, כְּמוֹ הַהֶסְבֵּר שֶׁיָּבוֹא עַל זֶה.
And now, let us conclude the book as we began, with the verse (Psalms 34:13): "Who is the man who desires life, who loves days to see good?", by introducing my explanation of the verse (Psalms 140:12): "The man of the tongue will not be established on the earth. The man of violence — evil will hunt him to his downfall." We shall preface this by a general introduction to this work. In sum, one who truly wishes to guard his mouth and his tongue, in order not to come to machloketh [contention] and lashon hara and cursing and "whitening of the face" will acquire for himself with full payment the trait of patience, to "overlook his traits" in all regards. That is, to acquiesce within himself that for this holy trait he will expend every year about four or five silver rubles. And, for a richer man, a larger sum, as will be explained.
וּנְבָאֵר אֶת דְּבָרֵינוּ, כִּי עַל פִּי רֹב בָּא אִסּוּר מַחֲלֹקֶת וְלָשׁוֹן הָרָע וּרְכִילוּת עַל יְדֵי דָּבָר קָטָן, שֶׁנִּדְמֶה לוֹ בְּרַעֲיוֹנָיו, שֶׁפְּלוֹנִי נָגַע לוֹ בָּזֶה, וְהוּא מַעֲמִיד אֶת הַדָּבָר עַל קַו הַדִּין, שֶׁלֹּא לְהַעֲבִיר עַל מִדּוֹתָיו וּלְוַתֵּר כְּלָל, וּמִמֵּילָא בָּא עַל יְדֵי זֶה לִידֵי הַקְפָּדָה וּמְרִיבָה וְכוּ', אֲבָל אִם יַסְכִּים בְּדַעְתּוֹ תָּמִיד, (דְּהַיְנוּ קֹדֶם שֶׁבָּא הַנִּסָּיוֹן לְיָדוֹ) שֶׁלְּמִדָּה זוֹ שֶׁל מַעֲבִיר עַל מִדּוֹתָיו, (שֶׁהִיא עַצְמָהּ מִדָּה שֶׁל שְׁמִירַת הַלָּשׁוֹן כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בִּפְנִים הַסֵּפֶר) צָרִיךְ לְהוֹצִיא מְעַט מָעוֹת בְּכָל שָׁנָה כְּמוֹ עַל שְׁאָר כָּל הַמִּצְוֹת, מִמֵּילָא לֹא יַקְפִּיד כְּלָל. הַגַּע עַצְמְךָ כְּמוֹ בְּמִצְוָה אַחֶרֶת, כְּגוֹן מִצְוַת צִיצִית, אִם הָיָה בִּזְמַנֵּנוּ תְּכֵלֶת, וְכֵן אֶתְרוֹג וְכַדּוֹמֶה, אִם לֹא הָיָה אֶפְשָׁר לְהַשִּׂיג, אִם לֹא שֶׁיּוֹצִיא עַל זֶה אַרְבָּעָה וַחֲמִשָּׁה רֻבָּל כֶּסֶף, (אֲפִלּוּ אִם אֵינֶנּוּ עָשִׁיר, וּבְעָשִׁיר בְּיוֹתֵר מִזֶּה), בְּוַדַּאי אֵין חָשׁוּד אָדָם מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁיִּשְׁבֹּת מִלְּקַּיֵּם הַמִּצְוָה מֵחֲמַת זֶה, אִם לֹא מִי שֶׁאֵין לוֹ כְּלָל, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם.
We shall explain our words: For the most part, the issur of machloketh and lashan hara and rechiluth comes about through a small thing which makes one think that Ploni has offended him, and he follows "the line of din," not to overlook his traits and yield at all. And, as a matter of course, this leads to agitation and contention. But if he resolved always (that is, before the provocation occurred) that for this trait of "overlooking one's traits" (which is itself a trait of guarding one's tongue, as I have written above) he must expend some money every year, as for all of the other mitzvoth, he would not take offense at all! Think of some other mitzvah, such as that of tzitzith (if we had tcheleth [the blue string[ in our time), or if it were impossible to obtain an ethrog or the like in our time unless one spent four or five silver rubles on it (even if he were not wealthy; and if he were, even more than that), certainly no man in Israel would be suspected of foregoing the mitzvah because of this unless he had nothing at all, G-d forbid.
