In this lesson, we will examine three verses in Chapter 21 of Mishlei: the verse concerning a contentious wife and dwelling in a desert land, the verse concerning the desirable treasure in the dwelling of the wise, and the verse concerning one who pursues righteousness and loving-kindness. All three are interconnected: the first teaches how one flees a corrupting environment, the second teaches what true treasure the wise person accumulates, and the third teaches the reward of one who pursues righteousness and loving-kindness.
טוֹב שֶׁבֶת בְּאֶרֶץ־מִדְבָּר מֵאֵשֶׁת מִדְיָנִים וָכָעַס׃ (יט) - Better to dwell in a desert land than with a contentious and angry woman. (19)
Rashi explains this verse in the same manner he explained "Better to dwell on a corner of a roof" above. There we explained, based on the homiletic teaching of Chazal, that it is the Shechinah that says this when departing the Temple of Hashem, because the Jewish people were baking sacrificial cakes and worshiping idols. Here too, according to the teaching of Chazal, the Shechinah says: It is better for Me to dwell in a desert land than to be with the people of Israel when they provoke Me to anger.
Rabbeinu Yonah asks: Above, in verse 9 - ten verses earlier - it says, "Better to dwell on a corner of a roof than with a contentious woman in a shared house," while here it says "in a desert land." Why did he not go so far as the desert there? One might say in jest: ten verses passed and she kept making trouble for him, and he already saw that the corner of the roof was of no help - so he had to flee all the way to a desert land.
As to the core matter: it is better for a person to dwell in the desert to be saved from the endless pursuit of desires and pleasures. According to the Gra, this is deeply profound, as this verse is a continuation of the preceding verses - "A needy man loves pleasure; one who loves wine and oil will not become rich" - which address the pursuit of lusts and physical pleasures. And who is this "contentious and angry woman"? This is the body. The body is termed the wife, and the soul is termed the husband, for the soul ought to be the master and the body an instrument to serve it. But what should a person do when his body has become the master of the house, pursuing pleasures and delights? The only way is to distance oneself from the place of pleasure and indulgence.
This is a simple reality. Ask anyone who smoked and began trying to quit when it was hardest for him - he will tell you: when I was around people who smoked. When a person arrives at a place of sin, that is where the temptation and test lie. One who pursues pleasures walks past a bakery and cannot remain indifferent, and a drinker walks past a tavern and cannot remain indifferent. What is the counsel? Live in a place where these things do not exist. Live in a place where there is no immodesty, and you will naturally not be drawn after illicit desires. The reality of the place influences the person.
The Rambam writes similarly: it is human nature to be drawn after the people of one's city and locality. If the people of his city are wicked, let him move to another city; if they are wicked there too, let him move to another country; and if the people of that country are wicked, let him go dwell in the desert. There are no shortcuts: a person is inevitably influenced by the people around him, and if he does not create a Noah's Ark for himself, the floodwaters will sweep him away too. And that ark is Torah classes; that ark is children attending yeshivos and Torah institutions. If a person does not create a sheltered environment for himself, his chances of spiritual survival are slim. About this it is said, "Better to dwell in a desert land" - it is better for him to live in the desert than in a place where people will distance him from the service of Hashem.
The Malbim draws a straightforward distinction based on a precise reading of the text. Notice: here it says, "than with a contentious and angry woman," whereas above it says, "than with a contentious woman in a shared house." That is, here it speaks of one who provokes anger, whereas above it speaks merely of a quarrelsome woman without anger. And this is the distinction: if she is not prone to anger, but merely stirs strife with the neighbors and members of the household - "a shared house," referring to companions and the surrounding environment - the solution is to distance themselves from the household members and the neighbors, by dwelling with her on a corner of a roof, where she has no one to bicker with. But if she is prone to anger and provokes him directly, what good is a roof? She will anger him there as well, and there on the corner of the roof it is even dangerous - she might enrage him and he could fall off. Therefore, in such a case it is better "to dwell in a desert land" - let him go to the wilderness and pitch a tent.
אוֹצָר נֶחְמָד וָשֶׁמֶן בִּנְוֵה חָכָם וּכְסִיל אָדָם יְבַלְּעֶנּוּ׃ (כ) - There is desirable treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish person swallows it up. (20)
Rabbeinu Yonah explains: It is the way of the wealthy and prudent to store away silver, gold, and stores of oil, and this store is a "desirable treasure," a concealed and hidden treasure. Oil as well, Rabbeinu Yonah notes, is classified as a treasure. We are accustomed to thinking of treasures of gold and silver, but oil is also a treasure: it is kept at home, it is a commodity, bought when prices are low and sold when prices are high. This is what Chazal said in their parable: "Atir meshach - atir kamas" - one who is rich in oil is rich in stored treasures; "kamas" is related to the phrase, "stored up with Me, sealed in My treasuries" (Devarim 32:34), referring to something put into storage. Chazal applied this to a ba'al shemuos (a master of transmitted traditions). In their times, books were not written down, so who was able to analyze and debate the Torah in depth? One who was like "Sinai," possessing vast breadth, for in order to engage in analysis, one needs sources and citations. Everyone knew the Mishnayos, but not everyone knew the Baraisos and individual teachings. One who was a ba'al shemuos - knowing that "Rav Huna said this," or "a Baraisa states that" - possessed wealth in Torah, having the material upon which to build his analysis. In any event, one learns from here that oil was regarded as wealth and a valuable treasure.
