At the conclusion of Chapter 21, King Solomon addresses the most fundamental question: what endures in the world, and what vanishes? One who testifies falsely is destined to perish, while one who transmits a truthful tradition will see his words endure forever. From there, the chapter continues to the wicked person who brazenly defies the truth, and to the grand conclusion: that all human wisdom, understanding, and counsel cannot stand against the will of the Creator, and "salvation is Hashem's."
עֵד־כְּזָבִים יֹאבֵד וְאִישׁ שׁוֹמֵעַ לָנֶצַח יְדַבֵּר׃ (כ"א, כח) - A false witness shall perish, but a man who hearkens shall speak forever. (21:28)
Let us begin specifically from the practical angle, from the reality around us. Trumpeldor - what were his last words? "It is good to die for our country." Yet this is a fabrication and an invention. Historians have long since discovered, from those who were at his side, that his final utterance was actually a curse in Russian. That did not sound very inspiring, so they attached to him the motto "It is good to die for our country," which sounds much nicer. Researchers investigating the matter shattered this myth long ago - yet it persists. The original witness died long ago and paid the price of his false testimony, but the story caught on: "What, don't you know that Trumpeldor said it?"
That is without even mentioning that this statement is heretical and completely un-Jewish. Good to die? It is never good to die - "I shall not die, but I shall live and recount the deeds of the Lord." And "for our country"? Is the Land one of the three cardinal sins for which a person is commanded to be killed and not transgress? Idolatry, illicit relations, and bloodshed - but our country? What is this, a new Torah? The statement is flawed from beginning to end. If only they had attributed a valid statement to him! Yet the myth remains: whatever is spoken becomes burned into the consciousness, and just try to refute it afterward - try proving you do not have a sister.
This happens in every field. For years, rumors circulated that Shimon Peres's mother was an Arab, or that Shulamit Aloni's daughter had become religious - "widely known and famous." Neither was true. Yet repeat a lie often enough, and it becomes fixed and ingrained. Try proving otherwise afterward - who will listen, who will accept it?
The same applies to the "well-known" lie that the State hands out apartments to Chareidim for four hundred thousand shekels. People are still looking for where these apartments are; there aren't any even for six hundred thousand. Please bring them - we are looking! Or the claim that "an avreich earns more than a university student": the State subsidizes a student with over five thousand shekels a month, while an avreich receives less than four hundred shekels from the State. But "I have my theory, do not confuse me with facts." This is "a false witness": the man and his testimony - all of it is lost, the testimony is debunked, the person dies - whereas "a man who hearkens shall speak forever": what remains in the minds of the listeners is what they carry forward, and that is extraordinarily difficult to uproot.
The Malbim explains that the verse speaks of the tradition and transmission passed down from generation to generation regarding mitzvos, beliefs, and hashkafah. When a person testifies to genuine, received traditions transmitted within the Jewish people from generation to generation, his words will endure forever. But sometimes a person seeks to testify about what he never heard, seeking to impart to the public beliefs, opinions, and concepts that he fabricated from his own heart - "a false witness shall perish." And why? Because of Divine Providence, ensuring that truth endures while falsehood vanishes like smoke. One cannot plant a story, invent a narrative, and expect everyone to buy into it indefinitely if it is not true.
"A man who hearkens shall speak forever" - when a person transmits what he has faithfully heard, and that transmission stems from reliable foundations and authentic sources, the tradition will endure forever. A person can say: I am such-and-such a generation from the Revelation at Mount Sinai, and what I relate originates from the Giving of the Torah - that is an authentic tradition. History itself provides the proof: how many beliefs, philosophies, idolatries, and pagan concepts have vanished like smoke? Bel, the god of Babylon - what remains of him? A watch company, perhaps. Where are all the deities that once commanded tens of thousands of devotees - Chemosh, the Baal, and all the other idols? Nothing remains of them, and where are all those mighty nations? By contrast, the Jewish people, for three thousand three hundred years, have walked with their faith and their Torah, and that heritage flourishes, blossoms, and lives vibrantly with all its vigor - because this is a true tradition, and parents do not bequeath a falsehood to their children.
