Chapter 10 of Kohelet continues the comparison between the wise person and the fool, and in doing so, lays out great principles in how the world is governed. In this section, we will focus on two verses: "He who digs a pit will fall into it" - the principle of measure for measure, that anyone who digs a pit for another falls into it himself; and "He who removes stones will be hurt by them" - that there is nothing in the world an individual achieves without toil, exertion, and at times even danger.
חֹפֵר גּוּמָּץ בּוֹ יִפּוֹל, וּפֹרֵץ גָּדֵר יִשְּׁכֶנּוּ נָחָשׁ׃ (י, ח) - "He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who breaches a fence, a snake will bite him" (10:8).
The Pesikta Zutarta explains: "He who digs a pit" - this is the wicked person who digs a pit for the righteous, and ends up stumbling into it himself. Many commentators explain this according to the plain meaning as well: a gometz is a pit, dug to trip someone up, and ultimately the digger is the one who falls in. The Midrash brings an example: "Just as you find with Haman" - "And they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordechai." He dug the pit for Mordechai, prepared a gallows for him, and on that very tree he was hanged. And "he who breaches a fence" - anyone who breaches a fence of the Torah, a snake will bite him. And what is this snake? This is the curse of Moshe Rabbeinu: "Cursed is he who does not uphold [the words of this Torah]" - that is the snake's bite.
Rashi explains: a gometz is a ditch, a pit; "will fall into it" - at times he falls into it. That is, a person plots evil, and ultimately it rebounds upon him. The Pesikta cited Haman, and Rashi cites Nevuchadnezzar. Where do we see this with him? Nevuchadnezzar captured the vessels of the Beit HaMikdash and brought them to his land. And what happened afterward? Belshazzar, his grandson, brought out the Temple vessels and drank from them. He was convinced that everything was over, having calculated that seventy years had passed and Israel would not be redeemed - "In that night was Belshazzar slain"; that very night a hand emerged and wrote upon the palace wall, "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin," your kingdom has been numbered and found lacking, and that very night he was killed (for further elaboration, see the lessons on the Book of Daniel). Who caused this for him? His grandfather, Nevuchadnezzar, who brought the vessels - "will fall into it." Through those very vessels the grandson fell, and this was his downfall and ruin, whereupon the Persians came and conquered them.
"And he who breaches a fence, a snake will bite him" - Rashi explains: a fence of the Sages, the safeguard established by the Rabbis; "a snake will bite him" - death at the hands of Heaven. And why specifically a snake, and specifically for breaching a fence? Because the snake dwells in the crevices of breached walls, in ruins, and in uninhabited places. If you breach the fence - snakes are found in breached structures. A simple natural explanation can also be added: when a person lifts a large stone from the ground, what does he find beneath it? Ants, creeping creatures, snakes - all the crawling things hiding below. The same applies to someone who does not enter through the gate but breaches the fence: inside the stones of the fence reside snakes, scorpions, and other harmful pests, and they emerge against him. This is the plain understanding of why Scripture connects the fence to the snake - because when someone dismantles the stones of a fence, the snakes dwelling within harm him.
The Midrash Rabbah offers a third example: "He who digs a pit will fall into it" - this refers to Pharaoh, of whom it is said, "Every son that is born you shall cast into the river," and "will fall into it" - "And He shook off Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea." You decreed casting into water; within the water you will be overthrown. "And he who breaches a fence, a snake will bite him" - this refers to Dinah. While her father and brothers were sitting in the Beit Midrash, she went out to see the daughters of the land, bringing upon herself the assault by Shechem son of Chamor the Hivite. And what is a chivya in Aramaic? A snake. Her father and brothers fenced themselves off and distanced themselves from the surrounding inhabitants, sequestering themselves in the Beit Midrash - this does not mean she was expected to sit in the Beit Midrash, but rather that she breached the protective fence her father and brothers had erected and went out to see the daughters of the land; therefore the snake, the Hivite, came and bit her.
Rav Shefer explains the verse according to its literal sense: one who seeks to cause his fellow to fall will fall himself, just as it says in Tehillim, "He dug a pit and hollowed it out, and fell into the ditch he had made" - he falls into the very pit that he himself worked to create. Furthermore: "He who breaches a fence" - one who breaches his neighbor's fence to damage his property, "a snake will bite him" - the snake lurking beneath that fence will bite him.