Similarly, Chazal said: A person should always divide his wealth into three parts: a third in land, a third in merchandise, and a third readily available in hand. The third in merchandise or readily in hand is exemplified by oil - a preserved commodity that a person keeps readily available. This is what Shlomo HaMelech means by "There is desirable treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise" - the wise person stores away provisions so that he will have a livelihood, saving for more difficult times.
Another interpretation, Rabbeinu Yonah notes, is that the verse comes to teach the principle of "To be in the shadow of wisdom is to be in the shadow of money" (Koheles 7:12): when the wise person engages in an endeavor, he succeeds. As Chazal said, one who engages in Torah sees his property prosper, as it says, "For then you will make your ways prosperous, and then you will have success" (Yehoshua 1:8).
Over the years, one can clearly observe that those who engaged in Torah did not lose out. This can be seen across many families: those who remained in yeshivah, those who learned in kollel - even if at a certain point, when there was no choice, they went out to work, they did not pursue easy money or break away from the framework - ultimately, they are the ones who are settled. They have an apartment, they are financially settled; perhaps not wealthy, perhaps living modestly, but settled. By contrast, those who left yeshivah early, chasing after all kinds of business ventures, lacking structure and an orderly life - precisely they are the ones who struggle to get by for many years afterward.
When this idea was once presented in a shiur, it was astonishing how many listeners concurred. One person shared: "I have six children, and I do not need to help any of them - except for the one who left yeshivah to go to work. That child is unsettled, has no apartment, and I must give him money every month to get by; he is married and working, changing jobs constantly, yet cannot make ends meet." Others echoed similar stories. There was an individual who left yeshivah and bought an apartment, but high inflation hit immediately, and his mortgage payments multiplied a thousandfold compared to when he purchased it, until he lost nearly half the value of the apartment, leaving him in an endless financial chase for years afterward.
This is what Shlomo means: "In the shadow of wisdom, in the shadow of money." Kollel men and bnei Torah live above nature. "Cast your burden upon Hashem" (Tehillim 55:23) - do not think that you will manage on your own strength and take it entirely upon yourself. Reality demonstrates that for the most part - without setting down rigid rules - one witnesses special siyata d'Shemaya (Heavenly assistance) for kollel students and bnei Torah. For when the wise person endeavors to succeed, he does, and one who engages in Torah sees his property prosper: "For then you will make your ways prosperous, and then you will have success."
Indeed, it is wondrous. When one mentions to people outside the Torah community that families marry off their children and roughly ninety percent of them acquire apartments, they ask: From where? And it is a fair question. Someone once related that his uncle, a simple schoolteacher, had married off fourteen children. He remarked: "If you ask where the money came from, I have no idea. Every one of his children has an apartment, and no one knows how." What was clear to him was that this was pure chesed Hashem. A father asks himself: Do I have the money to marry them off? Am I capable of this? From where? It simply does not add up naturally. Yet this is seen throughout the Torah community, and it is truly astonishing. Certainly, government policies impose burdens and conditions have grown more difficult, but if one tries to calculate how this is achieved from a kollel stipend - even with a wife working - it is simply beyond natural comprehension.
On the other hand, a person may have gathered and accumulated because he was wise and engaged in Torah, but he leaves it all to a foolish son - and that foolish son swallows it all up. The fool is drawn after lusts, pleasures, and worldly indulgences, squandering his father's wealth. He is termed a fool (kesil) because anyone who ruins his own fortune is universally recognized as a fool; no one considers such a person sensible. Thus, a father gathers and saves, only for a foolish son to come along and squander everything.
Anyone who wishes can find endless examples of this throughout history: individuals who were wealthy and labored tirelessly for their fortune, only for a profligate son to follow and lose every bit of it in a short time through ruinous pursuits. For an example beyond financial matters, consider Assad the father and Assad the son. The father ruled with an iron fist for many years, while the son, lacking wisdom and foresight, quickly faced an uprising, leading to hundreds of thousands of his own people being killed, with no end in sight. The world largely ignored it: hundreds of thousands dead was tolerated, so long as the State of Israel was scrutinized over every incident. In any event, one sees how a foolish son arrives and destroys everything, leaving nothing behind of all that the father had painstakingly amassed.
