Chapter 17 of Mishlei deals with many character traits and ways of life, and within it lies a single verse that serves almost as a key to a person's entire path in Torah study. This lesson is dedicated entirely to this one verse - the verse that contrasts the discerning person with the fool, not by the quantity of their knowledge, but by where they look for wisdom: whether it stands before them, right here within reach, or far away at the ends of the earth.
אֶת־פְּנֵי מֵבִין חָכְמָה וְעֵינֵי כְסִיל בִּקְצֵה־אָרֶץ׃ (משלי יז, כד) - Wisdom is before the discerning person, but the eyes of a fool are at the ends of the earth (Mishlei 17:24).
Rashi explains: Wisdom is right in front of the discerning person. That is, the discerning person absorbs and understands wisdom, and it stands right before him. But the fool - when people say to him, "Come, there is wisdom here," he replies, "It is too far, it is at the ends of the earth! How can I review Seder Nezikin, which is thirty chapters? Masechet Keilim is thirty chapters! Masechet Shabbat is twenty-four chapters, corresponding to the twenty-four bridal adornments - how can I do that? Do you know how much that is? It is enormous!" This is "the eyes of a fool are at the ends of the earth."
The wise person, by contrast - "Wisdom is before the discerning person." Today he learns two chapters, tomorrow two chapters, saying to himself, "This is how all those who came before me succeeded." How did this sage or that sage achieve what they achieved? "He who gathers little by little shall increase." Today he learns a little, tomorrow a little, the next day a little, and suddenly within seven years he has completed Shas! The fool, on the other hand, counts the pages in advance and despairs: "Do you know how many chapters that is? How many pages? How could I possibly do it?"
Rabbeinu Yonah explains that the discerning person (*meivin*) is someone who loves to contemplate words of wisdom, and also possesses a heart to understand them. As we have already seen, both elements are required together: both a heart capable of understanding wisdom, and a love for wisdom, so that he actively seeks and pursues it. That is the discerning person.
From this follows the continuation of his words: if there are no great sages in his town, the discerning person seeks out and learns from whomever is available. The fool says, "If the Chofetz Chaim were here, I would run to him; if the Ben Ish Chai were here, I would go only to him - I connect only to him!" Well, but he is not here. There are teachers here who may be lesser than him, but there is still much you can receive from them. "No, only the Ben Ish Chai for me!" The wise person says, "True, I would be thrilled if my rebbe were the Ben Ish Chai, but if I do not have him, and this rabbi or that scholar is here - he knows something I do not know; let him teach me what he knows." Through this approach, he achieves and receives from everyone, accepting the truth from whoever speaks it. "Wisdom is before the discerning person" - the discerning person looks at whoever is standing right in front of him and receives wisdom from him. Perhaps it is not the absolute pinnacle, but he gains what is available.
Sometimes this folly is seen among yeshivah students who insist on enrolling only in a specific, elite yeshivah for top talents, and if they cannot get in, they do not learn at all. Why? Because it is not *that* yeshivah. That is a fool. Learn with what you have today! Are you really so brilliant that the rabbi in this yeshivah has nothing to teach you? Furthermore, who says the elite yeshivah is best for you? Sometimes the opposite is true. Sometimes the competition there is fierce, the pressures break him, whereas in a less prestigious yeshivah he is considered outstanding, nurtured, encouraged, and given stature in the yeshivah and the shiur. Who says that the most prestigious place is necessarily the better one? One who insists, "I want only that place, only that sage, only that rebbe" - will certainly fail to acquire wisdom. A person must humble himself and learn from anyone.
About this, Chazal say: A full vessel can hold more, while an empty vessel holds nothing, as it says, "He gives wisdom to the wise" (Daniel 2:21). Wisdom is structured in the exact opposite way from all natural knowledge. If one wants a cup filled with water, it must first be emptied; if the vessel is already full, nothing more can be poured in. With wisdom, however, it is the reverse: if a person wants to be filled with wisdom, he must fill his mind with wisdom, and through that, more will be granted to him. For someone who seeks to learn from everyone, from everything, from every topic - an endless flow of wisdom is poured upon him. But someone who insists exclusively on "that particular teacher" - this is "the eyes of a fool are at the ends of the earth"; he seeks out specifically the one at the edge of the world, refuses to learn from the people of his own town, and is left barren and devoid of wisdom. As the Sages taught: Do not say, "When I have free time I will study," lest you never have free time. "When I have time, I will travel there and learn from him" - but who says you will ever have time? And who says you will ever get there at all? Meanwhile, you are left empty, because you did not learn from those who are right here either.