There is a story from the time of the Rambam, recorded by the Me'am Lo'ez: A new king arose over the Christians and issued harsh decrees against the Jewish people, causing them great suffering. When the Rambam heard and saw their distress, he announced that he was a physician and that anyone in need of healing should come to him. The Jews who suffered from the decrees and persecutions would come to him and be healed, and gentiles also heard of his reputation, recognized his expertise, and came to him, and he healed them. The Rambam describes his daily routine elsewhere, and it is astonishing to see how much he managed to accomplish - he would attend to the king, and afterward endless streams of people would come to receive medical treatment, until he would collapse from sheer exhaustion.
The king heard of this, sent for him, and said: "I suffer from an illness that has plagued me for many years, and no doctor has found a cure; they say of you that you are a great physician and a great expert. If you cure me, I will make you a minister in my kingdom." The Rambam said to him: "I am willing, but you must swear to me that you will never harm me all the days of your life." Apparently, the Rambam had experience with those to whom his elevated status was a thorn in the side, who would attempt to bring him down through slander and talebearing before the king - for as long as a person remains anonymous, the danger is not great, but someone standing alongside the king with adversaries plotting against him can lose his head in an instant. The king swore to him. The Rambam compounded a remedy for him, the king was cured, rejoiced exceedingly, and set the Rambam's seat above all the other ministers.
Naturally, this aroused the jealousy of the ministers: suddenly an outsider arrives, and a Jew at that, attaining such high standing before the king. The viceroy was furious and hated the Rambam, unable to bear that he had received such authority. He said to the king: "If you do not remove him from here, I will incite the entire kingdom against you." He had significant power, and the king knew these threats were viable. The king said to him: "What can I do? I have already sworn that I will not kill him." The viceroy replied: "At the city gate there are lime kilns; send a letter to the supervisor there telling him to take the Rambam and burn him in the lime. No one will ever know, and your own hand will not touch him."
The king sent word to the lime burner, notifying him: "The man who comes to you and says that I sent him - throw him into the lime kiln and burn him." The next morning, the king summoned the Rambam and said to him: "Go to the lime burner and ask him if he carried out the king’s command." The Rambam, who knew nothing and was unaware of the sinister forces stirring beneath the surface, went to carry out the king's order. On the way, he passed by a synagogue and said: "How can I go to carry out the king's bidding before fulfilling the command of the King of the universe?" He entered and prayed. As he was about to leave, a poor man approached him and said: "Today I am holding a brit milah, and there is no one to come celebrate with me - please, join me." An angel of the covenant invites him, could he refuse? He went to the poor man's home, circumcised his son, they held a seudat mitzvah, he drank the cup of blessing, and fell asleep.
Meanwhile, the vizier was impatient to see that the job had been properly done. He went to the master of the lime kilns, who saw him and thought: "Here is the one the king sent." He immediately seized him and threw him into the lime kiln. The Rambam woke up, remembered the king's command, went to the kilns, and asked the man in charge: "The king asks whether you carried out what he requested." He replied: "Tell him that I did so in the best possible manner; the task has been successfully completed." The Rambam returned to the king and delivered the message. The king looked and could not believe his eyes - the Rambam stood before him alive and well. The king went to the lime burner and asked: "What did you do today?" He answered: "My lord the king's vizier arrived, and just as the king commanded, so I did - I immediately threw him into the kilns." Hearing this, the king returned to his palace, summoned the Rambam, and said to him: "I see that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs miracles and wonders for you." And he issued a proclamation throughout the kingdom that anyone who harms a Jew - his blood is on his own head. This is "He who digs a pit will fall into it": the one who digs the pit is the very one who stumbles into it and falls inside.
A similar story is recounted from the time of the holy Or HaChaim, who was thrown into the lions' den on the counsel of a minister who plotted against him. Later, they came to see what had become of him, and they saw him sitting with tefillin on, immersed in study, with the lions wagging their tails - even though for two days prior they had not been fed so that they would devour him immediately. They called the king, and the king saw that he was completely unharmed. That minister said: "My lord the king, perhaps the lions are simply not hungry." The king said to him: "Let us test this." He commanded that the holy Or HaChaim be brought out and the minister thrown in - and it turned out they were ravenous; before he even hit the ground, he was torn to shreds. This is "He who digs a pit will fall into it": you dug it, you plotted it, and in the end, you are the one who falls.