הֵעֵז אִישׁ רָשָׁע בְּפָנָיו וְיָשָׁר הוּא יָבִין דַּרְכּוֹ׃ (כ"א, כט) - A wicked man brazenly hardens his face, but the upright understands his way. (21:29)
The Malbim connects this verse to the preceding one. You come and present your tradition - a tradition of truth, the Revelation at Mount Sinai, the Giving of the Torah - and a wicked person comes along and brazenly confronts you, insolently claiming that it is not true. And why does he act brazenly here of all places? Because something that can be proven in a laboratory leaves no room for brazen denial; would anyone dare act brazenly against "two plus two equals four"? But here we are dealing with something received through tradition, which I received from my father and my father from his father all the way back to Mount Sinai; therefore, not a few wicked people dare to brazenly deny this tradition.
"But the upright understands his way" - the upright person, by his very nature, is not swayed by the wicked person's brazenness. Through the breadth of his understanding, he knows the path of truth, and he can refute all the deniers through the power of discernment, intellect, and straight logic, contemplating and realizing that the wicked person's words stem purely from his own heart and lusts, devoid of any truth or substance.
Rabbeinu Yonah also links this verse to "A false witness shall perish," and notes something fascinating, which police interrogators know well how to use. How does a false witness try to convince others? Through sheer brazenness. For when a person lies, there are telltale signs: body language, scratching the nose, gestures that give him away. He looks toward you, but not into your eyes - you ask him, and he answers, "Yes, of course," while you notice he is looking somewhere else. There is also the degree of decisiveness with which things are said: there is an anemic "yes" that really means "no."
And because the liar knows he might be caught, he does the exact opposite: he delivers his lie with brazen force, cloaking it in the appearance of absolute truth. Brazenness and intensity are meant to bypass the mechanisms you have for detecting falsehood. This is "a wicked man brazenly hardens his face" - referring to that false witness, who speaks with brazen confidence, because a person's natural tendency is to feel ashamed and blush when lying, so he acts all the more brazen so that others will not detect it.
"But the upright understands his way" - the upright person does not stop probing, nor is he intimidated by brazenness; rather, he investigates and examines until he reaches the truth. For he too knows that "a wicked man brazenly hardens his face," and he is familiar with these techniques and tactics. Moreover, says Rabbeinu Yonah, it may be precisely through this that he recognizes the person is lying: out of dread that his lie will be exposed to his face, he acts more brazenly than someone telling the truth ever would. When someone is genuine, you see that he speaks from the heart; but when someone lies, he tries a bit too hard to sound like he is speaking "from the heart." It becomes "the heart and a half," and that arouses suspicion.
As the saying goes: when you have no proof for your words, you start shouting. If you had proof, you would remain calm and collected and state it, and one cannot argue against proof; but when my words are unconvincing, I try to convince through other means. You see this clearly with children: they are not yet good actors, and it is obvious from their faces when they are lying, yet they already know the technique. A child is asked, "Did you bring it?" and he answers with intense fervor - "Yes, I brought it, I really did bring it!" - and from that very fervor, you realize that it is all meant to cover up the fact that he did not bring it.
Another sign is repetition. When someone tells the truth, once is enough; when it is a lie, he repeats it again and again, thinking that repeated statements will persuade. There is also an element of autosuggestion in this - he is convincing himself: "Yes, I did it, of course I did it, I'm telling you I did it," repeating it eight times - because he did not do it. But the upright man understands his way: he has enough sense to perceive whether it is truth or falsehood.
The Gra explains: "A wicked man brazenly hardens his face" - the wicked man acts brazenly and feels no shame, for the trait of the righteous is modesty and shame, whereas brazenness is the trait of the wicked. In an additional explanation: the wicked person acts brazenly against his Creator and commits sins out of defiance - for in every situation and in every act, a person stands before the Holy One, Blessed be He. And for these sins, brazenness and arrogance, we find that atonement was required through the priestly garments - the turban and the frontplate (*tzitz*), which atone for arrogance and for brazenness. By contrast, "the upright understands his way": he understands the proper path in which to walk, conducting himself with modesty and humility rather than brazenness.
אֵין חָכְמָה וְאֵין תְּבוּנָה וְאֵין עֵצָה לְנֶגֶד יְהֹוָה׃ (כ"א, ל) - "There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against Hashem." (21:30)
Rabbenu Yonah connects this to what was said earlier, "A wise man scales a city of mighty men" - that the wise man conquered a city of warriors through his wisdom. Regarding this, the verse comes and says: Know that there is no wisdom against Hashem. If the matter is contrary to the will of the blessed Creator, you will not be able, with all your wisdom, to scale a city of warriors or accomplish anything. Wisdom, understanding, and counsel have no power to annul decrees, as it is written: "Unless Hashem builds a house, its builders labor on it in vain; unless Hashem guards a city, the watchman stays awake in vain."