This is something that must always be stressed to people. A person is asked: Why do you not attend the shiur? He answers: To tell the truth, I feel a deep connection specifically to Rabbi Ploni. Do you actually attend his shiur? No, the hours do not work for me. If so, put aside for now whom you feel connected with! Your available window is between eight and ten in the morning, and during those hours Rabbi Ploni is not teaching here; only Rabbi Almoni is. "But I connected with Rabbi Ploni" - what difference does that make? Rabbi Ploni delivers a shiur while you are at work, whereas Rabbi Almoni teaches when you are free. Go to the one from whom you can actually learn right now!
Therefore, the rule must always be: Never leave one shiur until you have another. A person says, "I am looking for such-and-such a shiur" - and what comes of it? You abandoned the previous class, you are still searching, and you are left completely empty. A person who craves steak does not stop eating bread until the steak is served! Keep eating bread, and when the steak arrives, you can switch. In the meantime - eat bread. Remaining without any Torah class at all simply because one is looking for something extraordinary is precisely "the eyes of a fool are at the ends of the earth."
What causes this mindset? Rabbeinu Yonah explains: It stems from his pride and haughtiness of heart. "I only learn from that eminent sage," "This teacher is not distinguished enough for me," "I do not study under just anyone." What is this if not arrogance and haughtiness? The person imagines that to teach him Torah, one needs the greatest scholar in the world, as if others have nothing of value to offer him.
Rabbeinu Yonah adds: It is due to haughtiness of heart and a lack of love for wisdom, for his only desire from it is self-aggrandizement and authority. There are two distinct flaws here. The first is arrogance. The second is the pursuit of prestige: "Do you know who I learn from? I am a disciple of Sage Ploni!" Kabbalah he will study only from one specific master, and Daf Yomi only from that renowned teacher.
Furthermore, if one truly valued the words of Torah themselves, he would receive them from anyone. If someone came and offered you a thousand shekels right now, would you say to him: "If it is not Warren Buffett, I refuse to accept it; at most I might settle for Bill Gates, but from an ordinary person - absolutely not"? Would anyone ever say such a thing? Whoever wishes to give - the cash register is right here, fill it up! With money, we understand this perfectly, and we never demand a prestigious donor, because we genuinely love money. If we loved Torah in the same way, we would say: Who wants to teach me? Do you have something to tell me? I am ready to listen. Do you have a novel insight to share? I am eager to hear. If a person truly possessed a love for Torah, he would fulfill the verse, "From all my teachers I have gained understanding." But because he lacks genuine love for Torah and seeks only self-aggrandizement, he is occupied with boasting about who his Rebbe is and from whom he received Torah. This, says Rabbeinu Yonah, stems entirely from the haughtiness and pride of his heart.
To understand the explanation of the Vilna Gaon, let us first recall the verse: "A wise man's heart is at his right hand, but a fool's heart is at his left" (Kohelet 10:2). In the yeshivah world, this is explained through a practical scenario: people begin studying a tractate and reach page ten. The heart of the wise man says: Baruch Hashem, we have mastered ten pages with Rashi and Tosafot, how wonderful! The fool's heart says: Look, only ten pages, but there are still one hundred and sixty left; if ten pages took us this much time, when will we ever finish the entire tractate? A wise heart looks to the right - how much I have accomplished. A fool's heart looks to the left - how much still remains. And then he breaks down and despairs.
And this is what the Vilna Gaon explains: The fool's eyes are at the ends of the earth - he looks all the way to the distant edge. "Wow, it is so far away, how much more I still have to learn, it is simply too much, I give up." The moment study begins, his eyes are already longing for the Siyum HaShas. You have only just started Masechet Berachot, and you are already asking when we will finish all of Shas and counting pages? Rejoice in what you have achieved! Why look prematurely at the far ends?
The Vilna Gaon, in his characteristic way, explains this on a deeper level. In the world, there are three categories that the ancient thinkers discussed extensively: the good, the pleasant, and the beneficial. The pleasant relates to the pleasures and desires of this world. It is neither good nor beneficial, but it is pleasant; it tastes good. The good and the beneficial are both positive; what is the difference between them? The beneficial brings its benefit only after some time, whereas the good is good right now.
