The three verses before us address the choice of company one keeps: whom to distance oneself from, whom to love, and who is the person whom the Holy One, Blessed be He, protects. King Solomon begins with banishing the scorner (letz), continues with the one who loves purity of heart, and concludes with the person of knowledge upon whom the eyes of Hashem watch over. As we shall see, the order of the verses itself provides guidance: first one turns away from evil, and only then does one seek the good.
גָּרֵשׁ לֵץ וְיֵצֵא מָדוֹן וְיִשְׁבֹּת דִּין וְקָלוֹן׃ (י) - Cast out the scorner, and contention will depart, and judgment and disgrace will cease.
Rashi explains "scorner" (letz) as the evil inclination (yetzer hara). Ibn Ezra explains: remove him from before you, and then contention will leave you, and he will not bring you to court and cause you shame and disgrace there.
Rabbeinu Yonah elaborates according to the plain meaning: a scorner is a person who loves mocking people. "Contention will depart" refers to the contentious person, the quarrelsome man. One who mocks people stirs up quarrels for himself, for people do not like being made a laughingstock. Thus, the scorner and the contentious person go hand in hand, and when you remove the scorner from your midst, quarrels will vanish from your surroundings. "And judgment and disgrace will cease" - when you banish the scorner and the contentious man from your company, you will inevitably be spared both litigation and shame. What is the meaning of "madon" (contention)? Dispute and litigation. The contentious man quarrels with everyone he associates with, leading to lawsuits and courts of law; while the scorner constantly brings shame to those around him. Cast out both of these types, and litigation on the part of the contentious man, along with disgrace on the part of the scorner, will cease.
The Vilna Gaon explains: the scorner constantly humiliates everyone, and consequently people hate him. What happens? They come to his house to quarrel with him, and even drag him out of his home to the judge, to adjudicate the humiliations he caused them. Then the judge sentences the scorner to be struck, as it is written, "Judgments are prepared for scorners" - retribution is taken from him through beatings or disgrace. Therefore, Solomon says: cast the scorner out of your home, for once you banish him, his enemies will not come to your house looking for him to pick a fight with him. This is the meaning of "and contention will depart" - contention, which is the beginning of the dispute, will depart from you. For as long as he is in your home, all those who quarrel with him come to your doorstep. Likewise, "and judgment and disgrace will cease" - as long as he resides with you, you absorb the judgment and the disgrace; but once you cast him out, he will bear them alone, and litigation and humiliation will cease from you.
The Malbim explains: "contention" (madon) refers to the grievances and claims that lead people to litigate against someone. What gives birth to such grievances? Hatred - "Hatred stirs up contentions." When one hates someone, hatred awakens claims and complaints against him. Similarly, a wrathful man - "A wrathful man stirs up contention": a short-tempered person, who lacks patience, erupts immediately, becomes angry at once, and instantly finds fault and raises grievances. Why? Because under normal circumstances, people do not litigate over trivial matters against others; one who overlooks offenses simply lets it go. But one who harbors hatred, or who is hot-tempered, makes a mountain out of a molehill: from a minor, inconsequential detail, he creates a terrible ordeal and blows things completely out of proportion.
The verse comes to teach that there is a third factor, in addition to the hateful person and the wrathful person, and that is the scorner: since he mocks everyone, he unleashes contention and causes people to form grievances against him. What is the remedy? Cast the scorner out of the house, do not associate with him, and along with him contention will depart. When there is no contention, there will be no need to go to court - and thereby the humiliation of the courtroom ("zeiluta d'vei dina") is also spared. For anyone who stands in court undergoes indignity: cross-examinations, hearing claims, and accusations leveled against him. This is one of the reasons the Gemara states that women do not testify, to spare them the indignity of court. Thus, "judgment... will cease" on the part of the court examining the contention, and "disgrace" - the humiliation you would have had to endure there - will also not come to pass.
