In chapter 20 of Mishlei we arrive at three verses bound together by a single thread: the verse about the inheritance gotten hastily, the verse warning against repaying evil for evil, and the verse about two kinds of weights and dishonest scales. We will study them according to the Malbim, alongside the Ralbag, the Gra, Rabbenu Yonah and the Metzudat David, with each one opening for us a different angle on the same great principle: that which comes through toil is blessed, and that which comes hastily and by shortcuts has no blessing in it.
נַחֲלָה מְבֹהֶלֶת בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה וְאַחֲרִיתָהּ לֹא תְבֹרָךְ׃ (כ, כא) - An inheritance gotten hastily at the beginning, its end will not be blessed. (20:21)
The Ralbag, in his way, brings the matter to questions of ethics. He opens and says: Know that a person very often has no desire to labor and toil. And especially in our generation, where everyone looks for everything instantly. Why are you not working? "Because I have not yet found a suitable job." And why has he not found one? Because he is looking for a CEO position, and it has not yet opened up; and in the places where it did open up, for some reason they failed to recognize his virtues and talents. Or perhaps he only failed to market himself properly, that is the whole problem. And for some reason they insist on asking him about his experience, a question he does not understand at all: let them give him a chance, he will show them, and then he will have experience too. They tell him: start from the bottom, four thousand shekels. Come on now, with my skills? With my knowledge?
At this point we owe thanks and appreciation to the immigrants from Russia. A considerable number of them arrived here with degrees, and I am not speaking of someone who bought a degree for a pair of socks and a pack of Marlboros, but of someone who studied properly, and the man goes and sweeps the streets. To make a living from whatever is available, until a job opens up. But a person by nature does not want to toil. There was one who saw a help wanted ad, called, and asked what the terms were. They told him: the first month is like this, after half a year this kind of promotion, and after a year this salary. He said to them: fine, I will come in a year. Starting from the bottom does not suit him, starting with an undignified salary does not suit him, and this man is unemployed most of the time. And know that in most cases this stems from plain laziness: he has no desire to work, no desire to exert himself.
And when a person does not toil and does nothing to improve his situation, and yet something comes into his hands, through what? Through an inheritance. An inheritance, did you toil for it? You did nothing. Perhaps you wore your parents out and they passed away two years earlier, that is the entire toil you invested in it. And what happens to a person who receives something without toil? It has no value to him. What comes easily goes easily. How many stories we know of someone whose parents left him a factory and workers, and within a short time nothing was left of it. His father worked on it with his ten fingers, valued it and guarded it like the apple of his eye; but the son, wild and reckless, everything came to him easily, a bit of gambling here, reckless investments there, and within a short time he lost everything.
They tell of a respected and wealthy businessman whose son was a great idler, and he very much disliked this idleness. He said to him: my dear, if you do not go to work, I will throw you out of the house. He would return at ten at night and find the son exactly as he had left him in the morning, asleep. At the end of the month the son came and brought his father a salary, five thousand shekels: father, here, I worked. Where did he get money? He went to cry to his mother, and his mother gave him money so he could tell his father he had worked, compassionate women cook their children. The father was suspicious, took the money and threw it into the burning hearth. The son asks: father, why are you burning the money? He said to him: go work, my son, and if not, I am throwing you out of the house.
A month later the son said: perhaps I did not stay away from the house enough, and that is why father suspected. He went out at six in the morning and returned at twelve at night, so his father would think he had worked four jobs. And where did he go? To his mother's ATM. He brought it to his father, and the father took it and threw it into the hearth, looked at him and said: go work, final warning. The son understood there were no tricks, opened the help wanted section, found a job, went and toiled and cursed the day, but there was no choice, he wants to stay in the house and understands that there is a very substantial inheritance here. At the end of the month he approached his father: father, here is five thousand, I worked. The father takes it and throws it into the burning hearth, and before his very eyes the son leaps toward the hearth, thrusts his hand among the coals, pulls out the money and shouts: father, this is money, why are you burning it? The father said to him: now I know that you worked for the money. Now I know that you exerted yourself for it, because that which you exerted yourself for, you cannot bear to watch being burned.