For example, take bitter medicine: is it good, or is it beneficial? It is beneficial. It is not good, because it is bitter and unpleasant to taste; but after some time, the fever will subside. On the other hand, if a sick person is told to eat an orange and that it will heal him, this is called good, because he enjoys eating it in the moment, and it also brings benefit. Thus, both are considered positive, except that the good is already good immediately, while the beneficial is not good for me right now; rather, a benefit will emerge from it in the future.
Now let us apply this to the realm of the World to Come. The pleasant corresponds to someone who studies so that people will call him "Rabbi," to obtain a diploma, to draw a salary, or to attain success. This is like a person who eats purely out of appetite. There is no mitzvah of Torah study here, no bringing pleasure to one's Creator, and no study for its own sake; rather, "I am looking for a job; I could just as well have studied mathematics, but I study Torah because my prospects for earning a livelihood are greater here." This is the lowest of the three.
The beneficial corresponds to a person who engages in Torah in order to know the practical halachic ruling. While he is studying Torah, he is not engaged in it to bring pleasure to his Creator, but solely to know the conclusion. As a result, right now, so to speak, it is bitter for him, and when will it be sweet? At the end of the sugya, when he reaches the bottom line and knows the ruling. This is like medicine: swallowing it is unpleasant, but in the end it proves beneficial.
And the good corresponds to a person who studies to bring pleasure to his Creator and fulfill the commandment of his Maker. For even as you are studying, you are bringing pleasure to Hashem, and already then you attain goodness: what joy I have, studying Hashem's Torah and pleasing my Creator! This is called good, because in the very act itself it is already good - beyond the fact that later on I will also know the halachic ruling.
This is what is written in Kohelet: "There is nothing better for a person than that he eat and drink and cause his soul to enjoy good in his toil; this too I saw, that it is from the hand of God." The Vilna Gaon explains: goodness is not merely that a person eat and drink - that is, engage in Torah and mitzvot - unless he also "causes his soul to enjoy good in his toil," seeing to it that his soul finds goodness in the very labor itself. For one who learns for the sake of Heaven, the toil itself is good for him, and this is true goodness. He delights in the very engagement in Torah, for through this he brings pleasure before Him, blessed be He. Otherwise, the endeavor can be merely beneficial: if you only want to reach the final halachic ruling, that is beneficial, but it is not genuinely good.
According to this, the verse is understood: "Wisdom is before the understanding person" - the understanding person sees the wisdom directly before him and takes pleasure in it, since his intention is to fulfill the commandment of his Creator in the study itself. But the fool studies only to know the laws, meaning for the sake of the conclusion, which falls only under the category of the beneficial. Consequently, he does not enjoy his study at all; when will he enjoy it? Only at the end, when he reaches the final ruling. Regarding this it is said, "but the eyes of a fool are at the ends of the earth": when will the fool begin to derive benefit from his study? Only at the edge, only when he reaches the very end. The understanding person, by contrast, embodies the quality of the good, for the very study of wisdom is already good for him; he already senses that he has acquired wisdom before even reaching the ruling, because the study itself brings pleasure to Hashem. Even if I did not reach a final conclusion, even if I was left with an unresolved question, I toiled in Hashem's Torah and thereby already merited to bring pleasure before Him, blessed be He.
The Malbim explains: "Wisdom is before the understanding person" - the ways of wisdom are inherently close to the nature of the human soul, as long as it has not been defiled by worldly desires and the enticements of the heart's inclinations that oppose the ways of wisdom. He is saying something truly remarkable here. By nature, through simple common sense, man agrees with the fundamentals of morality. The fact that in practice you see people expressing contrary opinions and ideologies is because those individuals have become defiled by desires and material pursuits that distance them from sound reason, and as a result, they find merit, virtue, and advantage in all kinds of perversions and immoral behaviors.
