Chapter 16 of Mishlei deals, among other themes, with kingship: the king's power, his displeasure and his fury, his favor and the light of his countenance. Through the parables of an earthly monarch, Shlomo also teaches us about the true King, the King of kings, and how to obtain favor before Him. In the passage before us, we will examine three verses: the wrath of the king and the light of his face, the acquisition of wisdom and understanding, and the highway of the upright (*mesilat yesharim*), after which the Ramchal named his classic work.
חֲמַת־מֶלֶךְ מַלְאֲכֵי־מָוֶת וְאִישׁ חָכָם יְכַפְּרֶנָּה׃ (יד) - The wrath of a king is like messengers of death, but a wise man will appease it. (14)
בְּאוֹר־פְּנֵי־מֶלֶךְ חַיִּים וּרְצוֹנוֹ כְּעָב מַלְקוֹשׁ׃ (טו) - In the light of a king's countenance is life, and his favor is like a cloud of late rain. (15)
What is the meaning of "like a cloud of late rain"? The Malbim directs us to a verse in Chapter 19: "The king's wrath (*za'af*) is like the roaring of a young lion, but his favor is like dew upon the grass." There Scripture speaks of the king's *za'af* (vexation or sullen anger), whereas here it speaks of the king's *chemah* (burning fury), and there is a profound difference between the two. *Za'af* is lesser than *chemah*. "And he came into his house sullen and vexed (*sar ve'za'ef*)" describes a person who is resentful, harboring an internal brooding anger over a particular matter. *Chemah*, by contrast, is heat, an outright boiling. And *af* (outward anger) is when that boiling sends steam billowing outside, when the rage erupts. *Za'af* is merely the initial stage.
What does *za'af* indicate? A slight displeasure on my part is enough for me to withhold what you request. Do not approach me; do not look to receive favors from me. That is why Scripture specifically chose the image of a young lion (*kefir*): it is the way of the *kefir* to wait in its lair until an animal passes by to seize it, unlike a full-grown lion that roams about in search of prey. The *kefir* is the weaker lion, so it waits in its den. So too, the vexed king does not venture out to strike, but one should not approach him to ask for favors, because he is not in the proper frame of mind. He does not pursue you and does not seek your life; he is merely brooding. Afterwards, when his favor returns, he once again bestows his goodness - "and his favor is like dew upon the grass," like gentle dew falling upon vegetation.
In light of this, our verse becomes clear. "The wrath (*chemah*) of a king" is not mere vexation (*za'af*). When there is fury, "the wrath of a king is like messengers of death" - he no longer sits aside like a young lion waiting for someone to come by, nor is he content merely with you refraining from seeking favors; rather, he dispatches emissaries after you to seize you. At that point, it will not help for just anyone to intervene and calm the situation. Here, "a wise man will appease it" is required - an individual of great wisdom who knows how to defuse this landmine; otherwise, it will explode.
And if, after a long period of fury, his favor finally returns - "and his favor is like a cloud of late rain." It is like rain that was withheld for a long time and finally returns to saturate the earth, for the *malkosh* refers to the spring rains of Nisan. What was not granted throughout the entire winter is now bestowed in the late rains. In the very same way, the king's favor will return to you after the wise man appeases it.
קְנֹה־חׇכְמָה מַה־טּוֹב מֵחָרוּץ וּקְנוֹת בִּינָה נִבְחָר מִכָּסֶף׃ (טז) - How much better it is to acquire wisdom than fine gold, and to acquire understanding is preferable to silver! (16)
Rabbeinu Yonah connects this verse to the preceding one: we have seen that one must secure favor from the King. Upon this foundation, Shlomo comes and teaches how one obtains favor. "And obtains favor from Hashem" - through what? Through silver? Through gold? From Hashem, one cannot obtain favor through silver or gold, for "Mine is the silver, and Mine is the gold, says Hashem." Rather, it is achieved solely through the power of wisdom, which is the labor of Torah study.