כֵּן בְּעִנְיָן זֶה יִתְנַהֵג בְּמִדַּת מַעֲבִיר עַל מִדּוֹתָיו, וּבָזֶה יִנָּצֵל מִכַּמָּה עֲוֹנוֹת עֲצוּמִים, וְאַף שֶׁאֵינָהּ מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה, כִּי אִם מִדָּה טוֹבָה בְּעָלְמָא, הֲלֹא יָדוּעַ הוּא, שֶׁלְּפִי קַטְנוּת שִׂכְלֵנוּ קָשֶׁה מְאֹד לָאָדָם לֵידַע אֶת דִּין הַתּוֹרָה בְּבֵרוּר בְּאֵיזֶה מָקוֹם שֶׁמֻּתָּר לְהַקְפִּיד עַל חֲבֵרוֹ וְלָרִיב אִתּוֹ, כִּי פְּעָמִים רַבּוֹת נִדְמֶה לוֹ בְּרַעֲיוֹנָיו בְּאֵיזֶה סְבָרָא וְדִמְיוֹן בְּעָלְמָא, שֶׁפְּלוֹנִי נָגַע לוֹ, כִּי אֵין אָנוּ מְדַבְּרִים בִּרְשִׁיעֵי בְּמָקוֹם שֶׁפְּלוֹנִי יִגְנֹב מַמָּשׁ מָעוֹת מִכִּיסוֹ, וּכְהַאי גַּוְנָא. וְגַם כִּי אָדָם קָרוֹב לְעַצְמוֹ, וְאֵין אָדָם רוֹאֶה חוֹב לְעַצְמוֹ. עַל כֵּן מִי שֶׁאֵינוֹ מַעֲבִיר עַל מִדּוֹתָיו, עָלוּל תָּמִיד לָבוֹא עַל יְדֵי זֶה לִידֵי אִסּוּר מַמָּשׁ שֶׁל גֶּזֶל וּמַחֲלֹקֶת וְלָשׁוֹן הָרָע, וּכְהַאי גַּוְנָא, וּבְוַדַּאי אִסּוּרִים אֵלּוּ גְּדוֹלִים מִבִּטּוּל מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה לְבַד.
So should one act in regard to the trait of overlooking one's traits, and, in doing so, he would be rescued from many severe sins, even though this is not a positive commandment, but only a good trait in general. Is it not known that because of the smallness of our minds it is very difficult for us to know the din of the Torah clearly as to when it is permitted to take offense against one's friend and quarrel with him. For very often it may [only] seem to one that Ploni has offended him in something (for we are not speaking of outright robbers or the like, who would pick our pocket). And also because "a man is close to himself" and "a man does not see a fault in himself," one who does not overlook his traits is always liable to come to the issur itself of theft, machloketh, and lashon hara, and the like; and certainly these issurim are greater than that of foregoing a positive commandment alone.
