In Chapter 7, King Solomon reaches the foundational elements of man's struggle with himself: What is the force that can grant him strength against the forces that govern him, what is the measure of the righteous person's perfection, and how should a person react to what others say about him? In these three verses - "Wisdom gives strength to the wise," "For there is no righteous man on earth," and "Also, do not take to heart all words that are spoken" - the Midrashim, along with the commentaries of Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and the Malbim, come together to build a complete picture of man's spiritual work.
הַחׇכְמָה תָּעֹז לֶחָכָם מֵעֲשָׂרָה שַׁלִּיטִים אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ בָּעִיר׃ (יט) - Wisdom gives strength to the wise person more than ten rulers who were in the city. (19)
Midrash Zuta asks: Are there really ten rulers in one place? There is only one ruler and one collector there! Who is the ruler? That is the spirit, which rules over the human body. And who is the collector? That is the Angel of Death, who, when the time comes, collects his due and takes the person. If so, what are the "ten rulers who were in the city"? "City" here refers to man himself - Chazal consistently compare man to a city, as in "a small city with few men in it."
Rather, the Midrash explains, even if a person reads Scripture and studies Mishnah, fasts, feeds the hungry, gives drink to the thirsty, and clothes the naked - if only he could be saved from ten things that place him in guilt every single day! That is to say: even if he is completely righteous, fulfills all of Hashem's commandments to perfection, performs immense acts of kindness, and afflicts and fasts himself - if only he could be saved from ten bodily faculties that constitute man's daily standard of vulnerability. And these are: his two eyes, his two ears, his two hands, his two feet, his mouth, and his body.
If we reflect on this, these are the most perilous instruments through which a person can become ensnared in the yetzer hara's net. His two eyes - which show him idle matters at best, and forbidden sights at worst, as we learned: Do not gaze at what is not yours, for your eyes resemble the gates of heaven. His two ears - with which he hears idle talk, and the ears are burned first among the limbs, as we learned: Do not let your ears hear idle things. His two hands - with which he steals and extorts, taking what he does not need and what is not rightfully his, as it is said: Do not take from this one to give to that one, for the arms of the mighty sink into the earth. His two feet - which lead him, that is, carry him, toward transgression, as we learned: Do not let your feet hasten toward sin, lest the snares of death overtake you. And his mouth - through which he utters vanity.
"His mouth through which he utters vanity" - "All the labor of man is for his mouth." A person can be an immense tzaddik, and in a single utterance lose all of his share in the World to Come: by publicly shaming his fellow man, or by speaking lashon hara against him. Thus Chazal said concerning Doeg the Edomite, whose name is spelled "Doyeg" with a yud: You were caught like a fish. The Chafetz Chaim explains: It is difficult for the yetzer hara to trip up great people. With what could he cause a gadol hador to sin? What can he do with him, where can he lead him? Rather, he trips him up through lashon hara. And about whom would a great person speak lashon hara? Not about an ordinary person in shul, but if anything, he might harbor criticism against another great figure, one of the leading sages of the generation: Why did he rule this way? Why did he understand the matter that way? Through this, heaven forbid, he might come to speak against him. This is the meaning of "caught like a fish" - even a large fish is caught by its tongue.
With great people, even if the yetzer hara cannot cause them to sin through crude physical desires - he snares them through speech, and through the most severe form of speech: speaking against other Torah leaders. An ordinary person has a basic fear of speaking against great sages, but someone who is himself a prominent figure may offer criticism against an equal. This does not mean, heaven forbid, that great people regularly stumble in this, but rather that if the yetzer hara has any avenue to cause them to stumble - as the Chafetz Chaim explains - it is through lashon hara. We see to what degree the mouth can serve as a stumbling block for man.
