Introduction: One Verse - Seven Interpretations
In Chapter 10 of Kohelet, we arrive at a verse that is practically a gold mine of rabbinic homilies. A single verse, short and seemingly cryptic, which is expounded in many ways: regarding the sky that holds back rain, regarding a student who struggles with his learning, regarding a teacher who does not show a welcoming countenance, regarding a nation whose strength is hard as iron, and regarding an axe that was not sharpened in time. We will examine them one by one and see how each drashah extracts a complete moral and spiritual world from the verse.
אִם־קֵהָה הַבַּרְזֶל וְהוּא לֹא־פָנִים קִלְקַל וַחֲיָלִים יְגַבֵּר וְיִתְרוֹן הַכְשֵׁיר חָכְמָה׃ (קהלת י, י) - "If the iron has dulled and he has not whetted the edge, he must exert more strength; but the advantage of wisdom is to bring success." (Kohelet 10:10)
Dull as Iron - The Closed Heavens
The Pesikta Zutarta explains that the letter hei in "habarzel" (the iron) stands in place of the comparative kaf, as though it were written "k'varzel" (as iron). We find a similar interchange in the verse "And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest" (vehayah cha'am kakhohen), which is expounded as "as the people, the priest" or "the people as the priest" - the kaf replacing the hei, and here the reverse. Rabbi Ami said: What is the meaning of the verse, "If the iron has dulled and he has not whetted the edge"? If you see the sky dulled and hardened like iron, withholding dew and rain, know that it is on account of the corrupted deeds of the generation. "And he has not [shown] face" - the Holy One, blessed be He, does not show them a shining countenance; "corrupted" - because they corrupted their ways. You see that there is no rain, that the sky does not show its radiant face? The cause is the corruption of deeds.
And what is their remedy? "He must exert more strength" (vachayalim yagaber). The word chayalim here does not mean army soldiers, but rather strength and valor (chayil): he must redouble his strength. They must prevail in pleading for mercy, increase their mitzvot and good deeds, their charity and merits, and through this, the sky that had hardened like iron will relent and yield dew and rain. The Pesikta Zutarta states: "He must exert more strength" - let them sanctify a fast and call an assembly, and then they will have an advantage and preparation through deeds of wisdom. "And the advantage of wisdom is to bring success" - how much more so if they had properly aligned their deeds from the very beginning. That is, there is a distinct advantage for one who straightened his deeds at the outset over one who corrupted them and only later came to repair them.
A Teacher Who Does Not Show a Welcoming Countenance
Our Sages also expound this verse regarding the world of Torah study: If you see a student who finds his studies difficult and heavy, it is because his teacher does not show him a welcoming countenance. "If the iron is blunt" - you see a student who is dull and unyielding like iron, struggling and unable to grasp the material; "and he has no face" - the reason is that his rebbi does not greet him with a shining face. What does it mean that he "does not show a welcoming countenance"? When the student fails to understand, the rebbi loses patience: "Enough, you didn't understand again? What didn't you understand? You're simply not listening!" The student immediately goes on the defensive and remains silent throughout the entire shiur, just so he will not be yelled at for not understanding. Naturally, he should have asked, and the rebbi should have answered, explained again, and ensured that he comprehends. You may not be Rabbi Preida, who repeated the lesson four hundred times - but the student, thank God, does not require four hundred repetitions either; and therefore, all the more so, you must show him a warmer, more encouraging countenance.
Incidentally, concerning Rabbi Preida, people often wonder: Why did the Heavenly voice (bat kol) address him specifically? After all, the student, who persevered and was willing to learn four hundred times, deserved it even more! To which it is humorously answered: The bat kol did not want to repeat itself four hundred times, so it preferred to speak to Rabbi Preida. But to our point: when a rebbi does not show warmth, does not allow the student room to ask, and does not smile at him, the student remains stuck in his confusion. A welcoming, encouraging countenance is itself an essential pedagogical tool; through it, the student understands better and absorbs the material.
However, the question arises: What should the student do if his teacher does not show him a welcoming face? To this, the Gemara answers: Let him appease him, let him enlist companions to conciliate him - "he must exert more strength" (vachayalim yagaber) - and then "the advantage of wisdom is to bring success."