An additional explanation may be offered here. Note that the scorner, particularly in modern society, is often viewed as a pleasant and charming person. He always has a good joke, always has a humorous quip that brings a smile to those around him. But one must recognize that this is merely an outer veneer. Why is his company so enjoyable to you? Because for the time being, he is mocking others. Hearing jokes at someone else's expense is entertaining, it does not hurt me; he ridicules this person and that person, displaying wit and sharp humor. But Solomon tells you: do you want to truly know who this man is, to see the lowliness and foul nature of the scorner? "Cast out the scorner" - try banishing him, and immediately "contention will depart." Suddenly you will see that all the arrows and catapult stones he aimed at others, which seemed so pleasant, funny, and entertaining to you, are now directed at you. His true inner nature emerges, and he quarrels with you.
And should you say: if so, perhaps it is not worth driving him away; let us continue as we are, with jokes and banter, since for now it does not affect me - Solomon answers: it is far better to cast him out. True, the contention he stirs up with you will be unpleasant, but it is a one-time ordeal; on the other hand, the litigation and disgrace that would inevitably follow later will cease from you permanently. Ties of this nature must be severed early and swiftly, for otherwise you will become entangled with him, and matters will turn exceedingly unpleasant.
To what can this be compared? A person rents out an apartment, and right from the start he sees that the tenant is problematic. He tells him: "My friend, in two months I need the apartment back" - and ends the story with him right there. Why? Because he tells himself: If this man sits here month after month, I will get dragged into endless drama, and every month he will tally up all kinds of grievances against me - what I owed him and did not provide, what damage I caused him, what defects there were - and it will become an ordeal I will never escape. Therefore: "How much do you think you are owed? Take what is coming to you, and let us part ways as friends." But if you say, "Let us drag it out, let us continue, for now it is fine," later on you will discover a mountain of claims against you, and you will regret the moment you ever dealt with him. This is "Cast out the scorner, and contention will depart" - without clever tricks, one confrontation and it is over - "and strife and shame will cease," so that they do not hound you for years.
אֹהֵב טְהָר לֵב חֵן שְׂפָתָיו רֵעֵהוּ מֶלֶךְ׃ (יא) - One who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend. (11)
Rabbeinu Yonah explains: "One who loves purity of heart" is a person whose love is pure and refined. And what is pure and refined love? Love that is not dependent on anything external. There are those who love their fellow because he gives to them, provides for them, and makes them feel good - yet all such loves are essentially self-serving: I love because this love benefits me and affects me positively. That is not "one who loves purity of heart." Rather, one who loves without expecting any recompense, but out of genuine love for his fellow's virtues - that is love stemming from purity of heart. It is the duty of every person of truth to love the God-fearing and people of truth. This is pure love: not because I gain anything from it, but because he is a person of truth. Consequently, such a person will take action to help and support the one he loves, because his love is genuine and he desires to give him everything he can, with no goal or intention of receiving a reward.
"Whose speech is gracious" - the words that emerge from the lips of this pure-hearted lover, and the deeds he performs, will themselves prove to his friend that they truly stem from a pure heart. For there are people whose lips drip with sweet words, yet Shlomo already told us, "An enemy disguises himself with his lips" - you might not notice, but in the course of speaking, your hidden inner thoughts are laid bare. It is very common for a person to inadvertently reveal his true interior. An enemy may outwardly display affection and love, but if you track and analyze his words, you will discern what is truly taking place in his heart.
Someone once put it this way: the mouth is like a house full of straw. From the outside it looks beautiful, a magnificent villa, but from the entrance, beneath the threshold, and through the lattice of the windows, the straw peeks through. So it is with man: outwardly he may present a polished façade, but "an enemy disguises himself with his lips." Follow the words, observe the tone, listen to the nuances and what is spoken between the lines, and you will understand that he actually harbors hatred, not love. By contrast, the "grace of his lips" of the pure-hearted lover will prove that this is genuine love, not superficial words merely meant to curry favor; the grace of his lips before his beloved will lead the beloved to recognize that his love is pure and genuine.
The masters of Mussar have already said: "When roots are established in the heart, the boughs appear on the tongue." "Boughs" are branches, like the branches of a tree. When there is a genuine root to my love for you, it will inevitably be heard in words and expressions; it will send out branches and be readily apparent. Conversely, if roots of hatred take hold in the heart, then too will the branches appear on the tongue: when he speaks, even if he tries to conceal it, you will hear and sense from within the lack of love, and even the enmity.