Regarding this, the verse states: "Wisdom gives strength to the wise." Wisdom serves as his strength and fortress, his help and aid, his defense and rescue - more powerful than those ten rulers who govern man in practice. The hands, the feet, the eyes: they are what bring man to every sin and iniquity. But if a person possesses wisdom, it becomes for him a stronghold through which he is saved from all those transgressions. Wisdom here simply means the wisdom of Torah: when a person engages in Torah study, he has the strength to confront the yetzer hara. As its Creator, Who called it evil, stated: "I created the evil inclination, and I created the Torah as its antidote." Rabbeinu Yonah adds: If the Holy One, Blessed be He, Who created the yetzer, told you that there is no other remedy, it is a sign that you will find no other remedy in the world.
A story is told of a great sage who was once told about one of the lesser "babas," describing how saintly he was, receiving visitors all day, completely dedicating himself to helping the public. He asked them: "Does he learn Torah?" They replied: "Rabbi, he strengthens the community, he helps everyone." He asked again: "Does he learn Torah?" They continued describing how righteous he was. He pressed: "Does he learn Torah?" They replied: "Rabbi, he doesn't have time to learn Torah." He said to them: "Then tell me, how does he battle the yetzer hara?" This is the question on the most fundamental level. Every human being has a yetzer hara, and the way to confront it is Torah. If he lacks Torah, how does he face it? The Holy One, Blessed be He, announced: This is the way, and there is no other way. A person can appear to be the most righteous, the greatest, the kindest - yet every person has a yetzer hara, and the only antidote is the Torah. Without the Torah as an antidote, everything else is mere illusion; and if one does not battle it, may Hashem have mercy. Then people hear all kinds of scandalous stories emerging in the media, and one wants to bury oneself in humiliation and shame. Go explain afterward that these individuals were never truly righteous, and that the leading sages of Israel have always condemned and protested against such self-proclaimed "babas."
When seeking advice, one goes to a great person, and a great person is someone who has immersed himself in Torah, a giant in Torah. Do you have questions? Go to Rav Chaim, go to Rav Shalom Cohen; turn to great people. A person who has someone ill in his home should go to a sage [chacham]. It does not say "should go to a tzaddik," for who can truly know who is a tzaddik? But who is wise in Torah, who is a giant in Torah - that we can know. "Let him go to a chacham" - this is the person one must ask and consult. And this is what the verse is saying: a person has two eyes, two ears, two hands - what will empower him to cope? "Wisdom gives strength to the wise." Wisdom is the Torah, and through it alone does he possess the strength to confront those ten rulers who govern man and dominate him to lead him into sin; yet wisdom rules over them.
The Midrash expounds this verse in several ways. "Wisdom gives strength to the wise" - this refers to Noach; "more than ten rulers" - these are the ten generations from Adam to Noach, who held dominion yet amounted to nothing, and only Noach was worthy that the world be preserved for his sake, and he alone was saved, for out of all of them, the Holy One, Blessed be He, spoke only with Noach, as it says, "And God spoke to Noach." Another interpretation: "Wisdom gives strength to the wise" - this refers to Avraham; and the ten rulers are the ten generations from Noach to Avraham, for out of all of them, He spoke only with Avraham, as it is written, "And Hashem said to Avram." Another interpretation: this refers to Yosef, and the ten rulers are his brothers, for Yosef specifically merited to rise higher than all of them.
Furthermore: "Wisdom gives strength to the wise" - this refers to Moshe, and "more than ten rulers" - these are the ten bodily organs that serve the digestive system. Here the Midrash enumerates the entire digestive tract: from the mouth to the gullet, from the gullet to the omasum, from the omasum to the stomach, from the stomach to the belly, from the belly to the small intestine, from the small intestine to the large intestine, from the large intestine to the bowels, from the bowels to the rectum, from the rectum to the sphincter, and from the sphincter to the outside - the entire pathway food travels until it exits the body. All the organs of consumption rule over man. See what happens to a person when the fuel warning light begins to flash and the gauge points to "empty" - he loses his peace of mind, constantly looking for something to eat. And some do not even wait for that; the moment the needle drops slightly, they become anxious and must refuel immediately. This is the reality: the digestive tract rules over man. Yet with Moshe - "wisdom gives strength to the wise": for forty days and forty nights his stomach made no demands, "and he was there forty days and forty nights," needing neither to ingest nor to excrete. More than ten rulers - the digestive organs dominate man, but the wisdom of Moshe, who was learning Torah on high, ruled over them, and he required neither food nor drink.