וְיָדַעְתִּי אֶת טַעֲנַת הַיֵּצֶר שֶׁיֹּאמַר, דְּאִם כֵּן יִצְטָרֵךְ לְהוֹצִיא תָּמִיד אַרְבָּעָה וַחֲמִשָּׁה רֻבָּל כֶּסֶף עֲבוּר עִנְיָנִים כָּאֵלּוּ, וְזֶה דָּבָר שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר. עַל כֵּן אֲבָאֵר אֶת דְּבָרַי, כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר יִתְיַשֵּׁב הָאָדָם הֵיטֵב בְּנַפְשׁוֹ עַל חֶשְׁבּוֹן שָׁבוּעַ אֶחָד, יִרְאֶה בְּעַצְמוֹ שֶׁהַרְבֵּה וְהַרְבֵּה מִן הַהַקְפָּדוֹת וְהַמַּחֲלֹקֶת וְלָשׁוֹן הָרָע וְכַדּוֹמֶה בָּאוּ עַל יְדֵי דְּבָרִים קטַנִּים, שֶׁנִּדְמֶה לוֹ שֶׁפְּלוֹנִי נָגַע לוֹ בְּעִנְיָנָיו בְּאֵיזֶה זָהוּב וְכַדּוֹמֶה, כִּי אֵין אָנוּ מְדַבְּרִים בָּעֲשִׁירִים הַגְּדוֹלִים, רַק בִּסְתַם בְּנֵי אָדָם, וְעַל כֵּן, אִם יַסְכִּים הָאָדָם בְּדַעְתּוֹ, שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לְהוֹצִיא עַל זוֹ הַמִּדָּה אַרְבָּעָה וַחֲמִשָּׁה רֻבָּל כֶּסֶף בְּכָל שָׁנָה, מִמֵּילָא יִגָּרַע בְּוַדַאי עַל יְדֵי זֶה בְּכָל שָׁנָה עַל כָּל פָּנִים אֶלֶף תֵּבוֹת שֶׁל דִּבּוּרִים אֲסוּרִים, וְיֵשׁ בְּשָׁוְיָן אַרְבָּעָה וַחֲמִשָּׁה רֻבָּל כֶּסֶף, וְהַבָּא לִטָּהֵר מְסַיְּעִין בְּיָדוֹ, וְיִזְכֶּה לְבַסּוֹף לַמִּדָּה הַזּוֹ בִּשְׁלֵמוּת. (וּמִמֵּילָא יָבוֹא עַל יְדֵי זֶה גַּם כֵּן לְבַסּוֹף לַמִּדָּה הַגְּדוֹלָה וְהִיא מִדַּת הַחֶסֶד (וְהִיא תְּבֹאַר בְּפֶרֶק ז' בְּעֶזְרַת ה')).
And I know the "rebuttal" of the yetzer — that if so, he will constantly have to spend four or five silver rubles for these things; and this is impossible. Therefore, I shall explain myself: If one bethinks himself well of the accounting for one week, he will see himself that many of the offenses and quarrels and [episodes of] lashon hara and the like are over small things, his feeling that Ploni has wronged him over some zahuv [a coin] or the like. For we are not speaking of wealthy persons, but of plain ones. Therefore, if one will resolve within himself to expend for [the cultivation of] this trait four or five silver rubles every year, he will avoid thereby in any event a thousand words of forbidden speech, [the avoidance of] which is well worth four or five silver rubles, and "one who comes to cleanse himself is helped [by Heaven]." And, in the end, he will merit the attainment of this trait in completeness (and, as a result, he will come to the attainment of the great trait of chesed [lovingkindness] (see next chapter)
אֲבָל אִם לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה כֵן, וְיַקְפִּיד תָּמִיד עַל כָּל דָּבָר קָטָן, יֵדַע בְּנַפְשׁוֹ, שֶׁבְּוַדַּאי יֻכְרַח לָבוֹא לְבַסּוֹף עַל יְדֵי זֶה לְכַמָּה דִבּוּרִים אֲסוּרִים, וְעָלוּל מְאֹד לָבוֹא עַל יְדֵי זֶה לִידֵי עֲנִיּוּת, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב לְעֵיל בְּפֶרֶק ו' בְּשֵׁם "סֵפֶר הַקָּנֶה", שֶׁעַל יְדֵי לָשׁוֹן הָרָע בָּא הָאָדָם לִידֵי עֲנִיּוּת.
But if he does not do this, but always takes offense at every small thing, he must know that he will certainly come in the end to many forbidden things, and that he is very likely to become impoverished thereby, G-d forbid, (as I have written above in the Gate of Remembrance, Chapter VI, in the name of Sefer Hakaneh, that through lashon hara one is reduced to poverty).