The verse concludes: such a person is worthy that the king be his friend. The meaning is that the fundamental quality a king looks for in companions is loyalty. One of the dilemmas of every wealthy person and anyone of rank and status is that they have no true friends. Any attempt to befriend them immediately arouses suspicions: What are you trying to gain from me? What do you expect to receive? Surely you did not come to befriend me for no reason; you must want something from me. Therefore, prominent and wealthy people lack true friends, because whenever someone approaches them, they immediately wonder what lies behind the flattering words and pleasant talk.
A king is always searching for someone who loves purity of heart: someone for whom friendship is valued not because of the king's status, nor to gain something from him - a transactional friendship - but a friendship of truth. This is "the king is his friend" - the king seeks companions like this, true companions possessing purity of heart and gracious speech, rather than opportunists seeking personal gain, of whom he has endless numbers and no shortage at all. Regarding this it is said, "One man among a thousand have I found" - who are the people who have truly reached the level of loving purity of heart? One in a thousand. And Rabbeinu Yonah says: this quality will not be found in a dishonest person, but only in an upright person, who out of a love for uprightness possesses a pure love for those worthy of being loved, striving to help them and laboring for their welfare without expecting a reward, and not for the sake of benefit or honor.
These ideas align closely with what we saw two verses earlier: "He that has a generous eye shall be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor" - one with a generous eye is the pure-hearted lover, a person of good heart and genuine love. If so, it would have been fitting to place these verses right next to each other; why did he interrupt them with the verse, "Cast out the scorner, and contention will depart"? Because he is telling you: to reach the level of loving purity of heart, one must first withdraw and flee from evil company. First "cast out the scorner," and only then seek out one who loves purity of heart, for one cannot cling to wicked companions and good ones at the same time. Therefore, he began with "He that has a generous eye shall be blessed" - this is the praiseworthy person of generous eye - and who is he? One who loves purity of heart. But before you attach yourself to one who loves purity of heart, first distance yourself from negative company, and then you will find a companion whose love is complete and genuine. This explains the sequence of the verses.
The Vilna Gaon explains the verse differently: it does not mean that the lover himself loves out of the purity of his heart, but rather that one loves a person who is pure of heart. According to the Gra, the word ohev ("loves") extends to both of the phrases that follow, as if it said: one who loves the pure of heart, and loves the grace of his lips - someone who speaks words of justice and integrity, true and correct words. For such a person, "a king is his friend", meaning that he resembles a king, since a king also loves these two types of people: the pure of heart and the one whose lips possess grace. Thus, when you love such people, there is something in you that resembles a king, for a king likewise seeks out and loves such individuals.
And as is his way, the Gra applies this to the spiritual realm: the "king" is the Holy One, blessed be He. And whom does the Holy One love? The pure of heart and the one with gracious lips. The Almighty loves a person whose heart is pure, who serves Hashem with purity of heart - not for the purpose of receiving reward, and not out of self-interest or ulterior motives; and He loves one who speaks justice and integrity, rather than someone of deceit, schemes, and manipulation. Such behavior is not favored before Hashem; precious in His eyes is a person of upright character.
עֵינֵי יְהֹוָה נָצְרוּ דָעַת וַיְסַלֵּף דִּבְרֵי בֹגֵד׃ (יב) - "The eyes of Hashem guard knowledge, and He subverts the words of the faithless."
First of all, how can one speak of "the eyes of Hashem"? Ibn Ezra explains that the Torah speaks in the language of human beings, and "the eyes of Hashem" refers to Hashem's desire, His will, His providence, and His care for them. "The eyes of Hashem guard knowledge" - His eyes watch over and safeguard people of knowledge so that no harm will befall them. "And He subverts the words of the faithless" - as for the traitor who harbors plans and schemes against those who fear Hashem, do not worry: Hashem's eyes are upon the people of knowledge, and Hashem ensures that the traitor will not succeed in harming them. Should he attempt to harm the righteous person, Hashem will subvert his words and disrupt his path so that he cannot inflict injury. Similarly, Rabbeinu Yonah explains that "knowledge" (da'at) means a man of knowledge, just as "and I am prayer" (va'ani tefillah) means "I am a man of prayer" - the eyes of Hashem guard the man of knowledge.