This can be understood in both physical and spiritual terms. With a flesh-and-blood king, especially in ancient times, the king was immensely wealthy. If you want to find favor in his eyes, you do not approach him offering a hundred thousand dollars - what could you possibly give him when he is a multimillionaire with not enough banks in the world to hold his wealth? Rather, if the king finds delight in you because you are wise and sharp, that pleases him, and you become his advisor, confidant, and inner circle. Exactly the same applies to the spiritual King, the Holy One, blessed be He, the King of kings: what can you give Him to gain His favor? You have nothing to offer except "To acquire wisdom is how much better than gold" - acquiring Torah is better than gold; "and acquiring understanding" - to deduce one concept from another - "is chosen over silver." For whom did we see appease the king's wrath, quiet his anger, and merit the king's favor? A wise man.
The Malbim explains the verse according to the consistent approach he follows throughout the book. Chokhmah (wisdom) refers to the received teachings transmitted to us from the Torah and the Prophets: how to conduct oneself regarding character traits, what is decent and what is indecent, what is upright and what is not. We have already mentioned that there are no demonstrable logical proofs for chokhmah, for regarding any given matter, one person might say it is decent while another says it is indecent. Therefore, chokhmah is always received by tradition - it must be received from another. If you wish to be merciful, you must be merciful according to the Torah; otherwise, you may be told, "Do not be overly righteous," and ultimately, when you act wickedly, you will be exceedingly wicked. When to have mercy, upon whom to have mercy, and what the correct conduct is - this comes solely from the Holy One, blessed be He. This is chokhmah.
And what is binah (understanding)? It is to understand one matter from another. Once I have received the rules of chokhmah, I begin to examine all kinds of specific details: Is this also decent or indecent? How can I know this? The Holy One, blessed be He, says to you: I have handed down the general principles, and you already possess binah - contemplate and deduce one thing from another. If this particular action is improper, then all the more so is that other action improper. As was once noted: nowhere is it written that one may not place a cat on a Sefer Torah, and the Shulchan Aruch does not say, "One shall not place a cat on a Sefer Torah" - yet we know that this is a disgrace. How do we know? Through the power of deducing one thing from another: if one may not even touch a Sefer Torah with bare hands out of reverence for its sanctity, all the more so one must not place an animal upon it, which is lower than man. This is a simple example of binah, and the same principle applies to all matters, even the most profound.
Yet we must still examine closely: why is chokhmah compared to fine gold (charutz) and binah to silver? Charutz means gold, as we find in several places. What is the difference between silver and gold? The Gemara in Masechet Bava Metzia states: "Kaspa tiv'a, dahava pira" - silver is currency, and gold is a commodity. That is to say: when you go to buy at the grocery, you do not offer a gold bar, even a tiny one; you pay with money (silver). Silver is meant for spending, while gold is among the commodities purchased with money - with money I can buy vegetables at the grocery, and I can also buy gold bullion. Silver is the circulating currency, and gold is the commodity purchased through the power of money. This has major practical ramifications for the laws of interest (ribit) and many other matters: whether the currency's value rose or fell, whether gold became more expensive or cheaper - whether interest applies or not all hinges on this sugya, whether gold is considered a commodity or currency.
Therefore, gold is stored away in treasuries. Gold is something a person buys in order to hide away and preserve; it is an asset, not meant for daily spending. Thus it is written: "For its commerce is better than the commerce of silver, and its yield than fine gold" - silver is for commerce, whereas charutz, gold, is something a person stores away like produce in a granary. Produce, too, can be sold, but I do not use it directly to buy and sell other goods; it is not currency. Rather, one stores it away, and someone comes and buys it from him. The same is true of gold: one stores it, and whoever wants to buy it from you will buy it, but it is not the circulating coin. This is the meaning of "and its yield than fine gold" - the concept of produce (yield) pertains more to gold, which is treated like a commodity.
From this the Malbim explains: chokhmah is what a person treasures in his heart and does not trade with, like grain that is eaten to satisfy one's soul. Regarding this it is said, "To acquire wisdom is how much better than gold" - an acquisition more precious than the gold hidden in a vault. And why? Because the entire worth of gold lies in what one can obtain through it, whereas chokhmah is not measured by what one can obtain through it, but is a great virtue in and of itself.
