Introduction: From the One Who Guards His Mouth to the Scorner
In the previous verse, we learned about the wise person who guards his mouth and his tongue: "He who guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from troubles." Now King Solomon comes and presents the exact opposite: the person whose tongue lashes out against everyone, who does not guard his mouth at all. The verse before us defines him in three sharp words, and adds a warning: do not think that his damage stops with speech.
זֵד יָהִיר לֵץ שְׁמוֹ עוֹשֶׂה בְּעֶבְרַת זָדוֹן׃ (כד) - A haughty, arrogant man, scorner is his name; he acts in the fury of insolence. (24)
Rabbeinu Yonah: One Who Possesses Both Traits - Scorner Is His Name
Rabbeinu Yonah explains: Zed (a malicious or insolent person) encompasses cruelty and hatred of people, gloating over their misfortune, and seeking their harm. This is an evil person: cruel, despising others; someone falls, and he rejoices. Yahir (arrogant) is one full of pride. And the person who possesses both of these traits together, malice and arrogance - "scorner is his name." Do you want to know what encompasses both of them? That is the scorner (leitz).
The scorner is a purveyor of lashon hara (derogatory speech). He scoffs, mocks people, harms his peers, shames them, taunts and humiliates them. And this is utter malice. For what does he gain from it? Nothing at all. There is no financial profit here and no tangible pleasure. He simply tossed a joke at him, poked fun at him. Rabbeinu Yonah notes that this is worse than someone who causes damage for financial gain. For one who damages for money at least has some motive - an unjustified claim, but still: I gained something, I wanted this or that. But the one who taunts, shames, and degrades - what tangible gain can you claim?
Rather, there is one thing present here, and that is arrogance. Because when I hurt you, what am I actually trying to show? That I am better than you. No matter what I mock you for, the message is the same: I am somebody, and you are nothing. "How could you do such a foolish thing? Why didn't you ask me?" - meaning: there is a wise person here. "How could you invest in a place like that? Don't you think at all?" - meaning: there is a thoughtful person here; just so you know, I am here. "What a miser, look how he can't spend a dime..." - meaning: there is a generous person here, and that is me. Every way in which I demean another person says: I am not like him, I am superior to him, my stature is greater than his. And sometimes he degrades his fellow even within his own heart, where he does not even gain public honor from it - yet he does it anyway, just to elevate himself and boast over him.
Rabbeinu Yonah adds: "And in the greatness of his pride, he blemishes and diminishes virtues, while seeing not a single flaw in himself." We see this clearly with people who find it difficult to see someone else succeed. Immediately, they dismiss it: "That is nothing, that is nonsense, it is not difficult to achieve at all, I could have reached that too." Why? Because I am not there. Because the achievement he attained, I do not have. And how will I excuse myself? After all, I cannot simply say I am greater than him, since it is obvious that he accomplished something. So instead: "If I wanted to, I could have reached much higher; I simply didn't want to, it is not important to me, they even offered it to me twice and I refused." Every virtue becomes nothing in his eyes, because if it were truly significant, why aren't you there? "Yet if he were to observe his own flaws, he would be disgraced" - had he looked at his own shortcomings, he would be ashamed. And this is what is meant by, "There is no advantage to the master of the tongue" - he has no pleasure and no gain; it is entirely arrogance.
"He Acts with Insolent Wrath" - Lest You Say: He Only Spoke
Here comes the conclusion of the verse. Lest you think that this person is merely arrogant, merely hurts people, merely insults them, merely ignores their virtues and views them with disdain; after all, he did not murder, he did not steal money, he did not strike anyone, he did nothing physical. To this, the verse says: "He acts with insolent wrath."
And know that people tend to attribute far less impact to the spoken word than to a physical deed. "Why are you raising your hands? He only spoke!" But who says that "only speaking" is less severe? Raising a hand, a slap - that is eventually forgotten. But a verbal blow can leave a wound that oozes and bleeds for many years, a wound that does not heal. A strike of the tongue is often far harsher than a strike of the hand.
Incidentally, a person might tell you that he has never raised a hand against his children - and whether that is good or bad, who knows - but listen to how he speaks to them, and you will be horrified. Always demeaning and humiliating, repeatedly proving to them that they are foolish, that they have no sense, that they will not succeed, and that nothing will ever become of them. It would have been better had he given a slap; the slap would be forgotten. The scar on the soul created by degrading and humiliating words is far more damaging.
Therefore, Rabbeinu Yonah explains: Do not imagine that this person's sin is merely of the tongue. "Acting in wanton fury" - if he gets angry at someone, he is also capable of causing him actual harm and striking him. And there is no anger like the anger of the slanderer, who is an arrogant person. For it is well known that pride amplifies anger. Where does anger stem from? From haughtiness of heart. Why does a person get angry? Because someone did something that does not suit him, something he did not want or plan. But the humble person accepts everything with equanimity; he possesses faith and knows that no person can touch what is prepared for another. The arrogant person, on the other hand, reacts: "You dare say this to me? How dare you?" - and his fury blazes manifold. The root of anger lies in the trait of pride.