The Malbim explains: a "man of knowledge" is a man of truth, because knowledge is truth. Loving knowledge means loving truth - seeking to understand everything thoroughly and ascertain each matter with precision. For one who knows things inaccurately does not truly know; to "know" means to know the truth of the matter. One who loves knowledge loves integrity, standing in stark contrast to the traitor, who does not follow an upright path. This is stated explicitly in the verse, "and in place of the upright, the traitor" - the opposite of the upright is the traitor, who does not act with uprightness. This, then, is the meaning of our verse: the eyes of Hashem guard the upright, the man of truth, so that harm will not reach him. For often, because he pursues the truth, wicked people attempt to harm him, uncomfortable with his pursuit of truth, and they try to persecute him, silence him, or invalidate his words.
A shocking incident was once related. A person had published several notices against an individual who was causing the public to sin and sowing spiritual ruin. What did that wicked instigator do? He hired a woman to entice the man into sin, arranged to have photographs taken - when the victim was married with a family - and then threatened him: "If you utter another word, I will publish these in the press." Not every person is Yosef HaTzaddik, and may Hashem never test any of us, so naturally that man fell silent from then on. How horrifying this is: where is "do not place a stumbling block before the blind"? How could a person deliberately cause another to stumble into such sin, and for what - to secure his own quiet? We see from this that for someone who pursues the truth, the path is far from easy; he stood up to protest a wrong, and they persecuted him and brought him down.
It follows that one who carries the torch of truth must be prepared for catapult stones, attacks, and humiliation. This is precisely what the verse tells us: "The eyes of Hashem guard knowledge." "Knowledge" refers to the man of truth and integrity, and Hashem protects him from harm as he pursues the truth - guarding him from being injured, and also from succumbing to fear and flattering the wicked. As the mussar works state: "Endure the truth even if it is bitter" - if it is truth, bear it even if it tastes bitter and even if it brings you no comfort; it is truth, so accept it. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, shields that person so that he can wage Hashem's battle without fearing harm. This is the meaning of "the righteousness of the upright will rescue them" - the righteousness of the upright person delivers him from falling into all the pitfalls and snares dug for him, and keeps him from groveling before the wicked.
The conclusion of the verse: the traitor will not succeed in his lies and deceit, for Hashem will trip him up through his own words. This is measure for measure: the upright, the man of knowledge who possesses integrity, is guarded by the eyes of Hashem; while the traitor, who distorts and corrupts, will have his words and paths subverted by Hashem so that his falsehoods and schemes will fail. He may scheme to deceive, but the lie will be exposed.
The Gemara cites from Tractate Keilim, chapter 17, that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai said: "Woe is to me if I speak, and woe is to me if I do not speak" - regarding the deceitful tricks used by swindlers in his day. On the one hand, one must expose the methods of deception, so that swindlers do not assume, "The Sages are unaware of our schemes," making it easy for anyone to commit wrongdoing. On the other hand, a schemer might hear it and say, "I never thought of that! What an idea - one can swindle many people this way!" and proceed to adopt it. Therefore: woe is to me if I speak, and woe is to me if I do not speak.
The example the Mishnah brings there: they would make a balance scale where the crossbeam holding the two pans was hollow, with a groove inside, and they would place mercury inside it, which is heavy. The mercury rested in the middle; but when goods were placed in the right-hand pan and the beam began to tilt rightward, the mercury - weighing a hundred grams - shifted inside the beam to the right, and the seller told the buyer, "See, you received a kilogram." In truth, there was only nine hundred grams there, and the mercury inside the beam made up the additional hundred, without the buyer ever knowing. In other words, they had sophisticated schemes to deceive and lie - and about this it is said, "and He overturns the words of the treacherous," ensuring that the deceiver does not succeed in his lie, and Hashem causes him to stumble.
Furthermore, sometimes a person comes to utter a lie and fails to notice that in the course of speaking he exposed the truth. This is common even with someone who comes to tell a riddle: he begins asking, and it immediately turns out that he gave away the answer within the question itself. In this manner, the Holy One, blessed be He, overturns the words of the treacherous, so that his own words trip him up.