By contrast - and see how wondrous this is - binah, says the Malbim, is that with which one conducts commerce. For what is binah? To deduce one matter from another: from that specific ruling or concept, I derive a conclusion and apply it to another idea. This is not something hidden away in the heart like chokhmah, which consists of foundational principles treasured in the heart because the Creator transmitted them as such; rather, it is something spent and traded. You state a concept, and I deduce another principle from it, applying it to a different matter. Therefore, he compares binah specifically to silver, for silver, too, generally possesses no intrinsic virtue in itself, but only in what can be acquired in exchange for it. Today we understand this all the more vividly: what is the value of a hundred-dollar bill? Only what can be purchased with it. If tomorrow the United States government were to invalidate the dollar, it would be useless except perhaps to cover the mouth of a flask. The dollar has no intrinsic worth; its entire value lies in what can be purchased with it.
So it is with binah: its power lies in trading with it - learning this halachah or that ethical concept, and deducing from them applications to areas where no explicit teaching was transmitted. And what does one buy with binah? "And acquiring understanding is chosen over silver": with silver, one buys fruits and vegetables, houses, fields, and vineyards; but with binah, one buys chokhmah, which is the most precious thing of all. Through binah, one arrives at conclusions in chokhmah, reveals novel Torah insights, and derives new legal determinations through contemplation and profound analysis. It turns out that this is currency with which one can trade far better than with the money in one's pocket.
מְסִלַּת יְשָׁרִים סוּר מֵרָע שֹׁמֵר נַפְשׁוֹ נֹצֵר דַּרְכּוֹ׃ (יז) - "The highway of the upright is to turn away from evil; he who preserves his soul guards his way." (17)
From this verse the Ramchal drew the title of his work, Mesillat Yesharim, for the highway of the upright leads to departing from evil. Rabbeinu Yonah explains this in light of what we have already learned, "The path of the upright is paved": a person who is naturally upright and yearns for uprightness is able to master his spirit and conduct himself on an upright path, and consequently depart from evil as well. Because he walks on the straight and upright path and does not seek crooked ways, underhanded schemes, or improper means, he turns away from evil.
Rabbeinu Yonah adds: A person must contemplate all his ways - where he is going, how he acts, and how he conducts himself - and be careful not to harbor any character trait that could cause him iniquities and stumbling blocks, such as anger. Anger twists all of a person's ways, causing his actions to be driven by impulses, flare-ups, and vengeance or bearing a grudge against whoever provoked him, which leads to numerous pitfalls. Therefore, at first, a person must take care not to distance himself from the Creator, neither through sins nor through bad character traits that could bring him to sin. This is the first stage.
The same applies to a ba'al teshuvah: With what do we admonish him first? "Depart from evil." One does not tell a person who did teshuvah today to immediately start learning Torah for four hours. Do you desecrate Shabbat? Stop desecrating Shabbat. Are you committing these particular sins? Stop committing them. First and foremost - keep him from transgression. Afterwards, in order to advance further in the service of Hashem, comes the stage of "do good": drawing close to the Creator and attaining love and fear of Him. This is the meaning of "he who guards his soul watches his way" - one who desires to attain the level of love of Hashem and closeness to Him actively guards his path. This level is far higher than merely turning away from evil: I guard my path to walk only along the path of goodness.
The primary effort of the upright, certainly at the beginning of their journey, is to turn away from evil, and it is easier for them to overcome their inclination because they are upright by nature. Often in business, one sees a person who does not cheat; he may not be observant of the mitzvot and may not even know the Ten Commandments, yet by nature he is honest and upright. He may not always withstand the test - for in the face of a great trial he might stumble, which is why the fences and safeguards given by the Torah are necessary - but there are individuals who possess this naturally. And even one who is not naturally upright is required to guard his soul and watch his path, to beware of his inclination and walk along the straight path. This is the proper order for a person at the start of his path: first let him guard himself against transgressions, and in the second stage, let him see how he can continually add more and more in the service of Hashem, rectifying his character traits and aligning them on a higher level.