There is a well-known saying: Whatever a person does, he does for himself. From here stems the famous story of the Baal Shem Tov: There was once a destitute woman living in a dilapidated shack who supported herself by begging for charity. Whenever someone gave her charity, she would say to them: "Whatever a person does, he does for himself" - instead of saying thank you very much, you helped me so much, she said in simple terms: you did good for yourself by giving charity.
The queen also used to pass by that place. Seeing the poor woman, she would give her charity, and every time she heard the same reply: "Whatever a person does, he does for himself." This irritated her: "I give you a handsome sum, several days' worth of wages, and you cannot even say thank you?" Once, twice, three times, four times, and every time the same phrase. Finally, she grew furious and decided to teach her a lesson. She asked her baker to bake a loaf of bread and put poison in it, and she brought the bread to the poor woman. The woman once again said to her: "Whatever a person does, he does for himself." The queen thought to herself: "Let us see what you say in ten minutes." However, the poor woman looked at the fine, beautiful loaf of bread, felt it was a pity to simply eat it right away, and thought: "I will save it for later."
A day passed, two days passed, and one day an utterly exhausted man knocked at her door. It turned out to be the prince, the king's son, who had lost his way in the forest with his men; he saw a cabin at the forest's edge and entered to ask for food. She said to him: "How wonderful! I will not just give you ordinary food, but royal fare - bread that your mother prepared, a special loaf." He ate and rejoiced, but within a few minutes he departed to the world of truth. Panic and terror seized everyone, and she ran at once to the royal palace and pleaded before the queen: "I do not know what happened, I gave him bread to eat from the loaf you gave me, and suddenly he choked!" The queen began tearing out her hair and cried: "Now I understand your words - whatever a person does, he does for himself. I placed the poison there, and now I see that whatever a person does, he does for himself. He who digs a pit will fall into it."
This can be seen throughout history. The Chafetz Chaim was very meticulous about what is called "keeping the ledger": observing what a certain person did back then, and how the Holy One, blessed be He, repaid him now; what another person did, and how Hashem recompensed him later. He had many stories like this: a man who handed over someone else to the army in place of his son to save his son, and later a rabid dog bit his son and the boy died young; a man who took the roof off a widow's house and left her in the freezing cold, and later died an unnatural death; and several other astounding stories. The Chafetz Chaim knew how to trace every event back to its root.
In his time, during the Spanish Civil War - which some say claimed a million lives - the Chafetz Chaim said: "Do you think the Holy One, blessed be He, forgot the Expulsion from Spain?" And anyone who sees what is happening in Iraq - "O daughter of Babylon, who are to be devastated; happy shall he be who repays you... happy shall he be who takes and dashes your little ones against the stone" - for twenty years already they have suffered continuous destruction, and the hand is still outstretched. Likewise, anyone who looks at what is happening in Syria. The Gemara mentions the Tarmudites, the wicked neighbors of the Jewish people, and other troubles that came to us from there. One sees how the Holy One, blessed be He, gradually brings down all those who dug a pit, in those very places, to teach us that whatever a person does, he does for himself, and the Holy One, blessed be He, repays a person measure for measure.
רָאִיתִי עֲבָדִים עַל סוּסִים, וְשָׂרִים הֹלְכִים כַּעֲבָדִים עַל הָאָרֶץ׃ (י, ז) - I have seen slaves upon horses, and princes walking like slaves upon the ground. (10:7)
In the sefer Kehillat Moshe by Rav Galanti, it is explained that our verse is actually an explanation of what was said previously. "I have seen slaves upon horses, and princes walking like slaves upon the ground" refers to the wicked who rule over the Jewish people. To this, Scripture comes and says: Know that their ultimate end is to fall. "He who digs a pit shall fall into it, and whoever breaks down a fence, a serpent shall bite him." All those whom you see wielding such dominion and power - into the very pit they dig, they themselves will fall. Do not be overly impressed when you see Pharaoh, Nevuchadnezzar, and Haman on high; in the end, they will all pay the price and be punished according to their deeds.
