Introduction: The Verses at the End of the Chapter - Types of Harmful People in Speech and Action
In this section of Chapter 16, King Solomon enumerates several types of people who cause harm to others: a perverse man (ish tahpuchot), a chronic complainer and talebearer (nirgan), a man of violence (ish chamas), and one whose actions are conducted through subtle hints and winks. Three consecutive verses begin with the word "man" (ish), followed by the verse describing someone who orchestrates evil beneath the surface. At the end comes a verse of light: the path to longevity. Let us examine the verses in order and explore the explanations of Rashi, Rabbeinu Yonah, the Vilna Gaon, and the Malbim.
A Perverse Man and a Grumbler - Two Who Drive Wedges
אִישׁ תַּהְפֻּכוֹת יְשַׁלַּח מָדוֹן, וְנִרְגָּן מַפְרִיד אַלּוּף. (כח) - "A perverse man sows strife, and a grumbler alienates a close friend." (16:28)
Rashi explains: "A grumbler alienates a close friend" - by being a chronic complainer, a person alienates himself from the Master of the Universe (Alufo shel Olam). And who is the nirgan? This is the person who complains constantly, as the verse says, "You grumbled (vateiragnu) in your tents and said, 'Because the Lord hates us, He brought us out of the land of Egypt.'" He always plays the victim - people always took from him, deprived him, everyone is against him, no one ever gives him a chance, and his mouth is filled with nothing but complaints. In his eyes, nothing ever happens by chance: everything people do is specifically intended to undermine him, and he detects conspiracies concocted just to target him.
In more severe cases, this borders on psychological disturbance, may God have mercy. Such situations are not uncommon - people often approach others to share these grievances, because a person like this feels constantly victimized and feels compelled to tell anyone who will listen: "Did you see what they did to me? Did you see the hand signal he gave him? He was hinting at me!" One could spend hours recounting the wild imaginations people harbor about what others allegedly did to them. In such cases, the recommendation - offered with utmost seriousness, never mockingly - is to consult a God-fearing Torah-observant mental health professional for proper treatment. Sometimes an individual truly sees mountains where there are only shadows, descending into irrational fears and paranoid scenarios about what people are plotting against him.
There was a case of someone who refused to heed such advice. After some time, when his son was asked how his father was doing, he replied that he was hospitalized in a psychiatric facility, Heaven spare us. Already from the outset, when he began weaving tales about people scheming to break up marriages, it was clear that the man urgently needed help. But either funds were lacking, or, as is often the primary tragedy, such individuals are thoroughly convinced that they are completely fine and that everyone else needs help. If this tendency is not halted early on, it only spreads. That is the definition of a nirgan: a person who constantly perceives schemes against him, sees conspiracies everywhere, and is perpetually filled with grievances.
Rabbeinu Yonah: Upholding the Path of Falsehood
Rabbeinu Yonah explains that "a perverse man" (ish tahpuchot) is someone accustomed to justifying the path of falsehood and clinging to injustice in his dealings with people, refusing to recognize the ways of truth. "Perverseness" (tahpuchot) means someone who consistently walks contrary to the upright path, always producing arguments that falsehood is truth and that the wicked act properly. We all know contrarians: whatever you say, they will find a way to argue the exact opposite, always insisting on the reverse position.
And what is the result? "He sows strife." Because he will always treat you dishonestly and unjustly, always proving that the crooked is straight, and convincing you that the blatant wrong he did to you was actually for your benefit and that you even owe him for it. Moreover, says Rabbeinu Yonah, he will always justify himself: he never finds fault in his own conduct, is never wrong, and the crooked path appears upright in his eyes. It is impossible to deal with such a person. One must distance oneself from a perverse man, because in the end he "sows strife" - you will inevitably end up in conflict with him.
Rabbeinu Yonah and the Malbim: Who Is the "Aluf" Alienated by the Grumbler?
"And a grumbler" - Rabbeinu Yonah explains: this is one who inverts words and actions from good to bad, judging others unfavorably and with malice. In any human interaction, people inevitably do things that could be interpreted in more than one way. In relationships - with friends, in the study hall, at home with one's spouse and children - there are always actions open to two interpretations: one can judge them favorably or unfavorably. The grumbler will always look for how you intended to trip him up, convinced that whatever you did was deliberate malice: it was not a coincidence that you were there, but rather that you knew he was coming and showed up intentionally, orchestrated so that things would look a certain way and so you could say that to him. This is the nirgan - the person who constantly interprets his fellow's innocent actions in a negative light and hunts for faults in them.
And such a person alienates a close mentor ("aluf"). Who is this aluf? The Malbim explains - and this can also be understood through the words of Rabbeinu Yonah - that he distances even his teacher, his rebbi, from him. "Aluf" is related to "I will teach you (a'alpecha) wisdom" - this refers to the teacher. Even in the person who imparts wisdom to him, the complainer will search for faults and imagine negative motives, and will therefore distance himself from him as well.