Another interpretation: "Wisdom gives strength to the wise" - this refers to David; and "more than ten rulers" - more than the ten elders who contributed to the Book of Tehillim, for the book is called by David's name and he is its primary author.
Rashi connects this verse to the preceding one. After all, Scripture warned, "Do not be overly wicked," and if you have sinned a little - should one who ate garlic eat more garlic so that his breath smells even worse? Do not say: It doesn't matter, everything is lost, I have abandoned the path, and from now on I will do whatever I please. Rather, if you have sinned a little - examine your deeds, reflect remorsefully upon the sin, and repent. This is the meaning of "wisdom gives strength to the wise": wisdom advises him to return in teshuvah, and prevents him from falling into the evil inclination's trap of thinking "since we are lost, we are lost," which leads a person to cast off all restraint.
And what is the meaning of "more than ten rulers"? Rashi explains: we find regarding Yoshiyahu that Scripture testifies of him, "And like him there was no king before him" - his wisdom stood by him as he examined his ways, making him greater than the ten kings before him who acted wickedly and never repented of their ways. "Who were in the city" - in Yerushalayim. Rashi enumerates them: Rechavam, Aviyah, Achazyahu, Yoash after the death of Yehoyada, Amatzyahu, Achaz, Menasheh, Amon, Yehoyakim, and Tzidkiyahu. Here were ten rulers, yet Yoshiyahu arose, and the Torah wisdom within him gave him the strength and power to overcome all the wickedness of those rulers who preceded him.
כִּי אָדָם אֵין צַדִּיק בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה טּוֹב וְלֹא יֶחֱטָא׃ (כ) - "For there is no righteous person on earth who does good and does not sin." (20)
The Malbim, in Artzot HaShalom (Derush 2) - as is well known, we do not possess a formal commentary by the Malbim on Kohelet - explains: "and does not sin [velo yechta]" does not refer to the person, but to the good itself. There is no righteous person on earth who performs a perfect good such that that good itself is not "choteh," meaning deficient. The word "choteh" stems from deficiency, as in "and I and my son Shlomo will be lacking [chata'im]," meaning deficient, and like missing the target [hachtaat hamatarah], which means falling short of the goal. There is no righteous person on earth who performs good without that good being deficient: it is always accompanied by some stray thought, some imperfect motive, or some subtle flaw that diminishes it.
This accords with the Rambam's teaching that if a person performs even one single deed in complete perfection, purely for the sake of Heaven, he has thereby earned life in the World to Come. A single deed! Try to see whether you can perform an act that is purely and entirely for the sake of Heaven. We find similarly regarding Rabbi Yose ben Kisma, in the narrative concerning Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon, who was asked, "Did any worthy deed ever come to your hand?" - and the Rambam cites this story in connection with this very principle. What did he find? That once, his charity funds became mixed up with his personal money set aside for the Purim meal, and he gave the entire sum to charity. That was it - in his entire lifetime, he could identify only one such flawless deed. This teaches us how difficult it is to perform an act of absolute perfection solely for the sake of Hashem. This is the enduring consequence of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. As we explained, "the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil" - da'at denotes connection; good and evil became intertwined together. Consequently, in every deed a person performs, even if it is a good deed, an element of negativity and imperfection is bound up with it.