There is a Gemara in Masechet Shabbat (110a): "There was a certain officer of Pumbedita" - he was a royal appointee from among the Jewish people, as Rashi explains - "whom a snake bit." "There were thirteen white she-donkeys in Pumbedita; they tore open all of them, and they were all found to be tereifah." For the Gemara says that for one who was bitten by a snake, they bring the fetus of a white she-donkey, tear it open, and place him upon it, and this is his cure. And so they did: they searched for thirteen white she-donkeys - presumably all pregnant, since they tore them all open - yet they were all found to be tereifah, and when they are tereifah, the remedy is no longer effective.
"There was one more on the other side of Pumbedita; by the time they went to bring it, a lion ate it." Abaye said to them: "Perhaps the serpent of the Sages bit him, for which there is no cure, as it is written: 'And whoever breaks down a fence, a serpent shall bite him.'" He said to them: It is very possible that the serpent that bit him is not an ordinary, physical snake for which one runs to bring the offspring of a she-donkey, but rather a snake of a different sort - the serpent of "whoever breaks down a fence, a serpent shall bite him." If so, do not be surprised that no remedy can be found, for this is a bite that has no cure. Rashi explains: "The serpent of the Sages" - he transgressed a ban of the Sages, and a snake that bites on account of this has no remedy; therefore, no cure could be found for him. Thus, even though in reality the cure exists, one cannot attain it - a lion comes and devours the she-donkey.
"They said to him: Indeed" - they said to Abaye: It is just as you assessed. "For when Rav passed away, Rav Yitzchak bar Bisna decreed that no one should bring myrtle and palm branches to a wedding celebration with drums, and this man went and brought myrtle and palm branches to a wedding celebration with drums, so a snake bit him and he died." When Rav passed away, they observed practices of mourning and curtailed rejoicing during that year, as Rashi explains, and they decreed that no one should bring myrtle and palm branches to celebrate before the bride and groom in the marketplace with drums and bells. That man did not heed the decree; he went and brought the myrtle and branches as usual - so a snake bit him and he died. This is "whoever breaks down a fence, a serpent shall bite him." Heaven wanted to show them that a cure exists, yet you will not reach it, because this is a snake for which there is neither cure nor remedy. In this case it was an actual snake, but often the serpent that bites the one who breaches a fence is not a literal snake, and one cannot link the cause and effect so visibly - it can manifest as many other misfortunes that harm the person who breached the fence of the Sages.
מַסִּיעַ אֲבָנִים יֵעָצֵב בָּהֶם, בּוֹקֵעַ עֵצִים יִסָּכֶן בָּם׃ (י, ט) - He who moves stones shall be hurt by them, and he who cleaves wood shall be endangered by them. (10:9)
The Pesikta Zutreta states: A person cannot accomplish any significant undertaking unless he exerts himself in it. To achieve something requires toil and effort - "shall be hurt [yei'atzev] by them," from the language of "in pain [be'itzavon] shall you eat of it," through strenuous toil. Likewise, "he who cleaves wood" - one who chops wood takes his life in his hands due to danger, the hazard of the ax, lest the iron blade slip from the wooden handle; therefore, "yisachen bam" is an expression of danger (sakanah).
What is the verse teaching us? That to accomplish an achievement, one must exert oneself. In fact, this relates directly to Torah study: in financial matters, much may depend on fortune or circumstance, but in matters of Torah, "If you have toiled and found, believe it" - it comes through toil alone. "He who moves stones" - precisely one who moves heavy stones, struggling and exerting himself, "shall be hurt by them," meaning that through this painstaking toil he attains depth and elevated standing in Torah. As Chazal said, a person does not acquire words of Torah until he vomits up the milk he nursed from his mother's breasts, meaning he must divest himself of physical luxuries, moving the heavy stones - "the churning of milk brings forth butter." And "he who cleaves wood" - one who seeks to split the matter open and penetrate to its inner depths, "yisachen bam" is like "he will become wise through them," related to "Can a man be of benefit [yiskan] to God?" and "when a wise man thrives [yiskan] through them." Although the commentators there explain it as benefit - "Can a man benefit God?" - it conveys the same theme: one who cleaves wood and strives to pierce to the very depth of the Talmudic discussion will find that this effort benefits him in acquiring true Torah understanding. When you strive and labor, you arrive at the inner core of the matter and achieve true comprehension.