The Vilna Gaon explains: What is a mesillah (highway)? A road cleared of stones, as in the verses, "Build up, build up, clear the way," and "a highway in the desert." The upright, says the Gra, are people of intellect, and they seek to clear their path and make it a highway, free of stones and obstacles, thereby turning away from evil.
However, even such a person, even an upright individual who examines his actions and strives for his path to be straight, can err - thinking that an obstacle is not a stone, and ultimately stumbling and falling. Even one who straightens his ways and desires to act with integrity can make a mistake. At the beginning of his journey, Rabbi Akiva found a met mitzvah (an unattended corpse) and carried it for a mil to bring it to a Jewish burial. The Sages said to him: For every single step you took carrying this met mitzvah, you were considered as if you had shed blood, for you should have buried him right where he lay, since a met mitzvah acquires its place. Thus we see that even an upright person can make a mistake. And one who wishes to guard his soul from falling into error "watches his way" (notzer darko) - he establishes fences so as not to come to evil. The word notzer is akin to an ir netzurah, a fortified and guarded city.
To use an analogy: A person wishes to travel along a certain road, and he is told there are landmines there. The upright person neutralizes the mines - he walks with a metal detector, or sends an advance vehicle ahead of him to detect and remove them. Is he completely protected? Not necessarily. There may be an object he assumes is merely a scrap of iron when it is actually a mine, or the detector fails to pick it up, and the mine detonates - meaning he made an error in judgment. What is the advice for such a person? When you go to detect mines, wear a heavy flak jacket or travel in an armored vehicle, so that even if you make a mistake and an explosion occurs, you remain protected.
This is the meaning of the verse: "The highway of the upright is to depart from evil" - one who clears the highway of stones so that it becomes a path for the upright thereby departs from evil; yet this is no guarantee that he will not stumble through an error, through an evil he did not realize was evil or something he thought was good that ultimately harmed him. But one who truly wishes to guard his soul does not settle for merely clearing stones from the path; rather, he ensures he is in the category of "watching his way" - surrounding himself with a flak jacket and an armored vehicle, so that even if something detonates, he will not be harmed. So it is in spiritual matters: when a person erects fences and safeguards for himself, they rescue him from all sorts of errors, problems, and harm, because the fence prevents him from ever reaching what is harmful.
To give an example in spiritual matters: There is a person who is cautious with guarding his eyes, saying, "I do not go to places where there is immodesty." Very good - this is "the highway of the upright is to depart from evil"; he walks only in places where there is no concern of immodesty. Yet even in places where there is no concern, is it not possible that an immodest sight might suddenly appear? Certainly, and he might then be harmed. Who, then, is "he who guards his soul"? In our analogy, this is the person who is always careful to walk with his eyes cast downward. He watches his path, and his way is fortified and guarded, so that even if he reaches a place with an explosive mine, he is protected - either inside an armored vehicle or by keeping his eyes cast downward - and consequently he comes to no harm. Thus we find two levels here, and the one who fortifies his way is greater than one who merely departs from evil.
The Malbim explains: A yashar (upright person) is one who is naturally inclined toward uprightness and does not face the same internal battle as a tzaddik. A tzaddik (righteous person) is one who justifies his actions through effort, whose inclination continually pulls him toward evil and yet he overcomes it. Yosef was pulled toward transgression and overcame it - that is why he is called a tzaddik.
Incidentally, this is why one who guards himself against forbidden relations is called a tzaddik, and the title tzaddik is reserved specifically for one who is guarded against immorality - Yosef HaTzaddik, and "for you have I seen righteous before Me in this generation" (Bereishit 7:1). And as for what is written regarding Noach, "a righteous man, wholehearted (tamim)" - what is the difference between tzaddik and tamim? A tzaddik is guarded in matters of morality, while tamim refers to matters of outlook and belief, that he was not drawn after idolatry and after futile and corrupted ideologies. The Beit Yosef raises a difficulty: Why does Scripture state in one place, "for you have I seen righteous before Me in this generation," and in another place, "a righteous man, wholehearted"? He answers: Noach lived through two eras. In the Generation of the Flood, whose sin was that "all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth" - wasting their seed and sinning in immorality - corresponding to them, since Noach was guarded from this, it was fitting to call him a tzaddik. Noach also lived in the Generation of the Dispersion (the Tower of Bavel), where the flaw was in faith - "Let us ascend and wage war against Him; it is not fitting for Him to choose the upper realms for Himself and cast us into the lower realms" - and corresponding to them, Noach possessed the virtue termed tamim. Therefore, when the Holy One, Blessed be He, speaks about that generation and commands him to enter the Ark, He says, "for you have I seen righteous (tzaddik) before Me in this generation." But when Scripture comes to describe the entirety of Noach's life, it says, "Noach was a righteous man, wholehearted in his generations" - in both generations in which he lived, and in relation to both of them he was both tzaddik and tamim. While this is not directly our subject, it was well worth mentioning this sweet insight.