According to the simple meaning of the verse, "for there is no righteous person on earth who does good and does not sin" - even an exceptionally great tzaddik is liable to stumble in sin. Moshe Rabbeinu stumbled at the waters of Merivah, as well as when he said to the Holy One, Blessed be He, "Why have You done evil to this people?" Yaakov Avinu stumbled with "Why did you deal so ill with me, to tell the man?", and in not honoring his father properly during the years he was hidden away. Avraham with "How shall I know that I will inherit it?", Aharon in the sin of the Golden Calf, Yehoshua who delayed the conquest of Eretz Yisrael, David HaMelech with Batsheva, and Shlomo with the foreign wives he married and the daughter of Pharaoh. We do not have a single righteous person in history of whom we can say that he never sinned.
Even regarding the four of whom it is written that they died solely due to the counsel of the primordial serpent - nevertheless, we see that there was some subtle flaw, though they certainly repented. For example, Yishai, the father of David, is among those who died only due to the serpent's counsel; yet we see that when he was with his wife, his thoughts were on another woman, his handmaid, as he believed he was with his handmaid, which Chazal classify as "bnei temurah" (children conceived through substituted intention). That is to say, dying "due to the counsel of the serpent" does not mean he had never committed any sin whatsoever, but rather that even if he had a sin, he repented for it and attained such complete purification that he did not deserve to die on his own account, but only because of the general mortality decreed through the serpent. Thus, in its plain sense: every tzaddik has some sin. And the Malbim adds that the verse means there is a subtle shortcoming even within the righteous person's good deeds. And these and those are the words of the living God.
This is the defining characteristic of Judaism, which differs so sharply from other religions, from Christianity and Islam - distinguish as one must between the sacred and the profane. In Christianity, that man supposedly never sinned, even though well-known sins of his are documented - and yet the stories they circulate claim he never sinned. They have "All Saints' Day," where everyone is a saint and nobody has any flaw whatsoever. In Judaism, we say that every human being is liable to sin; with them, this is not so. At one time, when the Pope made offensive remarks against certain groups and people demanded an apology, Vatican spokesmen explained that critics did not understand the nature of the Holy See: the Holy See cannot apologize, because it cannot err. In all seriousness, that is what they said - he is incapable of erring, and therefore he cannot apologize. How could someone who never errs offer an apology?
In Judaism, however, we say: every person is capable of making a mistake. Even Moshe Rabbeinu succumbed to anger and came to make an error. Man is human, and he can err. So what follows? Judaism demands: if you erred, rectify it! There is teshuvah; a person can alter his ways; there is the possibility of starting anew; there is the option to choose a different path. That is Judaism. But to claim that a human being never sins, that he is wholly pure, spotless, and undefiled - "for there is no righteous person on earth who does good and does not sin."
Pesikta Zutrata cites in the name of Rabbi Yudan bar Rabbi Shimon: "There is no righteous person on earth who does good and does not sin" - this refers to the distributors of charity, who give to the deserving as if they were undeserving, and to the undeserving as if they were deserving. To the deserving recipient they give with a scowl, conveying the feeling, "We are doing you a favor, you don't really deserve it," while to the undeserving recipient they give as though he were truly worthy. This is what Rabbi Yose meant in the Gemara (Shabbat 118b): "May my portion be among the collectors of charity, and not among the distributors of charity." For distributing charity carries an immense responsibility - to give truly only to the worthy and upright, and to do so in the proper manner.
Rashi explains: There is no righteous person on earth, therefore one must examine his deeds. Since a person knows that "there is no righteous person on earth who does good and does not sin," let him scrutinize his actions. And even if you walk around with thoughts of "I am a tzaddik," under that very title there is still no righteous person on earth who does good and does not sin. Even if you delude yourself with such an illusion, in any event examine your deeds, for even tzaddikim are capable of sinning.
The Imrei Shefer connects the two verses together. We have seen that King Solomon refers to the human body as a "city": "A small city with few men in it," and likewise, "I will rise now and go about the city," where the meaning is also the body. The ten rulers, as we saw, are the hands, the feet, the eyes, the ears, the mouth, the nose, and some say the heart as well. Regarding this he says: "Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten rulers" - for there is no righteous person on earth who does good and does not sin. All creatures are compelled by their nature, except for man: dust must be dust, the sun the sun, the moon the moon, and an animal an animal - each must be what it is. Man, by contrast, can be righteous and can be wicked; he is the only creature endowed with free will.