Parents, Teachers, and a Welcoming Countenance - Practical Guidance
From here emerges a very vital lesson for our times: parents must maintain an active connection with the teachers, the rebbeim, and the educators. It is a major rule of human nature that anywhere people see that someone cares, the staff becomes far more responsible. Woe to a person who lies neglected in a hospital bed with no visitors - the staff's treatment will often correspond. But when visitors come frequently, inquiring about his condition, asking whether he ate today, what medications he is receiving, and which doctor is available to speak, the staff knows that this patient requires attentiveness, that people care about him, and that he cannot be left unattended for hours, because someone will soon walk in and ask questions.
It is exactly the same with a student. When the melamed knows that people care about the student, that parents stand behind him - he shows interest in him, gives him roles, calls on him during class, gives him a kind word. But if he knows this is an abandoned student, whose father or mother never called, who was never shown interest in - the teacher shows interest accordingly; he is a "nameless child." Therefore, one must be very conscientious about this matter.
And here is an important note: when speaking about calling the teacher, one must be extremely careful not to come with criticism. Nobody likes criticism, and in most cases, teachers are human beings too. Therefore, it is highly recommended not to attack the teacher, even if he did something bad. Offer him kind words, and on the other hand say: "Listen, I think perhaps we should have thought differently here," and so on - allowing him to understand where he went wrong and looking together at how to fix it. When one comes on the attack, the one who will suffer is your child; you are not with him in the classroom all the time, and the teacher will make sure he does not receive what he needs to receive, and that is a great shame.
Therefore, it is very important to show appreciation to teachers: give a gift, a book, show gratitude - whether as mishloach manot or the like, so that the teacher feels good. When the teacher feels good about the parent, he exerts a positive influence on the child. This is the meaning of "he should increase friends to appease him": sometimes two personalities do not get along, people who are opposites by nature, and suddenly a challenging child falls into the melamed's lot who drives him out of his mind and he cannot handle him. If you show him that someone stands behind the child, that someone cares - he will exert more effort, exercise greater self-control, become angry less, and lash out less. "And wisdom has the advantage of giving success" - from this approach, success in learning will emerge.
The Literal Meaning: Iron That Lost Its Edge
The Pesikta Zutreta further explains the verse according to its literal meaning - not "dull as iron," but literally "the iron has dulled." The word קהה (dulled, spelled with a kuf, not כהה with a chaf, which means dark) means that it has lost its sharp edge, that it no longer cuts. And why? "And he did not whet the edge" - because you did not sharpen it. What is the remedy? "He must exert more strength": let him go to the blacksmith, strike it with might and force, sharpen it - and the iron will return to cutting properly. "And wisdom has the advantage of giving success" - so too, wisdom requires mussar (discipline), as it is written in Mishlei (22:15): "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a youth; the rod of discipline will drive it far from him."
And one must immediately clarify: when it comes to physical striking, this is certainly not the case in our generation. It has often been said that whoever wants to alienate his son and throw him into the street should hit him. In our generation, physical hitting is the very last resort, and only with very small children; two or three years old, when one needs to remove a child from danger, a pat on the hand is permissible. But as children grow older, this is absolutely not the way. Therefore, "the rod of discipline" does not mean a literal rod and lashing, but rather instilling ethical instruction. The method of hitting is humiliating, and as we see in reality, it only drives the child away rather than bringing him close.
Rashi: A Dull Sword That Wins the War
Rashi explains: if you see flint swords whose edges have dulled, "and he did not whet the edge" - they are unpolished, their surfaces were not smoothed to have the sheen of a polished, gleaming sword - and nevertheless "he must exert more strength," they have the power to win the war. Such a reality exists: even when one does not come with the most advanced and exceptional weapon, often it is the courage of the spirit that decides the day.
And from this you can deduce an a fortiori argument: "And wisdom has the advantage of giving success" - the virtue and efficacy of wisdom is greater than that of iron. If a Torah scholar blackens his face with hunger, and you see him looking destitute among the wealthy - many soldiers prevail through him. If we witness the strength and distinction of Klal Yisrael, in whose merit is it? In the merit of those who are despised, who appear impoverished, who appear needy. Those very "needy" ones sustain everyone; through them you live. How can people argue that they should go to the army? If they were to go to the army, this country would collapse. If you see that it still exists, it is because there is someone studying Torah, someone upholding it, someone who functions as the "guardians of the city" - those engaged in Torah. Do not say, "We support him"; he supports you, the entire country, and the entire world. "Chanina My son is satisfied" - a single Chanina suffices to sustain an entire world. And who are the Chaninas of our generation? The avrechim and bnei Torah who study through hardship, through poverty and adversity, yet never cease their Torah engagement. Do not say, "He is dull iron, iron without an edge" - my friend, the iron without an edge is what won the war, what won the battle. A single stone brought down the giant Goliath. This teaches you not to look at the nature of the weapon: often, from the one who appears poor and destitute, salvation specifically emerges - and specifically from those engaged in Torah comes the survival of Israel.