וְאַסְבִּיר דָּבָר זֶה בְּמָשָׁל נִמְרָץ, וְהוּא: אֶחָד הָיָה כִּילַי גָּדוֹל, וְלֹא נָתַן מִלַּחְמוֹ לְדַל וְקַמֵּץ בְּכַמָּה שָׁנִים בְּכָל דְּבַר הוֹצָאָה שֶׁבְּבֵיתוֹ, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה קְבֵּץ כַּמָּה מֵאוֹת רֻבָּל כֶּסֶף, וּבְכָל עֵת הָיָה הַכִּילַי, הַנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, מִתְבּוֹנֵן הַאִם יֵשׁ לוֹ עוֹד לְקַמֵּץ מֵאֵיזֶה דָּבָר, וְהִסְכִּים בְּדַעְתּוֹ, שֶׁיַּתְחִיל לְקַמֵּץ וּלְמַעֵט מִלַּחְמוֹ אֲשֶׁר הוּא אוֹכֵל, וְכֵן עָשָׂה. וְהִרְגִּיל אֶת נַפְשׁוֹ בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן לִגְרֹעַ רֶבַע לִיטְרָא מִלַּחְמוֹ בְּכָל יוֹם, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה נִתּוֹסֵף לוֹ עוֹד בְּכִיסוֹ, וַיִּשְׂמַח עַל זֶה שִׂמְחָה גְּדוֹלָה, כְּדַרְכּוֹ, וְלֹא הִרְגִּישׁ מֵחֲמַת זֶה בְּחֻלְשַׁת לִבּוֹ עַל יְדֵי זֶה, וְכַאֲשֶׁר הֻרְגַּל בָּזֶה, הִתְחִיל בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁלִישִׁי לִגְרֹעַ עוֹד רֶבַע לֶחֶם, וּבְרֹב הַיָּמִים הִתְחִיל לְהַרְגִּישׁ בְּחֻלְשַׁת לִבּוֹ, וַיֵּלֶךְ לָרוֹפֵא. וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ הָרוֹפֵא: אֲנִי מִתְבּוֹנֵן בְּךָ, כִּי יֵשׁ לְךָ מַחֲלַת הָרָזוֹן, וְאֵין לִי כִּמְעַט מָזוֹר לָזֶה, אַךְ יֵשׁ לִי סַם אֶחָד, וְאֶפְשָׁר שֶׁתִּתְרַפֵּא עַל יָדוֹ, אֲבָל תִּצְטָרֵךְ לְהוֹצִיא עָלָיו מָאתַיִם רֻבָּל כֶּסֶף. וְכִשְׁמֹעַ הַקַּמְצָן דָּבָר זֶה, נָס מִבֵּית הָרוֹפֵא, אֲבָל הַמַּחֲלָה הִתְחִילָה לְהִתְחַזֵּק עָלָיו יוֹם יוֹם, וַיַּרְא כִּי מָרָה תִּהְיֶה אַחֲרִיתוֹ, וַיֵּלֶךְ עוֹד הַפַּעַם אֶל הָרוֹפֵא, וַיִּתְחַנֵּן אֵלָיו לֵאמֹר: תֵּן לִי מְהֵרָה אֶת הַסַּם שֶׁאָמַרְתָּ, וַאֲשַׁלֵּם כִּרְצוֹנְךָ, כִּי הִגִּיעָה נַפְשִׁי עַד שַׁעֲרֵי מָוֶת. וַיַּעַן הָרוֹפֵא וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו: אֲנִי צָרִיךְ לֵידַע אֶת מְקוֹר מַחֲלָתְךָ, מֵאַיִן בָּאָה לְךָ, כְּדֵי לֵידַע אֵיךְ לְהָכִין אֶת הַסַּם לִרְפוּאָה. וַיִּפֶן הַחוֹלֶה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו: אֲנִי מֻכְרָח לְהוֹדוֹת בְּבֹשֶת פָּנִים, כִּי בְּעַצְמִי סִבַּבְתִּי לְנַפְשִׁי אֶת הַדָּבָר. וַיְסַפֵּר לוֹ אֶת כָּל הַנְהָגָתוֹ, שֶׁהִרְעִיב אֶת נַפְשׁוֹ כַּמָּה חֳדָשִׁים. וַיַּעַן הָרוֹפֵא וַיֹּאמַר אֵלָיו: הוֹי, אִישׁ שׁוֹגֶה וּפֶתִי, בְּסַךְ הַכֹּל הִרְוַחְתָּ מִזֶּה בְּעֵרֶךְ אַרְבָּעָה וַחֲמִשָׁה רֻבָּל כֶּסֶף וְסִכַּנְתָּ אֶת נַפְשְׁךָ, וּמִי יוֹדֵעַ בְּבֵרוּר אִם הַסַּם יוֹעִיל לָזֶה, וּבְיוֹתֵר מִזֶּה, כִּי אַתָּה מֻכְרָח עַתָּה לְהוֹצִיא חֲמִשִּׁים פְּעָמִים כֵּפֶל הָרֶוַח שֶׁלְךָ. כֵּן הַדָּבָר מַמָּשׁ בְּעִנְיָנֵנוּ, מִי שֶׁשׁוֹמֵר אֶת כְּבוֹדוֹ וְכָל ג"פ וְג"פ (פירוש: מטבע קטנה) מִמָּמוֹנוֹ שְׁמִירָה יְתֵרָה, עַד שֶׁאֲפִלּוּ בַּחֲשַׁשׁ סְפֵק סְפֵקָא, שֶׁנִּדְמֶה לוֹ שֶׁהוּא שֶׁלּוֹ, אֵין מַנִּיחַ לַאֲחֵרִים לִגַּע בָּהֶם, לֹא יִמָּלֵט בְּכָל שָׁבוּעַ מִלָּשׁוֹן הָרָע וּמַחֲלֹקֶת עַל