Furthermore, one can examine the precise wording: "but a foolish man will swallow it up" (וכסיל אדם יבלענו). The verse could have said "and a foolish son will swallow it up" or "and a fool will swallow it up"; why specify "a foolish man" (כסיל אדם)? This hints that this person is driven by lust, drawn after physicality and worldly pleasures, and therefore he consumes his father's wealth. "Man" (Adam) - he is drawn after the element of earth (adamah) and dust within him, chasing pleasures, and so he swallows it up.
The conclusion of the matter, says Rabbeinu Yonah, is that a person must direct all the toil of his soul and mind toward disciplining his son and bequeathing him wisdom. For if he bequeaths him wealth while the son is a fool, he has bequeathed him nothing at all, as he will merely swallow up his treasures in his folly. And how true this is! If you wish to leave a good inheritance to your son, bequeath him wisdom; teach him Torah. This will grant him continuity, and he will also know what to do with whatever else you leave him beyond wisdom. But if you did not bequeath him wisdom, and instead allowed him to run wild and do whatever he pleased, then even what you thought you left him - the silver and gold - your son will be "a foolish man" who will swallow it all up and lose everything. This is what is stated elsewhere: "A foolish son is ruin to his father, and the brawlings of a wife are a continual dripping" - "ruin" (havot) means destruction to his father: the father gathered, accumulated, and stored, and the son came along and shattered everything; "and the brawlings of a wife are a continual dripping" refers to marital quarrels.
The Vilna Gaon explains this based on Chazal: "A treasure" refers to Torah; "desirable" refers to Nevi'im (the Prophets), in the sense of being coveted and beloved; and "oil" refers to Ketuvim (the Writings). All three are "in the dwelling of the wise," for the wise person possesses mastery over them all. "But a foolish man will swallow it up" - when one studies with an unworthy student, that student distorts and ruins everything, corrupting and destroying it all. Teaching Torah to an unworthy fool is like throwing a stone to Markulis (an idol), for in his hands it turns into a lethal poison, and he uses it only to attack.
For the wise person, all these texts are considered a treasure: from them he learns, through them he analyzes, and into them he delves deeply. But the fool takes proofs from them to support his own agenda, seeking to permit the illicit cravings of his heart. A person once remarked: "Why do people lecture about modesty (tznius)? I read about all kinds of chaos in the Tanach, so everything must be fine!" Consider how such a person reads the Tanach: everyone reads into Tanach what they want to see, and everyone perceives what they are capable of understanding. One who seeks to follow the cravings of his heart will find ways to justify that in the Tanach as well: "Look at what is written there about this person and that person, so what is the big deal?" - may Hashem protect and have mercy! This is "a foolish man will swallow it up": using the very things he was taught, he distorts, destroys, and corrupts the foundations of the Torah.
The Vilna Gaon further explains: "A treasure" refers to the fear of Hashem, as Chazal stated, "The fear of Hashem is His treasure" - whoever has the fear of Hashem in his storehouse has everything. It is the custom of kings to store away in their treasuries peerless possessions, things that are rare and unique. Therefore Chazal said: "Everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven." The fear of Hashem is truly worthy of being placed in a treasury, for who else can give you fear of Heaven? Is there such an item for sale in the marketplace? There is no such thing. A person who stores up such an acquisition possesses an immense treasure, which no one else can provide for him and which cannot be purchased outside. Fear of Heaven is not even determined by Heaven, but rests in your own hands; if you attained it, it is yours - you possess a treasure, so guard it above all else.
"Desirable" refers to the Torah, as it is stated, "More desirable than gold, even much fine gold." And "oil" refers to the mitzvot, as it is stated, "Let your garments always be white, and let not oil be lacking upon your head." Why are mitzvot called oil? Because the Torah is light - an inherent source of illumination - whereas oil is not an inherent source of light, but rather fuels the candle, as in "a mitzvah is a candle": a candle does not illuminate unless you place oil in it. Therefore, mitzvot symbolize the oil through which the candle shines, and the mitzvah is likened to a candle. All three of these - fear of Heaven, Torah, and mitzvot - are "in the dwelling of the wise"; the wise person is the one who cultivates them and stores them in his treasury.
"But a foolish man will swallow it up" - the Vilna Gaon explains that this refers to the animalistic soul. And where is the animalistic soul drawn? Toward earthliness, bodily drives, and physical pleasures. And it destroys everything: the Torah, the fear of Heaven, and the mitzvot, ruining it all. What causes this? The foolishness within man, the animalistic soul pulling him toward the desires of this world.