Reish Lakish: A Mishnah That Is Not Orderly
Reish Lakish said: What is the meaning of that which is written, "If the iron is blunt, and he did not whet the edge"? If you see a student whose studies are as hard for him as iron, it is because his learning is not well organized for him, as it says, "and he did not whet the edge [ve-hu lo fanim kilkal]." What is his remedy? Let him spend more time in yeshivah [sitting and reviewing], as it says, "he must exert more strength [ve-chayalim yigaber]." Here the reason is not that his rebbe does not show him a welcoming countenance, but that the learning itself is fragmented into pieces, a little from here and a little from there. Success in learning cannot come about in such a manner. In order to succeed, one must learn a specific subject in an orderly fashion: if you started a sefer, finish it.
Go and see how many Gemaras are torn and worn on the first few pages, while at the end of the Gemara everything is brand new, untouched. How many sets of Mishnah Berurah have their first pages worn, while the rest remains completely new. Why? To begin - many begin; "Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?" - of those, there are many. But "and who may stand in His holy place?" Who perseveres and merits to also finish? Many merit to begin; who merits to complete?
This also applies to memory: when a person studies one tractate consistently, even when asked where something is written, it is easy for him to remember - he knows that he is currently learning Ta'anit. But when he is in Ta'anit in the morning, in Shabbat in the afternoon, and in Bava Kamma in the evening, it turns into a complete jumble; he does not remember what he saw and where, things get confused and mixed up, stopping this in the middle and starting that from the middle. What is the remedy? "Let him spend much time in study" - let him increase his strength in the pursuit of Torah, and let his learning be orderly, studying in a structured way.
"And wisdom has the advantage of giving success" - all the more so if his learning was orderly from the outset, for this certainly has an advantage over one whose learning was not orderly from the beginning. The reason for this is that Chazal say, "Once an error enters, it remains": when a mistaken idea takes hold of a person, he returns to it again and again, and it is very difficult to uproot that initial error. You see this in the reading of the Torah: someone mispronounces a word, they correct him, and a few times later if you catch him unawares at the same verse - he will misread it again. Why? Because he has already grown accustomed to it; even though they told him and he agrees you are right, "once an error enters, it remains," and it is very hard to remove. We have similarly noted more than once: sometimes you sit and persuade someone, bringing him proofs, and after everything he goes right back to asking, "But why don't they serve in the army?" - you spent three days with him, and what came of it? The misconception took hold, and now even if you bring all the proofs to the contrary, it is very hard to dislodge it from him. Therefore, it is best not to fall into error in the first place, but rather to learn correctly from the start, so that you do not later face great difficulty in uprooting the initial mistake.
"Iron Sharpens Iron" - A Disciple Who Erred Toward His Teacher
The Midrash expounds: If the disciple has grown blunt toward his teacher - as it is said, "Iron sharpens iron," and the teacher does not explain the matter to the student - "it is corrupted," meaning there is a flaw of conduct in the student. How does one sharpen iron tools? "Iron sharpens iron," where yachad is from the language of yechaded - he sharpens it, making it keen; one rubs knife against knife, and thus it is sharpened. So too, Torah scholars sharpen one another, "and from my students more than all of them." And if you see that the iron has grown blunt, that the student and his teacher are not sharpening each other - evidently the student has flawed his deeds, and therefore the teacher keeps his distance from him and shows him a stern face, because his deeds are not fitting.
What should he do? "He must exert more strength" - let him go and bring ten people to appease his teacher. Apparently he offended his teacher or said improper things, and therefore they must placate him. "And wisdom has the advantage of giving success" - in the end his teacher will let go of his anger, meaning he will forgive him, and then his study will return to being fit and successful as at first, and he will sharpen him properly.
Clarity in One's Study
And the Midrash says something similar: "If the iron is blunt" - if your learning has become dull to you like blunt iron; "and he did not whet the edge" - it does not present itself clearly before you. That is, you do not see a clear face to the study, you do not find a receptive, explanatory sense to the plain meaning - the subject is not understood by you. Concerning this it is said: "He must exert more strength" - by increasing your engagement in Torah study, your learning will not be blunt like iron, but sharp in your mouth. As Chazal taught, "They shall be sharpened in your mouth," so that one knows how to answer immediately.