In truth, however, if we look at man as God made him - straight and upright - everyone agrees that theft is wrong, that murder is wrong, that adultery is wrong, and that bearing grudges, taking vengeance, arrogance, lust, and covetousness are all negative. This is built into the human being. But because man is drawn after his desires - "and you shall be defiled by them" (venitmeitem bam), which Chazal expound as venitamtem bam, "and you shall become spiritually dulled by them" - it dulls his mind and judgment. Then he tells you: there are people whose situation is such that one must take from them to distribute to the poor. He turns himself into Robin Hood, arguing that they have plenty. But can one simply rob anyone? Tomorrow someone will rob you! Similarly, there are those who come up with justifications for infidelity and the like: "Man should be natural; animals are not bound to a single framework. Just as a bull has several cows, what is wrong with a person being here today and there tomorrow? Why be constrained?" Where do all these notions and ideas come from? The Malbim explains: they come from a person having dulled his own mind and internalized the enticements of the heart's inclinations that oppose the ways of wisdom.
However, one who reflects upon the wisdom standing before him realizes that it is engraved in the very fabric of his divine soul. When the Holy One, Blessed is He, engraved the divine soul within you, He engraved the foundations of morality, which are universal principles accepted by all. This is a fascinating point we have noted before: that portion of the Ten Commandments dealing with interpersonal relations is universally accepted. No one in the world would argue as an ideology that it is proper to dishonor one's father and mother - we are not speaking of an individual whose father wronged him, but of a general philosophy; no such person exists, and you will never hear such a philosophy. No one in the world would claim that murder is a good thing and that a healthy society is built on murder; even the cannibal was merely looking for an excuse to eat something, which is not an ideology. Nor will you find any society anywhere claiming that robbery is positive and that a healthy society is founded on theft - no such ideology exists, not even in the deepest jungles of Africa. And incidentally, the same applies to basic matters of modesty: almost no one in the world fails to recognize that human dignity is expressed when one is clothed rather than exposed, and virtually no philosophy disputes this.
How is it, then, that one suddenly hears distorted views on the fringes of society? To this, the Malbim explains: it is the seductions of the heart's evil inclination that oppose the ways of wisdom, occurring after a person has defiled himself with worldly desires. But without that defilement and without those distortions, what the Holy One, Blessed is He, implanted within you from the very beginning - the baseline software of every human being - is justice, integrity, morality, modesty, and holiness, all engraved into the very foundations of the soul that Hashem fashioned within him.
This is the meaning of the verse: "Wisdom is before the understanding person" - wisdom, which is morality as we have consistently defined it, stands directly before him, right in front of him, self-evident, requiring little explanation. "While the eyes of a fool are at the ends of the earth" - the fool, whose twisted nature opposes wisdom and morality, searches for wisdom at the ends of the earth. He tells you: "There is no need for all these moral constraints; they only bind a person and restrict him. A person should act naturally - if you feel like stealing, steal; if you feel like disparaging someone, disparage him; if you feel like speaking lashon hara and humiliating someone, humiliate him." And why is it not obvious to him that this is unjust, dishonest, indecent, and immoral? Because he has defiled himself with worldly desires, so wisdom is no longer close or accessible to him. For him, it is distant, at the ends of the earth, not standing right before him; he must travel a long distance with great exertion just to find the proper, upright path - the very path implanted within the wise person, and within every human being, as an intrinsic part of his creation.
"Wisdom is before the understanding person, while the eyes of a fool are at the ends of the earth" is expounded in several ways, and they all converge on a single point: the understanding person finds wisdom right here and now, while the fool always defers it to a distance. According to Rashi - the understanding person learns little by little, "he who gathers little by little will increase," while the fool is overwhelmed by the sheer volume. According to Rabbeinu Yonah - the understanding person accepts the truth from whoever speaks it and learns from anyone before him, whereas the fool, out of pride, a pursuit of status, and a lack of true love for wisdom, insists on seeking only the distant luminary, and ends up empty-handed. According to the Vilna Gaon - the understanding person rejoices in whatever he has achieved and learns for the sake of Heaven, so the very act of study is already "good" for him, while the fool conditions his satisfaction entirely on the conclusion, so all his learning remains "at the ends of the earth." And according to the Malbim - wisdom and morality are engraved upon the human soul and stand right before a person's eyes, and only one who has defiled himself with worldly desires banishes them from himself and searches for them at the ends of the earth. The practical takeaway is simple: do not leave behind the bread you have in front of you while waiting for a steak that might never arrive. Learn today, from whoever is available, whatever is at hand - this is the way of the understanding person.