"My handiwork is drowning in the sea" - this is my handiwork. When a person invests in something, he becomes emotionally attached to it. Rav Dessler has a lengthy essay on this, that this is also the point of investing in kindness: when you invest in another person you become attached to him, for giving arouses love. And even in a material matter, you invested in it, you become connected to it.
It emerges then, says the Ralbag, that a person who goes and invests in order to achieve material accomplishments, the accomplishment is dear to his heart. And the analogy is in matters of spirituality: if matters of spirituality come to a person easily, he does not value them. And you will hear about many such people: "This one, in his youth he was a genius." The rabbi would give a lesson, and he would repeat it by heart immediately. And what would he do afterward? Go rest. While we would review the Gemara and try to understand it again and again, he would go rest, "Rabbi, test me, what do I not know? The Gemara asked, the Gemara answered...". And what came of him in the end? Nothing from nothing. Why? It came easily, it goes easily. Did you toil for it? Did you exert yourself over it?
But the truly great are not simply talented people who read something once, absorbed it, and went off to rest. Rav Ovadia Yosef: every book he read, he knew, and yet he did not rest for a moment. His son related at the eulogy in Beit Eliyahu that his father would feed them lunch together with a book: he would sit with the book, studying a responsum, and give the child another bite, study and give another bite. He did not notice whether they had finished eating or not, he was with the book. What toil, what love of Torah. And his other son, Rav Yitzchak Yosef, also related at the eulogy that their mother would come and call him to eat lunch, and he would say: No, I am in the middle of a responsum, just a bit more, just a bit more, until she would go and turn off the light in the room so that he would come to eat.
And how careful she was that not a moment be wasted: she would pay the shoe store owner to come to her home with pairs of shoes. He would say to her: What, a custom cobbler? She would tell him: My husband has no time, and his shoes are already unwearable. He would arrive with eight or ten pairs, a minute or two of trying them on, and she would pay him and add extra for having taken the trouble to come, the main thing being that Rav Ovadia should not have to interrupt his learning. And so with the tailor, and so with the barber: his barber once related in an interview that the Rabbanit called him, because she said to him, his hair is already at a point where he cannot go out, and I tell him go get a haircut and he answers I have no time, I have no time. One of the greatest diligent scholars of the generation. A man who knows everything, and still toils. From this one is built. A man who acquires something through toil, that is a true acquisition.
This is the intent of the Ralbag on the verse: "An inheritance gotten hastily in the beginning" - you received an inheritance, you do not value it and will not guard it properly, because you did not exert yourself for it. But a person who learns something not hastily, not "the main thing is to get through it," but rather through study, toil, contemplation, and all his strength, this one will be blessed. He will see in that inheritance, in that learning, blessing and success. Just as in the physical, so in the spiritual.
In the same direction the Gra also explains, except that he emphasizes the matter of learning: a person who does not learn calmly but hastily, the main thing being to finish, to complete, another completion, another tractate, the Gra says this is not the goal, and he will not be blessed. "And its end will not be blessed" - that at its end he will not even know its beginning. When he finishes the tractate and they ask him about the first chapter, he will not remember what he learned. As someone once said: a person learns a page, when does he forget it? When he moves on to the next page. For there is the principle that "they should always be in your eyes as new"...
And what will be with the last page, after which there is no page? On this he said in jest: Notice that the compilers of the Shas added for us at the end all sorts of requests and prayers, and it is written there "say this and it will help against forgetting" - read it, and it will help you forget even the last page, and then you are all set, the whole tractate is behind you. They of course meant that it would help him not to forget, but the analogy is clear. The Gra teaches us: there is no value in getting through material and no value in racing; the value is in learning and understanding the matters. If the learning is "hasty in the beginning," then "its end will not be blessed," and ultimately he will forget everything he learned.