Rabbi Berechiah: A Nation Whose Strength Is as Hard as Iron
Rabbi Berechiah said: "If the iron is blunt" - if the nation whose strength was as hard as iron has grown dull. Who is this? The Jewish people, whom all feared, as it is written in Parashat Eikev: "And the Lord took you and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt" - we are compared to iron. "And it has no face" - that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not show a welcoming face to the generation; "it is corrupted" - know that there is corruption of deeds in that generation, and therefore this sharp iron, the people of Israel, suddenly became blunt. What should they do? "He must exert more strength" - let them decree a fast, says the Midrash, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will yield to them forever, meaning He will forgive them - not in the sense of unjustified concession, but that He will pardon them through their repenting in teshuvah.
Ibn Ezra: One Who Was Too Lazy to Sharpen the Tool Will Work Twice as Hard
The Ibn Ezra explains the verse by way of practical work: A man sees that his craftsman's tool is not sufficiently sharp, "yet he did not whet the edge" - and the reason is that he was too lazy to sharpen it. Had you sharpened the ax, it would cut properly; since you were too lazy to sharpen it, the iron is dull. And what does this cause? "He must exert more strength": when you come to chop with a sharp ax, one or two blows and the wood splits; but with a dull ax - blow after blow after blow, until the wood is finally cut. Thus it turns out that because he was remiss in the easy task - sharpening the ax - he must now exert extra strength and might during the chopping.
And here is the point: the time for sharpening is very easy - while you are still at home. But once you have arrived in the forest to chop wood, where will you sharpen it? There is no whetstone there. Now it is too late, and you must expend great strength to make up for what you failed to prepare beforehand.
From here you can understand "the advantage of wisdom's preparation" (yitron hachsher chochmah). "Hachsher" - Chazal use the verb lehachshir in the sense of preparing one thing for another: machshir lekabbel tum'ah - preparing produce so that it becomes susceptible to ritual impurity; machshirei milah - the preparations that enable circumcision, such as sharpening the knife; machshirei ochel nefesh - preparations that make food fit for consumption. It is like what we call a "training period" (tekufat hachsharah): preparing someone for the task ahead.
The Ibn Ezra explains: if you are too lazy to train your soul in your youth, it will weigh heavily upon you in your old age. And this is a reality. Someone who attended Torah classes in his youth, connected to learning, and sharpened his mind - his axe cuts. When he sits down to learn later in life, he grasps the subject, follows the discussion, possesses the foundational concepts, and everything is vastly easier for him. But one who was not sharpened beforehand, who did not prepare himself in advance - you try to draw him to a shiur and he says, "Rabbi, it is too heavy for me." Why is it heavy? The words of Torah are so sweet, pleasant, and delightful! Yet because he did not push himself in his youth, did not demand of himself, did not exert effort, did not toil, and did not sharpen himself - now, when it is time to cut, the blade is dull. And what will you say, that he should sharpen it now? That is like someone trying to sharpen an axe in the middle of the forest, where there are no tools to sharpen it; in adulthood, it is far more difficult. That does not mean one should despair - Rabbi Akiva began at forty - but the effort must now be vastly greater, and the investment far deeper.
In summary:
A single verse, "If the iron is blunt," opens before us a rich series of perspectives: the heavens sealed on account of misdeeds, rectified through increasing good deeds and repentance; a student who fails to comprehend because his teacher does not show him a welcoming countenance, remedied by enlisting friends to appease him - from which we learn the vital importance of a healthy, supportive relationship between parents and teachers; iron that lost its edge and requires sharpening, corresponding to wisdom that requires mussar, provided it is not delivered through humiliating and alienating blows; a dull sword that is victorious in battle, corresponding to modest Torah scholars through whose merit many soldiers prevail and the world endures; an unorganized Mishnah whose remedy is systematic, consistent study, for "once an error enters, it remains"; a student who wronged his teacher and needs reconciliation; a nation likened to iron that grew dull because of the deeds of the generation; and an axe that was not sharpened in advance, teaching that one who does not prepare his soul in his youth will find it burdensome in his old age. And the single, unifying message: "The advantage of wisdom is preparation" - preparing in advance, in its proper time and place, is worth far more than all the strenuous effort we would have to expend later on.