The Vilna Gaon: A Zeid - One Who Does Not Guard His Mouth from the Forbidden
The Vilna Gaon explains that zeid relates to deliberate wrongdoing (zedon), referring to a person who does not guard his mouth from forbidden eating and consumes non-kosher foods. This connects to the previous verse, "He who guards his mouth and his tongue" - the zeid does not guard his mouth. And once he pursues his lusts, he also becomes conceited and arrogant.
And how is eating connected to arrogance? The Vilna Gaon cites the Gemara in Masechet Berachot: "Whoever eats and drinks and only then prays, of him the verse states: 'And Me you have cast behind your back (gavecha)' - do not read gavecha (your back), but ge'echa (your pride). The Holy One, blessed be He, says: Only after this person became arrogant did he accept upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven." Here you have it: a zeid does not guard his mouth and pursues his lusts, and through this he becomes yahir (arrogant) - ge'echa. Furthermore, forbidden foods lead to corrupt character traits, as has often been explained: one who eats forbidden food becomes insensitive to the feelings of others, dull to Torah and mitzvot - this is the spiritual insensitivity of the heart (timtum halev), which also breeds arrogance.
The Vilna Gaon further notes that the three realms of sin are concentrated here - thought, speech, and action. "Arrogant" (yahir) - this is thought, as he prides himself in his mind, thinking "I am something special." "Scorner" (leitz) - this is speech, mocking others and speaking disparagingly of them. "Acting in wanton fury" (oseh be'evrat zedon) - this is action, for the phrase "and the man who acts willfully (bezedon)" always refers to an act. There is no sin in the world that does not fall into one of these three: thought, speech, or deed - and here, in this wicked person, all three are fully realized.
Ralbag: One Who Destroys Others "by Way of Mockery"
Ralbag explains: The wicked person who acts out of pride is called a scorner (leitz), because he commits malice out of arrogance rather than from any physical craving for the thing itself. He does so out of derision, because other people are considered nothing in his eyes. And since he feels himself superior to everyone, he allows himself to mock and demean all of them.
His phrasing is chilling: "And indeed, evil men of this description are to be found, who will destroy others merely by way of mockery, because they consider them as nothing." There are people willing to inflict terrible damage on others even when they gain nothing from it. Why? Because to them you are a nonentity, and if you are nothing, they are willing to harm you, even horribly - simply "for fun," so to speak. Ralbag cites an appalling example: as was told of a man who cut off his companion's leg at night while he was asleep, despite harboring no hatred toward him at all; he did it purely by way of mockery, for amusement, "just for the kick of it."
To what lengths such things can go! Two youths, under sixteen years old, once hailed a taxi and said: Let us see what murder feels like. They took a gun and shot the driver. For what? For the thrill. A simple man, working for his livelihood, driving passengers - and two youths decide to murder him for excitement. Who will answer for such an upbringing? Such things are beyond comprehension, and certainly alien to the Jewish people, among whom for two thousand years a murderer was virtually unheard of. Around them, bodies fell like flies; as a Jew who immigrated from Romania once related, only in the Land of Israel is murder treated as a profound shock; where he came from, if a person had an issue, he would go out with a weapon, put two bullets into his neighbor, and that was that. But a Jew? Did anyone ever hear of a Jew in Europe, Morocco, Iraq, or Yemen rising up to murder his brother? And even if one ever heard of such a thing, it was an extreme rarity. Look how terrible scoffing, levity, and frivolity are - they can lead a person to harm his fellow in wanton fury, even when the other did nothing to him.
The Malbim: The Zeid with Whom One Can Reason, and the Leitz with Whom One Cannot
The Malbim explains: A zeid is someone who willfully disputes the laws of wisdom (chukei hachochmah). The laws of wisdom are that part of the Torah requiring rational proof, the dimension demanding that man walk in the path of morality without indisputable intellectual demonstrations, for what seems moral to one person may seem immoral to another. The zeid comes and disputes these laws of wisdom; he denies Divine Providence, does not believe in reward and punishment, and does so brazenly.
The Malbim continues: As long as he is not arrogant (yahir), he is not yet termed a scorner (leitz). Why? Because he raises objections, argues, and presents logical reasoning; if they defeat him in debate and prove him wrong, he will remain silent and accept the truth. His debate is an intellectual one, a rational dispute that resides within the realm of understanding. But if this zeid is arrogant, no evidence brought before him and no proof offered will convince him. "So you defeated me? So what I am doing is wrong? Absolutely not!" He will resolve not to see what has been proven, decide that your words are invalid, and persist in his ways no matter what. And if the truth is demonstrated to him so clearly that he has no rebuttal left, what will he do? He will mock and scoff.
As we have already explained, the way to deal with something supported by solid proofs is through mockery (leitzanut). If you have proven me wrong, all the listeners see that I have fallen; how do I cope? I deride your words. And mockery, as Rabbeinu Yonah puts it, is like a shield smeared with oil - all the arrows you shoot simply slide off. When a person is a scorner (leitz), he is impenetrable; all your proofs may be logical and sound, yet he has a bypass route around any proof.