The Malbim explains: inheritance money and found money - Chazal say there is no blessing in them, because only an acquisition that comes through effort and not by chance is blessed. And where does blessing rest? "And I will bless you in all that you do" - in what a person does. And as we explained, that a person values things into which he invested and toiled. And all the more so with an inheritance that comes before its time, for this is like a found object. "Hastily" means before the time, an inheritance that did not arrive in its time but that he rushed and ran to receive before its time. And therefore there is no blessing in it from two sides: one, from the side that it is an inheritance, and an inheritance holds no blessing; and two, from the side that it is hasty, before the time. And therefore "its end will not be blessed" - he will have no success from this inheritance.
The Metzudat David adds and says: an inheritance that comes to a person in haste and suddenly, even though its owners will rejoice in it, its end will not be blessed, for "the evil eye rules over it," the evil eye has power over it, and there is no sign of blessing in it. And the meaning of this is: when people see someone who rose through toil, they accept it with understanding. But when people see someone who suddenly became a tycoon, this arouses jealousy, it arouses looks of "where did he get this from? How is it that I suddenly see him in the headlines?" I have seen this in several cases: one used to come to us at the midrasha, they tell me, he used to pray with us in the minyan, he was part of us, in the diamond business, a man who lived comfortably and in order; and suddenly he is number one in the country, suddenly Africa-Israel. This causes people to look at him with jealousy.
I know a man who began to deal in contracting and marketing homes in Beit Shemesh, and became a millionaire in a very short time, a young fellow, thirty five years old. He bought a jeep worth half a million shekel, a three level house with a synagogue downstairs, a level with a swimming pool and a huge garden, and his own house was used to market the apartments in Beit Shemesh. After a year or two the man collapsed. No one knows exactly what the reasons were; some say he gave all sorts of extras in the construction - people upgraded a bathroom, a kitchen, and so on - and he did not charge for it properly, and all his profit was wiped out. And not only wiped out, but he went backward: he was forced to sell the villa, and returned to live in a worse place than he had even before he broke into public awareness.
And I will add: I heard some of those who spoke about him, and how the jealousy dripped from their eyes. What happened? Be happy for the man, he succeeded! But it is hard for them to accept, we work for years for a penny, and suddenly he drives a half million shekel jeep and lives in a three level villa. And this is a great danger, because the evil eye does great harm.
People once knew how to handle this very well. There was an expression they used often, and unfortunately we no longer recognize it today: "Why do you make yourselves conspicuous?" This is what Yaakov said to his sons. Are you well off? Even so, go down to Egypt and bring back grain, so that everyone will not say: Did you see the sons of Yaakov? We are all starving with nothing to eat, and they are set up comfortably. Go along with everyone else, like all the needy who go to buy grain. Do not make an impression in front of others, for you draw fire. So too a person whose situation has begun to improve: do not suddenly move to a new apartment, do not suddenly buy a luxury car. It jars people's eyes, and people do not wish you well. Go slowly, develop gradually, not in a way that provokes envy.
And this is also what the Malbim says: what comes through effort, people accept with understanding and wish you well. "Listen, he worked hard, he opened up slowly, here is another branch, good for him" - they appreciate it. But if it comes all at once, immediately "may his name be blotted out, why not me?" And why speak ill of your fellow at all? Hashem granted it to him, so say: I wish him that Hashem should add to him more and more, and add to me too, with Hashem's help. Why do you think that what he has is at your expense? The Holy One, blessed is He, gives each person what he deserves, and this is what he deserves. Wish him well. And know that if an inheritance is gained hastily at first, its end will not be blessed. Therefore, even if you have merited good fortune, go slowly, and do not act in an extreme manner that will arouse great envy against you.