In any event, we have learned what a tzaddik is - one who guards himself against forbidden relations. And the Malbim explains that a tzaddik experiences an internal war, for every psychologically healthy person has an attraction to forbidden relations: "The soul of a person covets theft and forbidden relations" (Makkot 23b). A person to whom money means nothing at all needs therapy, and likewise, a person who has no attraction whatsoever to forbidden relations has a problem. The Holy One, Blessed be He, created man with this drive in order that he populate and build the world, and one who succeeds in overcoming this nature is called a tzaddik, because it is a constant struggle waged deep within the person.
An upright person (yashar), however, is straight from the outset. He has no outward deviations and no evil inclinations seeking to overpower him; rather, from the very beginning he is drawn only to doing good. It follows that the yashar has a paved highway, as Shlomo states, "the way of the upright is a paved highway" - and through this very nature he turns away from evil. If you wish, here is an analogy: each of us is an "upright person" when it comes to taking drugs. We have no attraction to it, and we have no internal struggle with it whatsoever. In that respect, you are walking on a paved road, and there is no need to warn you to be careful lest there be a landmine here - what landmine? If I see someone taking drugs, will I suddenly crave it? I have no such inclination at all, and no desire for it whatsoever. It is a paved road, and a person walks along it without any difficulty.
But one who does not have a paved, clear path, and must traverse a rough and bumpy road - he faces a challenge. When you drive on an unpaved road, you can get a flat tire; there are stones, there are nails, there are all sorts of hazards along that route. "Many fight against him to divert him from the path and bring about spiritual death," in the words of the Malbim. Such a person might say: If only I were a yashar, if only I did not have this constant inner battle, but I do not fit the category of an upright person whose path is paved. What counsel does Shlomo offer him? "He who guards his soul watches his way" - your path requires extra vigilance. When you drive on a highway, you press the gas pedal, and what could happen? But when you drive on a dirt track or Burma Road, an unpaved and rugged road, you shift down and drive very slowly, lest you accelerate, hit a pothole, and break something in the car. So too, one who has not attained the level of the "highway of the upright," who says: I was not born straight; I was born with drives, desires, and impulses to stray from the path - his counsel is "watches his way." You are walking on a rough, obstacle-filled road: take care, proceed step by step, and guard your path, so that you do not wander after crooked paths and so that all those temptations and trials do not succeed in causing you to stumble and bringing you harm.
We learned that displeasure (za'af) is lesser than fury (cheimah): a king displaying displeasure is like the growl of a young lion - do not ask favors of him, yet he does not actively pursue; whereas a king's fury dispatches messengers of death, and only a wise person can appease it, whereupon his favor returns like a rain cloud in spring. From this we learned that the favor of the King - above all, the King of kings - cannot be acquired with silver and gold, but only with wisdom (chochmah), which is the Torah. Wisdom is compared to fine gold (charutz), the treasure concealed and stored in the heart, whose value is intrinsic; and understanding (binah) is compared to silver, the currency of commerce - for through it one deduces one thing from another and thereby acquires wisdom itself. Finally, we learned the order of divine service: "The highway of the upright is to turn away from evil" - to clear away the stones and distance oneself from sin; and "he who guards his soul watches his way" - to erect fences and safeguards, to tread slowly and cautiously along an unpaved road, and to remain protected even where an unseen landmine might lie.