יְדֵי זֶה, וּבְלִי סָפֵק שֶׁיִּתְקַבְּצוּ לְשָׁנָה כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה מֵאוֹת תֵּבוֹת שֶׁל אִסּוּרֵי לָשׁוֹן הָרָע וּמַחֲלֹקֶת עַל יְדֵי זֶה, וְעָלוּל מְאֹד, שֶׁבְּבוֹאוֹ בְּיוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן לְמִשְׁפָּט לִפְנֵי ה', יִמָּצֵא דְּבִשְׁבִיל זֶה עֲוֹנוֹתָיו יוֹתֵר מִמִּצְוֹתָיו, כִּי הֵמָּה יַשְׁלִימוּ הָרֹב, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה יֵצֵא חַיָּב לְמִיתָה בְּדִין שֶׁל מַעְלָה, כְּמַאֲמָרָם (ראש השנה ט"ז:): רְשָׁעִים גְּמוּרִים (הַיְנוּ רֻבָּם עֲוֹנוֹת כְּפֵרוּשׁ רַשִּׁ"י שָׁם) נִכְתָּבִין וְנֶחְתָּמִין לְאַלְתַּר לְמִיתָה, אַךְ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּרֹב רַחֲמָיו פּוֹדֵהוּ מִן הַמִּיתָה (וּכְמוֹ דְּאִיתָא בְּתָנָא דְּבֵי אֵלִיָּהוּ פֶּרֶק א' וְעַיֵּן בַּמְפָרֵשׁ שָׁם) וּמַחֲלִיף אֶת עֹנֶשׁ הַמִּיתָה בְּעֹנֶשׁ הָעֲנִיּוּת, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה יוֹרֵד אַחַר כָּךְ מִמַּצָּבוֹ.
I shall elucidate this with a telling analogy: There was once a great miser who never shared his bread with the poor, and scrounged for many years with every household expense, whereby he accumulated several hundred rubles of silver. This miser was always contemplating new possibilities of saving, and he finally decided that he would begin to be sparing of the bread that he ate, and so he did. The first month he habituated himself to doing without a quarter of a litre of bread every day. By doing so, his pocket became fuller and he rejoiced greatly in this as was his wont; and he felt no frailty of heart because of this. And, in the third month, when he had become accustomed to this, he began to scrimp on another quarter of bread, until, with the passage of days, he began to feel frail of heart and went to a doctor, who said to him: "You are suffering from emaciation, and there is almost no cure for this; however, I have a certain drug, which may cure you, but it will cost you two hundred silver rubles." When the miser heard this, he fled from the doctor's house. But his condition worsened every day, and he saw that his end would be terrible, so he went again to the doctor, and begged him: "Give me that drug that you spoke about and I will give you whatever you want, for 'my soul is at the gates of death.'" The doctor replied: "I will have to know the source of your disease to know how to prepare the drug." The miser turned to him and said: "I must admit that I myself am the cause of it." And he told him the whole story. The doctor responded: Silly man, all together you have saved about four or five rubles, and you have endangered your life. And who knows for a certainty that this drug will help you! What is more, you must now spend fifty times your profit!"