Conversely, even if one might say, "He spoke the truth and caused himself only harm; it would have been better for him to alter the facts and lie" - "the righteousness of the upright will save them." As was once related about the Steipler, when he was drafted into the Czarist army. In those days there was no choice, and often yeshivah students were drafted as well. He was assigned guard duty, and was instructed: when you see a suspicious figure or suspect a breach, fire a shot into the air, and all the troops will assemble and come to see what is happening. He sat down and fell asleep. As he slept, his rifle slipped, fell, and discharged a shot. Immediately the alarm sounded, and all the forces began arriving, assuming there was an attack.
The Steipler related: At the first moment, I thought of saying that I saw a suspicious figure and fired in the air - they would check, dismiss it as a cat, and nothing would come of it. But then I said: Woe to me, that is a lie, and one is forbidden to lie. What, then? Let us speak the truth - is there even a question? They came and questioned him, and he said: Nothing happened; I fell asleep, the rifle dropped, and a bullet went off. You fell asleep? On guard duty? That is mutiny in the Czar's army! They put him on trial, and he was sentenced to death. The Steipler said: And I tell you that for not even a moment did I regret it - that was Novardok - for not a single moment did I regret it; I knew I had acted in truth and that this was how I had to conduct myself, and lying was inconceivable. Three days later there was a revolution, the Czar fell, and all the prisoners in the Czarist prison were released, among them the Steipler. Thus, had that bullet not gone off, perhaps the Czar would have continued to rule for many more years; it was Hashem's kindness that the bullet discharged, and from Heaven the Czar was toppled just to deliver the Steipler from his distress.
From this we understand that "the righteousness of the upright will save them." Do not think that you are bound to lose because you are upright and honest and speak the truth - one never loses from truth, and one never loses from integrity. Granted, one might argue that this involved gentiles, a matter of saving a life, and the lofty spiritual levels of the Steipler; yet precisely because of this, the Steipler was the Steipler. He did not seek shortcuts, schemes, or various dispensations; he followed the truth to the very end, being an absolute man of truth, and therefore attained such sublime heights.
Rabbeinu Yonah explains: This verse is juxtaposed to what we saw earlier, "He who loves purity of heart." How can one attain this pure, unblemished love that is not dependent on receiving a reward? Only someone who loves truth and uprightness. One who loves truth and integrity possesses a love that is pure and genuine, because he truly loves what is true. Therefore, among authentic people of Torah, one sees genuine love for talmidei chachamim, for the gedolim of Torah, and for those who fear Hashem. Conversely, there are people - may Hashem have mercy - whom you see adoring a particular secular author or lauding a certain politician, their hearts invested in all sorts of affection and praise for individuals far removed from truth, justice, and righteousness.
As has been noted, one can discern who a person is from "and a man according to his praise." "A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, and a man is tested by his praise": the quality of the dross in silver is discovered through melting, and gold by placing it in the furnace; but a person - how can you know whether he is dross or gold and silver? According to his praise. Look at whom he praises and whom he lauds, who his heroes are - and that will tell you who he is. If you see someone who constantly faults those who observe mitzvos, always criticizing the charedim, or Satmar, or Neturei Karta, always finding fault with those who fear Hashem - that shows where he stands. But if you see that he possesses love of Hashem and love for those who fear Hashem, and does not seek to criticize or constantly look for flaws - that too reveals his true standing.
These three verses construct a complete progression. "Banish the scorner" - first, one must remove the scorner and the contentious person from the home and from society, and then strife and shame will cease; although banishing him creates a one-time confrontation, it prevents ongoing suffering. "He who loves purity of heart" - after distancing oneself from negative company, seek love that is unconditional, a love whose gracious speech testifies to the purity of the heart, for when the roots are established in the heart, the branches will be seen upon the tongue; such a person has "the king as his friend," and the Holy One, blessed be He, likewise loves the pure of heart and the one whose words are just and upright. "The eyes of Hashem preserve knowledge" - the person of truth, even when he falls asleep in the face of the wicked, is guarded by the eyes of Hashem, whereas the treacherous person is tripped up by his very own words. Hence, love of knowledge, truth, and integrity is the root: whoever truly loves the truth will merit being pure of heart, cherishing a clear, genuine love for people of wisdom, people of truth, and people of uprightness.