אַל־תֹּאמַר אֲשַׁלְּמָה־רָע קַוֵּה לַה' וְיֹשַׁע לָךְ׃ (כ, כב) - Do not say, "I will repay evil"; wait for Hashem, and He will save you. (20:22)
The Vilna Gaon, as well as Rabbeinu Yonah, explain: if there is a person who did you harm or wishes to harm you, and you are able to repay him as he acted toward you, do not say "I will repay evil," meaning I will return harm to him corresponding to what he did to me. And if you say: why should I not do this? For if I do not put him in his place, he will continue to harm me. And in the words of Rabbeinu Yonah, if I do not put him in his place, what he did to me he will now do to others. To this the verse says: "Wait for Hashem, and He will save you." Wait for Hashem, for He is the one who will exact payment from him, and He is the one who will see to it that his ability to harm and injure you is reduced. And even from the harm he already did to you, Hashem will save you from it. That is, two requests: wait for Hashem that he do nothing to you in the future either, and also "He will save you" - that He will save you from the harm into which he has already brought you now.
And Rabbeinu Yonah and the Gra add: so too it is in the service of Hashem, may He be blessed. Let a person not say: I have already spent all my days pursuing the will of my desires, as a wicked servant does, so how can I return to Hashem? Most of my days have passed in evil deeds and corrupt matters, how can I now repent? Rather, "let me now complete the evil and enjoy this world" - come on, let us finish off this world here, at least let us enjoy it properly, and afterward whatever will be, will be. Do you hear how foolish this is? Rather do not say so, but "wait for Hashem, and He will save you" - repent and wait for Hashem to accept your repentance and forgive you for your evil deeds.
And as Chazal said: one who ate garlic and his breath reeks - shall he go on eating garlic so that his breath keeps reeking? Listen, after what I have eaten the odor reeks anyway... So stop now, why do you keep eating? So too a person who could stop and says, "Enough, we have already gone through so much, surely I have no chance anyway, let us keep going" - he keeps eating garlic, ruining things further, and the damage grows greater. And beyond that, he will receive for what he does now a greater punishment than before. And why? Because before it was in your youth, you were twenty, hot blood, you could not control yourself. But now you are fifty, sixty - what happened now? On the contrary, now you could have found grounds for excuse: Master of the world, when the power of my desire had weakened somewhat, I returned to You with all my heart. But if you continue, the Holy One, blessed is He, says: you are simply a rebel. For it is clear that you no longer have desire and yet you continued in your evil way, and you cannot claim that you are compelled by your evil traits. Why did you not repent now?
And note this: for this very reason the evil inclination keeps pushing a person even in his old age, because it knows that this is where the main punishment lies, that the power of desire has already left him and yet he continues in his corrupt deeds. That is one reason. And a second reason: the evil inclination is afraid. "This is a client I have been working on for fifty years; now he will suddenly cancel everything, go and repent and regret it - and take away all my merchandise?" It is not only that he will stop being a client; everything the inclination earned off him over fifty years is about to dissolve. Therefore the evil inclination will not give a person this opportunity, to repair things in a state where the power of his desire has already weakened. To this the verse says: do not say "I will repay evil" - I have done evil, let me now complete it, let me finish life with evil in full - but rather "wait for Hashem, and He will save you," pray to Hashem to draw you out of the mire you are in by doing repentance, and He will accept your repentance, until your very last breath.
תּוֹעֲבַת ה' אֶבֶן וָאָבֶן וּמֹאזְנֵי מִרְמָה לֹא־טוֹב׃ (כ, כג) - Diverse weights are an abomination to Hashem, and dishonest scales are not good. (20:23)
The Malbim, and likewise Rabbeinu Yonah, explain that this pasuk is connected to the previous one. If someone wronged you in business - cheated you, deceived you, sold you short weight or counterfeit merchandise - do not say: is that what he did? I will pay him back with counterfeit money just as he did to me. About this it says "do not say I will repay evil," but rather hope to Hashem and He will save you and make up your loss. And the example is: "an eiven va'even is an abomination to Hashem" - a person sold you with a rigged weight, placed a smaller stone on the scale and tells you this is a kilo, while inside there are only nine hundred grams, and it turned out that he cheated you by ten percent. This is an abomination to Hashem. And I say: is that what you did to me? Then I will sell to you with dishonest scales, and by this I have recovered the damage he caused me. Says the verse: what he did is an abomination to Hashem; but what you are about to give back to him with dishonest scales is "not good."