A person can be a prime minister, yet a small financial temptation can send him to prison for six years. From the highest heights - from dining with world leaders, from renown, from planning to sweep into the prime minister's office once again - suddenly he becomes an inmate in Maasiyahu Prison. To understand the reality of this, consider the account of Rabbi Ben-Izri, who was incarcerated there. He related: "All my old friends came to visit me; Rav Ovadia Yosef of blessed memory came in person, Rav Elbaz, friends from the yeshivah, representatives from Shas - everyone came." Yet, he said, it was heartbreaking to observe that former President Katsav was also there, looking on with longing eyes, realizing that his own friends were only "battery-operated." As long as you are prominent, important, and a member of parliament, sycophants and flatterers abound; but the moment you enter prison, you are treated like a leper, as if your condition is contagious, and no one wants it said that they even paid a visit. All this demonstrates the principle: the wise person knows how to overcome temptation - he possesses fear of Heaven, Torah, and mitzvot. But a foolish man, drawn after his animalistic soul, swallows it up and destroys everything - whether chasing money, physical desires, or status, it ruins and corrupts everything.
רֹדֵף צְדָקָה וָחָסֶד יִמְצָא חַיִּים צְדָקָה וְכָבוֹד׃ (כא) - "He who pursues righteousness and loving-kindness shall find life, righteousness, and honor." (21)
The Malbim explains that there is a fundamental difference between tzedakah (righteousness) and chesed (loving-kindness). Tzedakah, according to the Malbim's approach, always pertains to the realm between man and the Omnipresent - from the concept of tzidkut, walking and being a tzaddik in the ways of Hashem. This is also the meaning of "and He counted it to him as righteousness [tzedakah]" said regarding Avraham Avinu, which refers to Avraham's walking before the Holy One, blessed be He. This is somewhat different from what we are accustomed to thinking, that tzedakah simply means giving charity to the poor; rather, tzedakah is personal righteousness between a person and Hashem. In contrast, chesed is between man and his fellow.
And the Malbim continues: through chesed he will have a desirable treasure - connecting this to the previous verse, which stated that the wise man possesses a desirable treasure and oil. By performing acts of loving-kindness you will merit material blessing, and through tzedakah, which is between man and the Omnipresent, you will have a spiritual "desirable treasure and oil", just as the Malbim explained on the previous verse. And when he reaches the World of Reward, "he will find life" - eternal life. Furthermore, he will find "righteousness" - the boundless good corresponding to his great righteousness, meaning a goodness unsurpassed, meriting that the Holy One, blessed be He, will bestow upon him beyond all measure. And the third reward is "honor".
And what is honor? In the Malbim's understanding, all these descriptions refer to the World to Come, and "honor" is the bliss of the eternal soul, the ultimate future good, true honor - where "the righteous sit with their crowns upon their heads." And what is described in the sacred books as Gehinnom? Shame. It is written in the holy books that Gehinnom is an immense and terrible shame, which burns and plunges a person down to the lowest depths of Sheol. If that is so, what is Gan Eden? Tremendous, unfathomable honor.
We have already explained in the past why it is taught that receiving honor in this world comes at the expense of the World to Come: because honor is the only thing in this world through which we can feel a glimmer of spirituality. If you bring me ice cream, I enjoy it, but that enjoyment is in the tongue, the palate, the physical taste receptors; and so it is with every bodily pleasure and desire, which is purely material. But with honor - can anyone explain where that pleasure is felt? Which bodily organ did it gratify, what physical sensation did it provide? With honor, it is not the bodily "self" that rejoiced, but the inner self, the soul itself that took pleasure. Now we can understand why honor here comes at the expense of the World to Come: because the currency over there is honor, and receiving honor here substitutes for the honor there, which is our eternal reward. This is "he will find life, righteousness, and honor" - for the ultimate reward of the future good, says the Malbim, is true honor, where the righteous sit with their crowns upon their heads.
These three verses develop a single unified theme. "Better to dwell in a desert land" teaches that when the physical body becomes the master of the house and the environment pulls toward base desires, the only solution is to distance oneself - and if the provocateur cannot be escaped even on the corner of a roof, one must go into the desert. From here derive the words of the Rambam, that a person is naturally drawn after his neighbors and must therefore construct for himself a protective Noah's Ark. "Desirable treasure and oil are in the dwelling of the wise" teaches that the wise man stores up treasures for himself, both materially and spiritually - Torah, Prophets, and Writings, the fear of Heaven, Torah study, and mitzvot - whereas a foolish person, drawn after his animalistic soul, swallows and squanders everything; therefore, the true inheritance one must bequeath to a child is wisdom. "He who pursues righteousness and loving-kindness" teaches that loving-kindness between man and his fellow, and personal righteousness between man and the Omnipresent, merit a person eternal life, unsurpassed goodness, and true honor - the eternal bliss of the soul, where the righteous sit with their crowns upon their heads.