The Gra: Dancing at Every Wedding
The Vilna Gaon explains an "ish tahpuchot" (a duplicitous person) differently from what we have explained thus far: this is a person who gets along with everyone. Why does he get along with everyone? Because to this one he says, "Right, it seems to me that you are correct," and to the second, who says the exact opposite, he says, "There is a great deal of logic in what you say; I think you are completely right," and to the third, "Your words are as if spoken in prophecy, straight from Heaven." This is someone who dances at every wedding.
Like the famous story of the rabbi before whom two litigants appeared. He listened to the first and told him: "Yes, you are right." He listened to the second and told him: "Correct, you are right." His wife intervened and said: "How can that be? Both this one is right and that one is right? Each one is making completely contradictory claims!" He said to her: "To tell you the truth, you are also right." With such a person, everyone is right. Everyone is fine in his eyes, and he manages to stay on good terms with all of them.
It is the same today: there is no right and no left, everyone is in the center. Are you in favor of conceding territory? "Right, there is no choice; it is impossible to govern so many Palestinians." Are you against? "Listen, reality has shown that we gave back territories and it gained us nothing; the other side needs to mature first." Leaders walk between the raindrops: you will hear whatever you want to hear. If you want to hear that land is being returned - "I support two states for two peoples," because without that you cannot get past the media. And in practice? "The other side is not yet ready; there are processes that must be given time." In this way, he satisfies both the one who demands concessions and the one who opposes them - after all, in the end, no land was given away. This is the reality of the politician: he needs to get along with everyone in order to win everyone's votes.
And such an individual is precisely the one who stirs up conflict. For when I am with you, you think I am entirely on your side; I hear what you plan to do, and then I go to your friend and tell him: "Do not get involved, but only because I am your friend am I warning you - watch out for so-and-so." That person trusted him and confided in him because he thought he was his friend, and now the second person says: "What a wonderful friend this is, who came to warn me of what that person wants to do to me." Through this, quarrels erupt. This is the meaning of "An ish tahpuchot sows strife": one who turns to every side causes friction and disputes between people.
A Man of Violence - Temptation and the Evil Path
אִישׁ חָמָס יְפַתֶּה רֵעֵהוּ, וְהוֹלִיכוֹ בְּדֶרֶךְ לֹא־טוֹב. (כט) - A man of violence entices his fellow, and leads him in a way that is not good.
It is the way of a man of violence to entice his fellow. And do not believe in yourself until the day of your death - do not say, "This will not harm me; it will not affect me." The mere proximity to a wicked person, to a man of violence, already tempts you toward wrongdoing, and he will eventually lead you down a destructive path. Do not imagine that you are immune and that you will not be seduced.
The Vilna Gaon explains: one whose intention is to rob and extort his fellow's money first entices him and then leads him in a way that is not good. That is to say, when he wants to rob him, he cannot do so in front of other people; he therefore lures him onto a remote path, a desolate way, and there attacks him and steals his wealth.
The Gra adds: these three concepts correspond to the three dimensions of thought, speech, and action, as well as to body, soul, and wealth. "Ish beliya'al" (a base person) relates to thought, to the soul. "Ish tahpuchot" relates to speech - his words shift from one person to another (the Gra does not explain this quite as we did earlier, but these are additional facets, and all of it is true). "Ish chamas" relates to action, when he steals money. Notice that the word "ish" (man) appears here three times. These also correspond to the three elements in the verse, "Who is the man who desires life": ish beliya'al corresponds to "Guard your tongue from evil"; ish tahpuchot corresponds to "and your lips from speaking deceit," which is speech; and ish chamas corresponds to "Turn away from evil and do good" - to turn away from doing evil, such as robbery and the like.
The Malbim explains according to the straightforward meaning: there is a person who harms his fellow through enticement and leads him onto bad paths. "Ways that are not good" serves as a metaphor - meaning that he lures him into environments where he never should have set foot. This is particularly noticeable among youth: on his own, a young person would never venture into such a place - an immodest environment, a place where people cool his fear of Heaven - but under the influence of this friend, an ish chamas, "he entices his fellow and leads him in a way that is not good." And later on, once he grows accustomed to visiting questionable environments of that kind, he will already go there on his own.
Shutting the Eyes - Evil Operating Beneath the Surface
עֹצֶה עֵינָיו לַחְשֹׁב תַּהְפֻּכוֹת, קֹרֵץ שְׂפָתָיו כִּלָּה רָעָה. (ל) - He shuts his eyes to devise perversities; pursing his lips, he brings evil to completion.