And if you ask: But it is written that the wise man "brings down the stronghold in which it trusted," and that "a wise man scales a city of mighty men" - so wisdom does help? The answer is: Do not be confused. Merit and victory are channeled through wisdom, but not by virtue of wisdom itself. The Holy One, blessed is He, desires that the matter come to pass, and orchestrates that your success will come about through your wisdom - just as He sometimes orchestrates that victory comes through might. But when something goes against the will of Hashem, neither wisdom, nor might, nor anything else will avail you.
The Vilna Gaon explains that the word eitzah (counsel) here refers to da'as, while the meanings of chochmah (wisdom) and tevunah (understanding) are well known - chochmah is what a person receives through tradition, and tevunah is deducing one thing from another. The Gra says: Even for one in whom all three of these are gathered - the three highest levels of contemplation, depth, comprehension, and sound judgment, above which there is nothing higher - if the matter is not the will of Hashem, nothing will avail him. "But I want to earn a livelihood!" - "Bread is not to the wise." "But I am very smart!" - It will not help you.
We have already related the story of that math teacher who went shopping in the market one day and ran into one of his dullest students from twenty years earlier, who was now running a market stall. "Hello Danny, how are things?" "Baruch Hashem, I have several stalls, three villas, properties here and properties there," and he drives a brand-new BMW. The teacher, living on a modest Ministry of Education salary, hears this and says: "Danny, I remember you in class; you didn't even know how to add four plus four - how did you amass such wealth?" He replies: "Teacher, in the market you don't need to understand very much. I buy a crate of vegetables for ten shekels and sell it for fifty, and I have my ten percent, and that is enough for me." One does not need great wisdom. Bottom line - if it was decreed for him, he will make a profit. And whatever is Hashem's will is ultimately what will come to pass, and not necessarily according to your wisdom and understanding.
Another explanation of the Gra: "There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against Hashem" - this corresponds to what Chazal taught, that one does not show honor to a teacher wherever the honor of Heaven is concerned. When it comes to the honor of Heaven, you do not say, "Let us honor the rabbi" at a time when the honor of Hashem, may He be blessed, is being trampled. "But he is a Torah scholar (chacham), one must honor a scholar!" - "There is no wisdom"; one does not take wisdom into account when it comes to something that stands against the honor of the blessed Creator.
And a third explanation: Whatever wisdom, understanding, and counsel you may take - what are they compared to the wisdom of Hashem, may He be blessed? "Wise men lack knowledge and discerning men lack intellect" - they are nothing at all. Gather all of human wisdom together - what is it beside His blessed wisdom? The deeper scientists investigate and research, the more astounded they stand before their own insignificance compared to Divine wisdom. What immense wisdom exists within a single DNA cell, and in everything you observe in reality! And the deeper a person investigates and explores, the more he discovers how little he understands and how much deeper things are than he ever thought.
The Ralbag offers an original explanation: not in the sense that the matter is contrary to the will of Hashem, but rather that "against" (le-neged) means "facing." That is to say: one who clings to Hashem, may He be blessed, and stands in His presence does not need wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel for his desires to be fulfilled, for the Holy One, blessed is He, will make his paths straight and arrange everything for him. This is the meaning of "Cast your burden upon Hashem, and He will sustain you" - if you stand facing Hashem, feeling that I am nothing and casting the entire burden upon the Master of the Universe, there is no need for wisdom, understanding, or counsel; the Holy One, blessed is He, will already care for you, and you are in good hands.
סוּס מוּכָן לְיוֹם מִלְחָמָה וְלַיהֹוָה הַתְּשׁוּעָה׃ (כ"א, לא) - "A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but salvation belongs to Hashem." (21:31)
The Malbim connects these two final verses to one another. Indeed, free will has been placed in man's hands, and in personal matters, if he chooses good, he will succeed in the path he has chosen through preparation and diligence. The Holy One, blessed is He, gave man the ability to act and succeed, for otherwise man would not live, exist, or accomplish anything, as none of his actions would yield results. However, in matters preordained by Divine Providence, and particularly in communal matters concerning nations and lands - although effort (hishtadlus) is required, know that ultimately the counsel of Hashem is what will prevail.
In simple terms: if there is no opposition from Above, your human effort (hishtadlut) will be effective, and you are obligated to make that effort - which is why "A horse is prepared for the day of battle." Do not say, "After all, Hashem is a Man of war and He will prevail" - this does not exempt you from preparing the horse for the day of combat. Yet alongside this, one must know that the One Who ultimately decides whether there will be victory or not is Hashem: "the counsel of Hashem shall stand," and extensive effort contrary to Hashem's counsel will be of no avail.