וְהִנֵּה כְּשֶׁנְּחַשֵּׁב הֵיטֵב סִבַּת רֹב הָעֲוֹנוֹת שֶׁגָּרְמוּ לוֹ כָּל זֶה, יִמָּצֵא שֶׁהָיָה בְּסַךְ הַכֹּל עַל יְדֵי חֲמִשָּׁה אוֹ שִׁשָּׁה רֻבָּל כֶּסֶף, כִּי פַּעַם דִּבֵּר לָשׁוֹן הָרָע וְגַם רָב עִם חֲבֵרוֹ, עַל יְדֵי שֶׁנִּדְמָה לוֹ שֶׁפְּלוֹנִי נָגַע בְּזָהוּב שֶׁלּוֹ, וְעָמַד נֶגֶד חֲבֵרוֹ כְּעַמּוּד שֶׁל בַּרְזֶל בְּפָנָיו וְגַם שֶׁלֹּא בְּפָנָיו, עַד שֶׁהֶעֱמִיד הָעִנְיָן עַל שֶׁלּוֹ, וּפַעַם הָיָה עַל יְדֵי עֶשְׂרִים ג"פ (ר"ת של גדולים פולין. פירוש: שם מטבע), וְאֶפְשָׁר גַּם עֲבוּר פָּחוֹת מִזֶּה, עַד שֶׁבְּהִתְקַּבְּצוּת כֻּלָּם הִרְוִיחַ עַל יְדֵי זֶה לְעֵרֶךְ חֲמִשָּׁה אוֹ שִׁשָּׁה רֻבָּל כֶּסֶף, וּמַה נִּתְרַבָּה לוֹ עַל יְדֵי זֶה? כַּמָּה מֵאוֹת עֲוֹנוֹת שֶׁל דִּבּוּרִים אֲסוּרִים, (לְבַד שֶׁכַּמָּה פְּעָמִים נִתְעָרֵב עַל יְדֵי זֶה גַּם הָעַפְרוּרִיּוּת שֶׁל גֶּזֶל בְּכִיסוֹ, אֲשֶׁר גַּם בָּזֶה כֹּחַ לְכַלּוֹת אוֹתוֹ וְאֶת נְכָסָיו, כַּיָּדוּעַ), וְהָיָה עֲבוּר זֶה כְּפֶסַע בֵּינוֹ וּבֵין הַמָּוֶת, וּלְבַסּוֹף הֻכְרַח לֵירֵד מִמַּצָּבוֹ עַל יְדֵי זֶה.
So, exactly, in our instance. One who guards his honor and every cent of his money to such an extent that on the slightest suspicion he will not allow anyone to touch it will not escape every week from lashon hara and machloketh; and beyond a doubt there will accumulate in the course of a year, many hundreds of words of forbidden speech and machloketh because of this. And it is quite possible that when on the Day of Remembrance he comes for judgment before the L-rd, he will find that because of this his sins are more than his mitzvoth, for they will create the majority. And because of this he will emerge liable for death by the din of Heaven, as Chazal have said (Rosh Hashanah 16b): "Absolute evildoers (i.e., those with a majority of sins, according to Rashi) are inscribed and sealed immediately for death." But the Hoy One Blessed be He in His abundant mercies redeems him from death (as we find in Tanna d'bei Eliyahu, Chapter One), and He transmutes the punishment of death to one of poverty, and, as a result, he falls from his status.
וְכֵן כְּהַאי גַּוְנָא בְּעָשִׁיר לְפִי עִנְיָנוֹ, שֶׁנִּתּוֹסֵף לוֹ לְשָׁנָה עַל יְדֵי רַגְזָנוּתוֹ מֵאָה רֻבָּל כֶּסֶף בְּעֵרֶךְ וְנִפְחַת לוֹ עֲבוּר זֶה לְעֵת מְצֹא כַּמָּה מֵאוֹת רֻבָּל כֶּסֶף.