Rashi explains that otzeh (עוצה) means closing or shutting the eyes, related to winking or squinting, as in "I will close my eyes to you" (and not from the root of eitzah, counsel). "Brings evil to completion" (kilah ra'ah) means evil is determined through him, causing harm to enter the world. And whom is this describing? According to Rashi, it refers to a person who conducts his affairs covertly: with a wink, pursing his lips, never speaking openly and clearly, but managing everything beneath the surface - inciting this person, winking at that person, and telling another, "Don't worry, we'll take care of it." Everything with him is under the table. Such a person "devises perversities," and in deed "brings evil to completion" - causing calamity to come into the world.
Rabbeinu Yonah explains that this is a continuation of the previous verse, referring to the man of violence who seeks to rob his fellow. The person driven by covetousness and lust is so clinging to his desires that he entices his neighbor and draws everyone after him, with all his limbs serving to execute his lusts. Even when he sees evil directly before his eyes, he does not fear, tremble, or draw back; instead, "he shuts his eyes" - closing his eyes to devise perversities. Once the evil thought forms, he purses his lips and carries out the evil.
The meaning of this is: sometimes, when a person sees that his path is corrupt and leading him toward the edge of an abyss, he stops and decides not to continue along that line. But the man of violence entices his fellow and leads him down an unwholesome path. Even though he sees that ultimately this brings only ruin upon himself, he closes his eyes to the evil he is inflicting and to the corruption of his ways, simply to continue devising perversities. Not only that, but he puts it into action by pursing his lips, enticing his companion and leading him on a path that is not good - realizing the wicked plan he harbored in his heart.
The Vilna Gaon: Thought, Speech, and Action
The Vilna Gaon explains that there is a progression here. When a person wants to contemplate something or recall a memory, he closes his eyes - shutting one's eyes is a sign of attempting to think and concentrate. This is "he shuts his eyes to devise perversities": first, he closes his eyes to plot wicked schemes against his fellow. Next, "purses his lips" - he brings these matters into speech, stirring conflict, speaking disparagingly, inciting strife, spreading lashon hara and gossip. Finally, "he brings evil to completion" - from that speech a great fire erupts, conflict ensues, and this is the action. Thought, speech, and action: shutting his eyes to devise is thought; pursing his lips is speech; bringing evil to completion is translating it into action.
The Malbim: The Wink Itself Reveals the Heart
The Malbim explains: one who hints with his eyes as though offering counsel is already devising perversities, as it is written, "He winks with his eyes, perversities are in his heart." The wink itself already exposes the thoughts in his head. You do not need to hear a single word from him: you ask him about someone who wants to do such-and-such, and he winks at you - as if to say, don't worry, I am already taking care of things, I will bring him down, I will dig a pit for him. Nothing needs to be said; the mere shutting or winking of his eyes already reveals perverse thoughts. Incidentally, this is part of the Al Cheit confession recited on Yom Kippur - "for the sin we committed... with a wink of the eye" - for winking to signal improper deeds; the wink itself exposes the negativity and wickedness within his heart.
We are speaking here of a wink that serves as a sign of ill intent toward another. In truth, you do not see upright, decent people resorting to winking. Of course, if someone made a lighthearted joke with a wink, harming no one and undermining no one, that is not what is being discussed. This refers to a wink that reveals insidious plotting lurking within.
Says the Malbim: the mere fact that he shuts his eyes means he is already devising perversities; and when he purses his lips, speaking in hints rather than clear speech, he has already "brought evil to completion." He begins with a hint of the eye, and with a gesture of the lips he already finishes the deed. What is the verse coming to demonstrate through this? How effortless evil has become to him: he eats it for breakfast, barely even noticing, committing malice casually - so accustomed has he become to walking in evil paths.
A Crown of Splendor Is Gray Hair
עֲטֶרֶת תִּפְאֶרֶת שֵׂיבָה, בְּדֶרֶךְ צְדָקָה תִּמָּצֵא. (לא) - A crown of glory is old age; it is found in the way of righteousness. (31)
Rashi explains according to the straightforward meaning: How does one attain a glorious crown of old age, and what is the formula for long life? "It is found in the way of righteousness" - through charity and righteousness, one merits long life.
In summary: In these verses, King Solomon teaches us to distance ourselves from three types of people: the perverse, duplicitous person - whether he clings to falsehood and twists what is crooked into straight, or whether he is someone who superficially gets along with everyone and shifts in every direction - whose end is that he "spreads strife"; the chronic grumbler, who always complains and always judges others unfavorably, to the point that he alienates the Master of the Universe and even the teacher who instructs him in wisdom; and the man of violence, who entices his fellow and leads him along a path that is not good, until he walks there on his own. As for one whose wickedness is conducted through subtle gestures and winks - the very winking of his eye reveals the duplicity in his heart, and the path from thought to speech, and from speech to action, is short and swift, until doing evil becomes trivial in his eyes. In contrast to all of these, "A crown of glory is old age; it is found in the way of righteousness" - the path to longevity and true honor is the path of righteousness.