And with this a puzzling point in the pasuk is resolved: "an eiven va'even" is an abomination to Hashem, while "dishonest scales" is only "not good"? Is there a difference between one who cheats with a false weight and one who cheats with broken scales? Ostensibly there is no difference at all, so why does he call one an abomination and the other not good? And according to the Malbim it is beautifully understood: what he did to you with a false weight is utterly abominable, for he deceived from the outset. But I, who repay him with dishonest scales, am not on his level of deceit - I did not set out to cheat a person from the outset, but rather, in today's language, I simply "took back what he stole from me." Therefore one cannot call this an abomination, for in truth you are not a thief, but you found a way to recover what was taken from you; and yet it is said about you "not good" - it is forbidden. For the Holy One, blessed be He, warned: "you shall not have in your pouch an eiven va'even, an eifah va'eifah" - both of them an abomination to Hashem.
And you may say: why not? This person stole from me, and I have an opportunity to take back what is mine. I am not going to steal anything else from him, nor will I take interest: he robbed me of a hundred shekels - I will take a hundred shekels from him; a thousand - a thousand, no aggravation and no extra, exactly what is owed to me. Says Rabbeinu Yonah: since Chazal said do not enter your fellow's courtyard to take what is yours without permission, lest you appear to him as a thief, but rather break his teeth and tell him "I am taking what is mine."
And the meaning of this is: suppose you had a stereo system in your home, and you recognize it with complete certainty, without any doubt, with unmistakable signs - a certain addition you made to it. One day you pass by a courtyard, hear familiar sounds, look and see your system. You say: oh, is that so? I will come at night and take back what is mine. This is forbidden to you - lest you appear to him as a thief, and he will think that someone broke into his house. So what should you do? Enter in the middle of the day, take it forcefully and say "I am taking what is mine," so that you do not appear as a thief. And note: all this applies specifically in the case of that very object itself, which people recognize and know to be mine, and the truth is evident - that I am not coming as a thief but taking what is mine.
But if he stole a sum of money from me, and I now see an opportunity to take his stereo system; or if he stole my stereo system and sold it, and I see with him a sum of money that I could grab and slip away with - this is forbidden to you under all circumstances. And what is the reason? Imagine if every person were permitted to take the law into his own hands: the whole world would turn into a world of thieves, and everyone would merely be "returning what was taken from them" - Heaven forbid not stealing, just going to take back. Do you have a claim and a case against him? You may be one hundred percent right, but there is an established place where one presents claims and files cases. It cannot be that a person takes the law into his own hands, and it cannot be that everyone breaks into his fellow's house and says: he owed me a hundred, and there was an agreement between us... who says you are right? Are you certain? Come, do it in beis din. Do not go to demand and take things even if they are yours, unless it is that very actual object, which you are permitted to take - and even then not by theft but in a straight and direct manner.
This is what the verse says: "an eiven va'even is an abomination to Hashem" - what he did to you is repugnant in Hashem's eyes; "and dishonest scales are not good" - what you would repay him through an indirect route, you are forbidden to do. And how should you repay yourself? Through beis din - sue him in beis din.
The three pesukim teach one fundamental principle: blessing rests upon that which a person toils over. "An inheritance gotten hastily at the beginning" - an inheritance or a found object that came without toil and before its time has no blessing in it, and even an evil eye holds sway over them, and therefore one must develop gradually and not arouse envy; and so too in Torah: study done in haste, whose entire aim is to get through and finish, its end is that one will not even remember its beginning, and only study through in depth analysis and toil becomes a lasting acquisition. "Do not say I will repay evil" - do not return evil to one who wronged you, but rather hope to Hashem that He will save you from the evil and from the concern for the future; and also in the service of Hashem do not say "I will complete the evil" and do not continue to eat garlic whose odor lingers, but rather hope to Hashem that He will accept your repentance. And "an eiven va'even is an abomination to Hashem and dishonest scales are not good" - deceit from the outset is an abomination, and even "collecting the debt" through an indirect route of deceit is forbidden; take what is yours in a straight manner, or sue in beis din.