A story is told of Tzvi Inbal from the Arachim organization, who once went to board a bus and the driver shut the door in his face - something that happens only here in Israel. Tzvi Inbal recounted: I too acted like an Israeli, stuck my foot between the two doors so they wouldn't close, and slipped in a question: "Do you know the difference between you and a cat?" It worked - the driver's curiosity was piqued, he opened the door and asked: "Well, what's the difference?" I boarded and told him: "The difference is that a cat is compelled to be a cat, but you can choose to be a human being." Has anyone ever said of a cat that it is not a cat? Or of a dog that it is not a dog? Whatever their behavior, we say: that is a dog, that is a cat. Only of man can we say "he is a human being," and we can also say "he is not acting like a human being" - for man alone has the choice whether to do good or evil.
Concerning this he says: Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers. Everything in creation is compelled by nature to do what it does: domestic beasts, wild animals, the inanimate, and plant life - all are compelled by nature. Only man possesses free will, and therefore wisdom serves as strength for him to choose good, to pursue fitting and proper deeds, for "there is no righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin," and it is in his power and capability to sin - something not within the capacity of any other creature. If a lion cruelly devours a deer and her fawns, no one says it is cruel, for that is its nature; and even if it devours a human being, they will not say it is cruel, for that is its nature. But man can be righteous, or he can be the opposite. Therefore, wisdom is his strength to contend against those very forces within him.
גַּם לְכׇל־הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּרוּ אַל־תִּתֵּן לִבֶּךָ אֲשֶׁר לֹא־תִשְׁמַע אֶת־עַבְדְּךָ מְקַלְלֶךָ׃ כִּי גַּם־פְּעָמִים רַבּוֹת יָדַע לִבֶּךָ אֲשֶׁר גַּם־אַתָּה קִלַּלְתָּ אֲחֵרִים׃ (כא-כב) - Also, do not pay attention to all the words that people speak, lest you hear your servant cursing you. For your heart knows that many times you too have cursed others. (21-22)
Rashi explains the verse according to its context: since Shaul was mentioned earlier - who was merciful where he should not have been merciful - here the verse refers to Shaul accepting lashon hara about Nov, the city of kohanim. This is what was noted above regarding "Do not be overly wicked" - that following the lashon hara he accepted, he commanded that Nov, the city of kohanim, be put to death. Concerning this, the verse says: Why be overly wicked and listen to the words that people speak? For they spoke against Nov, the city of kohanim, telling you that Achimelech son of Achituv went and helped David, who was among the king's rebels. "Do not pay attention to all the words they speak" - do not listen and do not set your heart to accept them. "Lest you hear your servant cursing you" - it is not good to bend your ear to hear your servant cursing you; if so, do not incline your ear to every spoken word.
The Ibn Ezra explains something marvelous: He says to the wise man - if you wish to find peace of mind, do not pay attention to all the words of people, even if someone curses you, and even if it is your servant. For if you pay attention to their words, you will become angry, and the light of the soul's wisdom will be darkened. This is wonderful advice: Do you want tranquility? Do you want a peaceful life? Do not get worked up over everything people say. Do not say, "So-and-so said this, did you hear what he said about me?" - do not take all the talk of people to heart. Even if he cursed you - "What, should I let him get away with it?" And even if it was your servant - "He is beneath me, I feed him and employ him, and he treats me like this?" The Ibn Ezra tells you: if you pay attention to their words, you will become angry and the light of the soul's wisdom will be darkened.