One can further explain: "He who moves stones shall be shaped [yei'atzev] by them" - when one toils in Torah, the exertion itself shapes his character, yei'atzev being related to "Your hands have formed me [itzvuni]," meaning to shape and mold. "And he who cleaves wood" - as we explained, one who cuts through to the depths of the topic; yet "wood" (etzim) also connotes becoming strengthened, related to "numerous and mighty [atzumim]." He penetrates and strengthens his understanding of the topic, and then "shall benefit through them [yisachen bam]" - through this he merits gaining wisdom and practical benefit in what he studies.
Rashi explains: "He who moves stones" - one who moves stones from the quarry where they were cut will grow weary from them; "yei'atzev" is an expression of toil and hardship. And so it is with one who does evil: according to his wickedness, so shall he reap. According to Rashi, the verse continues the theme of "he who digs a pit shall fall into it": just as the outcome corresponds to the toil, so too with one who commits evil - according to his evil, he will reap. As you sow, so shall you receive. And what is "yisachen bam"? Here Rashi offers a third interpretation, an expression of warmth, as in "and let her be a companion [sochenet, a warmer] to him," said regarding King David: "They covered him with clothes, but he could not become warm," and they needed someone to warm him, so they brought him Avishag to be a sochenet, one who would warm him.
The Ibn Ezra notes that the linguistic origin of the term is from Arabic - sakhun, sakhna, hot - an expression of warming. According to this, "one who splits wood will be warmed by them" (yisachen bam) means he will warm himself with the wood. However, he argues that according to the grammar of the Holy Tongue, such an interpretation is impossible. He therefore suggests that "and let her be an attendant (sochenet) to him" relates to the overseer of the royal storehouses, cognate to miskenot - storehouses / treasures, as in "Go to this steward (sochen)." Yet this interpretation is also difficult in his eyes, as it lacks context: how does it connect to the following verse, "If the iron becomes blunt, and he did not whet the edge"? He therefore explains that yisachen is an expression of danger (sakanah), as we saw in Pesikta Zutreta: one who splits wood exposes himself to danger, lest the iron head slip off the wooden handle, or a log strike and injure him.
And the underlying message, says the Ibn Ezra, is this: there is nothing in this world that a person can acquire without sorrow, toil, and danger. Even stones that are already in a person's possession - the very act of moving them from place to place is exhausting. And as for wood, whether it is his own or forest wood that is ownerless, whoever wishes to chop it and take it endangers himself. This teaches that effort is demanded for every single accomplishment.
The Alshich HaKadosh explains that there are prophecies here concerning the exile, connecting the earlier verses to ours. I saw that they are slaves and yet ride on horses, while Israel are debased beside them like servants on the ground. And behold, "one who digs a pit" - this is Pharaoh, who dug a pit to cast Israel into ("Every son that is born..."), and he himself drowned in the sea: "into it he shall fall." But "one who breaches a fence, a snake shall bite him" is difficult: the one who breaches a fence is Nevuchadnezzar, who breached the boundary of Jerusalem and broke through the walls. It would have been fitting for a snake to bite him, yet we do not find that he was punished immediately; rather, his kingdom endured for three generations, unlike Pharaoh, from whom retribution was exacted right away. Moreover, the people sinned, but what sin did the Beit HaMikdash commit?
Furthermore, he asks: "One who removes stones will be hurt by them" - who is the one who removes stones? This is the one who destroyed the Beit HaMikdash, crying, "Raze it, raze it, down to its foundation!", who hauled the stones away from the gates of Jerusalem. "Will be hurt by them" - yet we did not see that he was harmed by them. Shlomo had no difficulty regarding Haman or Greece, for they received their punishment quickly and their days were not prolonged; but here, we see that Hashem did not immediately exact retribution from them. "One who splits wood" - who is this? This is Darius at Beitar, concerning whom it is taught that he chopped down the "trees" of Hashem. The righteous man is likened to a tree: "The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree," and he cut down the trees of Hashem - great tzaddikim, young schoolchildren, four hundred teachers in each of the four hundred synagogues. "Shall be endangered by them" - and why did we not see danger befall him as happened to Pharaoh? Over these matters Shlomo stood bewildered, and the following verses contain the answers to these questions.