Now when we delve into the cause of most of the sins which have led to this, we find it to lie in five or six silver rubles. For he may have once spoken lashon hara against his friend and also quarreled with him, suspecting him of having touched his zahav (money), and had stood up against him like a pillar of iron, both to his face and in his absence until he had proved his point. And sometimes the entire sum in question could have been g.p. (a type of coin) or even less than that, so that in sum he may have profited about five or six silver rubles. And what did he gain by all this? Several hundred sins of forbidden speech (aside from the occasional intermixture of the "dust of theft" in his pocket, which, in itself has the power to finish him and his possessions). And because of this there remained only a step between him and death, so that, in the end, he fell from his ["high"] estate.
וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב (תהילים ק"מ י"ב): "אִישׁ לָשׁוֹן בַּל יִכּוֹן בָּאָרֶץ", פֵּרוּשׁ: לֹא יִהְיֶה לוֹ בָּסִיס, וְכֵן לְהִתְיַצֵּב עַל מַעֲמָדוֹ תָּמִיד, רַק שֶׁיִּהְיֶה נִדְחָף מִדֶּחִי אֶל דֶּחִי, וְכַאֲשֶׁר מְסַיֵּם בְּפָסוּק זֶה: "יְצוּדֶנּוּ לְמַדְחֵפֹת".
And this is the intent of (Psalms 140:12): "The man of the tongue will not be established on the earth." That is, he will have no basis or foundation on which to solidly establish his position, but he will be driven from one state to another, as the verse concludes, "Evil will hunt him to his downfall."
עַל כֵּן אַל יִתְנַהֵג הָאָדָם כֵּן, כִּי אִם שֶׁיַּעֲבִיר עַל מִדּוֹתָיו בְּכָל הָעִנְיָנִים, וְיִזְכֶּה עֲבוּר זֶה לְהִזָּכֵר לְחַיִּים בְּבוֹא יוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן, וְגַם יִשָּׁאֵר עַל מַצָּבוֹ כְּמִקֹּדֶם, וְגַם בְּוַדַּאי יוֹסִיף לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה עַל הַשְׁפָּעָתוֹ מַה שֶּׁנֶּחְסָר לוֹ עַל יְדֵי הַמִּדָּה דְּמַעֲבִיר עַל מִדּוֹתָיו. וְזֶה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב (תחלים ל"ד י"ג): "מִי הָאִישׁ הֶחָפֵץ חַיִּים, אֹהֵב יָמִים לִרְאוֹת טוֹב". פֵּרוּשׁ: חָפֵץ בִּשְׁנֵיהֶם, בַּחַיִּים וּבַטּוֹב, "נְצֹר לְשׁוֹנְךָ" וְגוֹ'. דְּאִי לָאו הָכִי (דאם לא כן) יֻכְרַח שֶׁיֶּחְסַר לוֹ אֶחָד אֲפִלּוּ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה עַל יְדֵי רֹב הָעֲוֹנוֹת, אוֹ הַחַיִּים אוֹ הַטּוֹב, וְכַנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, אֲבָל כְּשֶׁיִּנְצֹר לְשׁוֹנוֹ מֵרַע, יִזָּכֵר לַחַיִּים וְגַם לַטּוֹב, כִּדְאִיתָא בְּמִדְרַשׁ מִשְׁלֵי, כְּשֶׁדֶּרֶךְ הָאָדָם לְדַבֵּר טוֹב, גַּם עָלָיו הַמַּלְאָכִים מְדַבְּרִים טוֹב לְמַעְלָה.
Therefore, let a man not act in this manner, but let him "overlook his traits" in all matters, and he will thereby merit being remembered for life when the Day of Remembrance arrives and will remain in his former position. And on Rosh Hashanah the Holy One Blessed be He will certainly add to the influence he had lost through the trait of overlooking one's traits. And this is the intent of the verse (Psalms 34:13): "Who is the man who wants life, who loves days to see good?" (That is, he wants both, life and good) "Guard your tongue, etc." For if he does not, he must lose one (even in this world) either life or good, as mentioned above. But if he guards his tongue from evil, he will be remembered for life and also for good, as we find in Midrash Mishlei, that when it is a man's way to speak good, the angels above also speak good of him.