And who knew how to use this method? Korach. Korach understood: I cannot debate Moshe. Moshe brought down the Torah, split the sea, took them out of Egypt, and speaks with God face to face - if I come with arguments and proofs, Moshe Rabbeinu will refute me immediately. That is why when Moshe summons Datan and Aviram, they reply, "We will not go up" - because the moment we stand before him one-on-one, in twenty seconds he will prove that we are talking nonsense. So how does one fight Moshe? "He assembled crowds against them all night long" and mocked them - telling stories about that poor widow who had a field that was taken from her, tear-jerking tales that no one could remain indifferent to: behold an injustice that cannot be met with silence! In this way he succeeded in rallying crowds, knowing that on an intellectual level, on the level of proofs, no one could stand up to Moshe.
And this dynamic is found in every generation. We once mentioned the study on Bible codes (equidistant letter sequences) by Doron Witztum and Dr. Eliyahu Rips - a world-renowned mathematician who initially investigated the topic to disprove it, but ultimately recognized its truth and became a ba'al teshuvah. They published a book entitled The Additional Dimension, containing studies that met rigorous scientific parameters. And what was done in response? A satirical play was staged that ridiculed the entire subject of Torah codes. On the radio, a joint interview was conducted with Dr. Rips and the play's producer, who rambled on about nonsense, fabrications, and absurdities fed to the public. When they turned to Dr. Rips and asked what he had to say, he replied: "I do not have much to say to him; I only want to ask him one question - have you read the study?" The producer replied, "I heard about it; I saw quotes." Dr. Rips responded, "Is it possible to converse with someone who has not even read the study? What basis is there for any discussion with him?"
This reveals the level of discourse: someone who has not even read the study goes out and mocks it. Did you study mathematics? At which university? Did you examine the data? In any other field, you would immediately be asked for your resume, your experience, your degrees, and on what basis you speak. If someone claimed to disprove quantum mechanics, people would ask what he studied. But when it comes to Judaism, anything goes: anyone can show up, raise objections, refute claims, and spout nonsense as if he were an expert. And why? Because they know that in a head-on debate, they cannot stand. So they stage a play, turn it into mockery and laughter, and case closed. Ridicule the subject, and you thereby bypass the need to confront it.
As we have also recounted, one of the first things told to Rav Uri Zohar, even before they began guiding him toward teshuvah, was: do not clown around. You want to debate, argue points, demand proofs - say whatever you wish. But do not make a joke of it. He was a master of comedy, and there was great concern that the moment they began presenting proofs to him, he would turn to mockery - and against mockery, one cannot make headway. Logical arguments can be addressed; mockery is merely a mechanism for dismissing things without ever examining them.
What Is "Evrat Zadown"?
When a person reaches the trait of scorn (leitzanut), he already "acts in evrat zadown." The Malbim explains: evrah comes from the root la'avor - to cross over, to exceed the boundary. The verse does not simply say zadown (willful sin), but evrat zadown. If a person commits an act driven by lust or desire, that is called zadown. But if he commits acts to which even his desires do not draw him, why does he do them? Purely to provoke (lehakh'is). That is evrat zadown: a malice that has crossed beyond normal human boundaries, actions contrary to human nature and basic humanity.
We find a parallel to this in King Amon, who committed incest with his mother. They asked him, "What pleasure do you derive from this?" He replied, "I do not understand your question; do you think I am seeking pleasure? My entire aim is to provoke my Creator." That is evrah - he crossed the line; he derives no pleasure, and his sole intention is to anger the Master of the World. So too with the haughty scorner: he has already crossed all bounds of basic decency, committing deeds from which he derives no pleasure at all, purely to provoke his Creator.
In summary: "A proud and haughty man - scorner is his name; he acts in an excess of malice" (Mishlei 21:24). Rabbeinu Yonah taught us that one who combines willfulness (zadown) and haughtiness (yehirut) is called a leitz, and that his only gain from humiliating his fellow is pure pride - which is why his sin is graver than that of one who harms for financial gain. Nor should one say, "He only spoke," for a wound of the tongue is more severe than a wound of the hand, and a slanderer will ultimately cause physical harm as well, since pride magnifies anger. The Gra saw in this verse the three dimensions of sin - thought (yahir), speech (leitz), and deed (evrat zadown) - and taught that failing to guard one's mouth against forbidden speech leads directly to pride. The Ralbag showed how terrible mockery is, driving a person to ruin others without cause because people seem like nothing in his eyes. And the Malbim sharpened the distinction: with a willful sinner (zeid) one can still converse, for his argument is intellectual; but when the willful sinner is haughty, he becomes a scorner (leitz), and his scorn is an oil-smeared shield off which all proofs slide - like the way of Korach and the scoffers in every generation. In the end, the scorner oversteps all boundaries entirely, doing things that offer no pleasure whatsoever, solely to provoke his Creator.