The Gemara expounds: Rava said, what is meant by that which is written, "One who removes stones will be hurt by them, and one who splits wood shall be endangered by them"? "One who removes stones" - these are the masters of Mishna; "one who splits wood shall be endangered (or benefit) by them" - these are the masters of Gemara. This seems obscure. The commentators explain in line with what Chazal said in Kiddushin: If this repulsive one (the yetzer hara) confronts you, drag him to the Beit Midrash; if he is stone, he will dissolve, as it is stated, "Water wears away stones." The yetzer hara is called a stone, and the study of Torah moves the stones - that is, it pushes the yetzer hara away from you; just as water has the power to wear away stone, so the Torah has the power to wear away the yetzer. However, "he will be hurt by them," which the Maharsha explains: even with Torah, he must be on guard against inadvertent errors. While he possesses Torah to counteract the evil inclination, still, "Who can discern his errors?" - he remains vulnerable to unintentional missteps.
By contrast, "one who splits wood": Chazal state in Ta'anit: Why are the words of Torah likened to a tree (or piece of wood), as it says, "It is a tree of life to those who grasp it"? Just as a small piece of wood ignites the larger one, so junior Torah scholars sharpen the minds of senior ones, as our Sages said: "And from my students more than from all of them." This is the meaning of "one who splits wood" - one who raises disciples, small pieces of wood that kindle the larger ones. He derives benefit from them, "shall benefit from them" (yisachen bam): through their analytical back-and-forth (pilpul), he grasps the true depth of the matter and will not even arrive at inadvertent errors. One who studies only Mishna and does not teach students may fall into error; but for one who embodies "from my students more than from all of them," the students save him even from unintentional mistakes, and he will not err at all. Thus, this is the superiority of the masters of Gemara, "one who splits wood," who raise disciples.
The Maharal explains that Rava maintains that all the days of the master of Mishna are difficult, because he derives no intellectual pleasure from his learning, and the study feels like a heavy burden. Therefore, he falls into the category of "one who removes stones will be hurt by them." Studying the Mishnayot is a grueling labor, like someone hauling stone from a quarry - where there are no cranes, and hauling stones is among the most difficult tasks. The Mishna is highly concise, written in brief and abrupt phrasing; often there are apparent contradictions between different Mishnayot or between Mishnayot and Beraitot, and understanding it is arduous. In contrast, the Gemara is elaborative and lucid, explaining every matter, analyzing every topic, and clarifying it. One engaged in Talmud, which is wisdom, takes delight in it, and thus is described by the verse, "He who is of a merry heart has a continual feast." This is "one who splits wood benefits from them" - these are the masters of Gemara, who enjoy their learning, with its sharp dialectic, in-depth analysis, and deep contemplation. The Mishna, however, is like a legal code, a book of statutes: do this, such is the law. We rarely find back-and-forth dialectic among the Sages there; mostly it is concise rulings - Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says this, Rebbi says that, Rabbi Yehoshua says this, Rabbi Tarfon says that - and consequently, the study is far heavier and more demanding.
Incidentally, all of this applied to the study of Mishna in their days. As noted at the opening of our series on the Mishnayot, our Sages said that in their era, one who studied Mishna alone was called a "destroyer of the world" (mevalei olam), because he would derive practical halachic rulings directly from the Mishna, whereas the Gemara frequently explains that words are missing ("the text is deficient") or transposes the opinions, making it impossible to deduce final law without the Talmud's analysis. This is another reason why "one who removes stones" refers to the masters of Mishna - they could not reach definitive halachic conclusions, unlike the master of Gemara. In our times, however, all the halachic conclusions are incorporated directly into the commentaries of the Bartenura, the Tosafot Yom Tov, Yachin U'Boaz / Tiferet Yisrael, and others. Thus, one receives the Mishna together with its halachic essence and conclusions: the Bartenura explains that the Gemara established Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel's words in a specific context and Rebbi's words in another - providing both the Talmudic clarification and the ruling. In their days, one who studied only Mishna could not reach proper halachic conclusions and ended up learning contrary to the practical halacha, which is why he was called a destroyer of the world. Today, however, one who studies Mishna also enjoys his learning, as he studies the halachic conclusions and Talmudic discussions woven around the words of the Tanna.