The Ibn Ezra speaks of the light of the soul's wisdom, and we know today that anger and stress harm a person and damage the body's systems: heart attacks, high blood pressure, stroke, ulcers, and more. These are the ailments of the modern world, stemming from the stress people endure. Therefore, a person must conduct his affairs with calm, and not pay attention to all the words that are spoken. As the saying goes: the dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
Once, someone said to the Chazon Ish: "Rebbe, in the Rav's name people have said such-and-such." He replied: "I said no such thing." They asked him: "Why does the Rav not protest publicly?" He told them: "If I were to go out and protest every statement attributed to me, I would be busy with protests from morning to night - 'I did not say that,' 'what they said here is incorrect,' 'here it is inaccurate,' 'I did not phrase it that way.' So what can be done? People will talk and talk. Whoever wants to know can come and ask, and I will tell him whether I said it or not; but to confront everyone who speaks, answering this one and reacting to that one - regarding this it is said: 'Also, do not pay attention to all the words they speak.' Ultimately, when a person walks on a path of righteousness and integrity, people will recognize it. It may take time, but they will recognize it."
At the time, Rav Ovadia Yosef spoke about the Holocaust and touched upon the concept of reincarnation (gilgul) - what took place in a previous incarnation and why they had to endure what they endured. The media made a huge sensation out of it, as though he had painted them as wicked, or as though he had invented the concept of gilgul - as if people had never heard of it before! In situations like these, the media always brings on a "token rabbi" to shake his head and cluck his tongue, someone suitable for the cameras. They brought on such a rabbi, a figure who had never commanded any genuine respect (whose name need not be mentioned), and following that interview, whatever slight shred of regard remained was completely extinguished. They asked him: "Rav Ovadia Yosef said this, what do you have to say?" He replied: "Look, I do not know what Rav Ovadia Yosef knows; what I know is that these people were righteous and gave their lives to sanctify Hashem's Name." One could only answer him: Indeed, you do not know what Rav Ovadia Yosef knows - not in Torah, not in Halachah, not in Mishnah, not in Gemara, not in anything. An utter ignoramus. For the media you are wonderful, fawning before the interviewer and pandering to please him - at that you excel. There are virtual rabbis, rabbis of the internet.
Incidentally, that same individual - whose name again shall remain unmentioned - authored a halachic work full of pilpulim, and it turned out that someone else wrote the book for him. The ghostwriter wrote the work, and this figure merely signed his name at the bottom. As that ghostwriter, a great talmid chacham, recounted: "I have written books for several people, but at least the others reviewed what I wrote, so that if someone asks them about the halachah of sechach on a pergola, they know what is being discussed. But this individual does not even bother to read through what I wrote." And he is the one leveling criticism? What a vast difference! There are virtual rabbis, and there are rabbis who are true men of Torah, like Rav Ovadia Yosef. No matter what is said and no matter what criticism is leveled, such critics remain small. Meanwhile, Rav Ovadia Yosef, who was never afraid to speak his mind and unafraid to speak his truth, is revered by all today.
This teaches us the message of the Ibn Ezra: Do not fear whatever people may say. "Also, do not pay attention to all the words they speak," for if you take their words to heart, you will become angry and the light of the soul's wisdom will be darkened. Do not get rattled by what people say; walk in your own way and your own truth, and honor will eventually come - in the end, everyone will recognize that your words are words of truth.
We have learned three fundamental principles here. First, "Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers" - the eyes, ears, hands, feet, mouth, and body rule over man and endanger him every day, and only the wisdom of the Torah is the strength and fortress capable of contending with them, as the Creator said: "I created the evil inclination, and I created the Torah as its antidote." Therefore, when seeking counsel and asking for guidance, one goes to a wise person, to a Torah giant. Second, "For there is no righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin" - according to the Malbim, there is no good deed that is devoid of any imperfection, and according to the peshat, there has never been a tzaddik in history without some flaw. And this is the greatness of Judaism: man is human, he is liable to err, and therefore it is his responsibility to examine his deeds and make amends - there is teshuvah, and it is always possible to start anew. And third, "Also, do not pay attention to all the words that people speak" - whoever desires peace of mind should not pay attention to what people say, even to those who curse him, because anger darkens the light of the soul's wisdom; let a person walk in his path of truth, and honor will eventually follow.