The Malbim explains three faculties through which a person achieves natural success. The first is chochmah (wisdom) - having received proper guidance from one's teachers and conducting oneself correctly. The second is tevunah (understanding) - analyzing and deducing one matter from another, drawing conclusions from previous experiences, and deciding upon the proper course of action. The third is etzah (counsel) - which is the perfection of the faculties of imagination and foresight. To what can this be compared? To a master chess player. Who is the best chess player? The one who can calculate the greatest number of future moves: I will move the bishop, you will move the pawn, then this and that, and on move forty-six - checkmate. And why does a computer usually win? Because its computational capacity is virtually limitless. A man of counsel is someone who knows how to observe and calculate: if I respond like this, he will respond like that, then I will say this, and then that will happen.
Yet despite all this, even if all three are united within you - wisdom, understanding, and counsel - if the matter goes against Hashem, nothing you do will help alter what has been decreed and resolved by God. Consider: "A horse is prepared for the day of battle." In those days, the horse was the primary instrument of war; today, we would say tanks, aircraft, and missiles. Everything is prepared - and nevertheless, "salvation belongs to Hashem." Since war determines whether a nation rises or falls, whether a people flourishes or perishes, these are matters of collective Providence, and communal affairs are governed by an even greater degree of Divine Providence. As we say, "The heart of kings and ministers is in the hand of Hashem": because this concerns collective destiny - what will become of an entire nation - the Holy One, Blessed is He, directs both the king and the minister.
It is worth recalling the Book of Shoftim: Sisera had six hundred iron chariots, and what did the Jewish people have? "And Barak was dispatched on foot" - he did not even have a chariot, not even a taxi to take him to the battlefield. And what happened in the end? "The Kishon brook swept them away, that ancient brook." Thus, a horse may be prepared for the day of battle, but if the plans of the Holy One, Blessed is He, are otherwise, nothing will help. Natural means are effective where no contrary decree has been issued; but where a decree has been sealed, one could bring all the resources in the world and they will accomplish nothing. How well we know that the few have repeatedly defeated the many; history is filled with this, especially regarding the Jewish people.
Rabbeinu Yonah explains along the very same lines. And the Vilna Gaon notes: "A horse is prepared for the day of battle" - in their time, the core of warfare was the horse, and the horse is exceptionally suited for military action; yet with all that, "A horse is a vain hope for deliverance, and by its great strength it cannot save," rather, salvation belongs to Hashem; everything is from Hashem. The Ralbag likewise explains that the horse is prepared for the day of battle as a tool to pursue the enemy and defeat him, but salvation comes exclusively from Hashem.
From here the verse comes to teach us that efforts and schemes to overturn Hashem's decree are futile, and what is required of a person is to nullify his own intellect and desire before the will of Hashem, may He be blessed. Therefore, whenever we pray and whenever we act, we must not attempt to force the hand of Heaven. Even if one occasionally seems to succeed, only trouble can come of it. When a person pushes and insists that his request be granted, that very outcome may well prove destructive and cause him great harm.
Therefore, the best course is for a person to say: Master of the Universe, I am praying and asking for this; if it is for my good, please, Hashem, grant my wish and fulfill my request, but if it will harm me, I do not want my wish fulfilled. In spiritual matters, as we have discussed in the past, one should plead without end; but in material matters, you cannot know what is truly good for you. Therefore pray: Master of the Universe, if this is meant for me, let it come easily. For I know that salvation belongs to Hashem, and I know that there is no wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel against Hashem, and I have no interest in receiving anything contrary to His blessed will, but only in accordance with His will - and through this, I will merit a good and enduring salvation.
The conclusion of the chapter forms a single, cohesive thread: falsehood has no lasting existence - "A lying witness shall perish" - and only the reception of truth transmitted from generation to generation "shall speak forever." The wicked man who brazenly defies the truth exposes himself through his very impudence and shouting, while the upright person, in his discernment, sees right through it and remains unfazed. And above all: all the wisdom, understanding, and counsel in the world cannot stand against the Creator's will, and one who walks before Him, may He be blessed, will have his paths made straight. We are obligated to prepare the horse for the day of battle, to make our full effort, while knowing at the very same time that "salvation belongs to Hashem" - and asking only for that which is truly His will and for our ultimate good.