The Midrash offers yet another explanation: "One who removes stones will be hurt by them" - one who moves stones from place to place will suffer pain from them; "and one who splits wood will benefit from them" - Rabbi Meyasha said: As reward for the two splits of wood that Avraham Avinu chopped for Mount Moriah, he merited that the sea would be split for his children into twelve passages. "One who splits wood will benefit from them" - one who splits wood for a mitzvah will derive lasting benefit and reward from it.
Rav Shefer explains: "One who quarrieth stones" - a person who wishes to build himself a house must quarry and transport stones to build it, yet at times "he shall be hurt therewith." Likewise, with one who cleaves wood, at times "he shall be endangered thereby" and face genuine peril. Thus, what one perceives as beneficial does not always prove to be so in truth. It is entirely possible that the very house one built will, Heaven forbid, become a source of tragedy or trouble - strife with neighbors, or discord within the home. One often hears of people who built a home only to have their family life unravel, for the entire construction process from start to finish was riddled with arguments: "Do it this way!" "No, I want it like that!" "I refuse!" - all over the construction of the house. A person thinks he has succeeded, Baruch Hashem buying a plot of land and building a home, yet what came of it? His home fell apart. "One who quarrieth stones" - it may very well be that "he shall be hurt therewith," gaining no benefit from it at all.
A story is told of a couple who bought a plot of land, built a house - and divorced. Why? Because they quarreled incessantly over the house they were building. When the husband registered the property, he did not include his wife's name. He explained that this was so they would not both need to rush over to sign documents each time, but arguments erupted between them, and ultimately she felt he was attempting to dispossess her of the land they had purchased. They divorced, and afterwards spent years attempting to sell the house. So, you built a house, but what did you gain? "He shall be hurt therewith." Does anyone truly know how things will turn out? Better to have remained in the three-room apartment you had before, rather than pursue villas. This is not to say that anyone who builds will inevitably face trouble, but such a reality exists: a person moves stones to build a house - and is hurt by them. Likewise, "he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby": at times one looks at a woodcutter and thinks he will certainly benefit, yet in the end he has only endangered himself.
And what is the conclusion? The Omnipresent has many emissaries, and man has no mastery even over himself. All his labor can suddenly collapse and come to naught; even if one performs an action that should seemingly yield benefit, if Hashem does not will it, nothing will emerge from it but harm. A case in point is one of the key figures behind the Segway project - that two-wheeled vehicle once expected to take the world by storm, which today is primarily used for tours around the walls of Jerusalem. It was supposed to be the vehicle of the future and genuinely possessed all the right features, yet the price was exorbitant: people envisioned buying such a personal vehicle for three thousand shekels, not thirty thousand - for with thirty thousand shekels one can purchase a car suitable for winter and equipped with air conditioning. That same individual, who was a driving force behind the company, was riding an off-road Segway and reportedly fell off a cliff. Some claimed it was suicide, while others said the vehicle spun out of control, causing him to plunge off the cliff to his death. Consider this: a person spearheads an enterprise, believing it to be a monumental venture yielding enormous revenues - and that very invention buries him. This teaches that while a person may assume a particular endeavor will bring him gain, ultimately everything depends upon the Creator's will, and whatever is decreed upon man is what shall come to pass.
These two verses convey two fundamental principles. "He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it, and whoso breaketh through a fence, a serpent shall bite him" teaches the principle of measure for measure: Haman was hanged on the gallows he prepared for Mordechai; Pharaoh, who drowned the boys, was shaken into the sea; Nevuchadnezzar brought the Temple vessels and his grandson met his downfall through them; and Dinah breached the protective fence of her father and brothers and was bitten by the Hivite; and whoever breaches the protective fence of the Sages suffers a bite that has no cure, as Abaye stated. Conversely, "One who quarrieth stones shall be hurt therewith, and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby" teaches that nothing in this world is achieved without toil, exertion, and at times danger, and in Torah this is all the more true: only one who labors and exerts himself penetrates the depth of the sugya and attains wisdom, and the masters of Gemara who establish disciples are spared even from unintentional errors. Yet alongside this, man has no control over the ultimate outcomes of his labor: at times the stones he moves and the wood he cleaves yield him only sorrow and peril, for everything depends upon the Creator's will, and whatever has been decreed upon man is that which will be.