Introduction: Stages in Man's Spiritual Service
In this part of the chapter, King Solomon continues the father's words to his son. Above it was said, "My son, if your heart is wise, my heart also will rejoice" - this is the high level, a person who has already acquired wisdom of the heart. Now the father turns to the son who has not yet arrived there and offers him a ladder: first of all to incline his ear and listen, and if even this is still difficult - at the very least to stay away from what is definitely harmful, from gluttony and drunkenness. And from there, to listen to father and mother and not despise the wisdom of previous generations.
"Hear, My Son, and Be Wise" - The Heart as a Compass
שְׁמַע־אַתָּה בְנִי וַחֲכָם וְאַשֵּׁר בַּדֶּרֶךְ לִבֶּךָ׃ (יט) - Hear, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart in the way (19).
Rashi explains: By becoming wise through Torah, you will be able to follow the way of your heart, for a wise heart will not entice you or mislead you toward sin. The meaning of this is that after a person aligns his heart toward the service of Hashem, through this he overcomes temptation.
The Malbim writes a wonderful idea elsewhere, concerning David cutting off the corner of Saul's robe. After David finished the act, it says, "David's heart struck him" - his heart pricked him and he felt remorse for cutting the corner of the robe. The Malbim says: A complete heart, meaning a person of integrity, is moved and feels remorse if he performs any improper action. From this itself, David understood that Saul's reign had not yet ended and the fear of the king was still upon him, and that it was a wrongdoing on his part to touch his garments, let alone his body. It turns out that the heart of a person of integrity is a compass: the very fact that his heart struck him teaches that the act was not fitting, for had it been fitting, he would not have suffered pangs of conscience. Indeed, David was punished for this at the end of his days - "Now King David was old, advanced in years, and they covered him with clothes, but he could not get warm"; one who showed disrespect to clothes ultimately derived no warmth from clothes.
This is what is stated here: A refined person can rely on his heart to show him the upright path. "And guide your heart in the way" - when you walk in the way of your heart, your actions are validated, they are confirmed, and you walk along a straight path without fear that you might be straying from the right way.
Refining the Heart - The Fundamental Benefit of Wisdom
Rabbeinu Yonah explains that here King Solomon is saying to man: Learn wisdom, for through engagement with wisdom you will guide your heart to go on the straight path and in the fear of Hashem. "And this is the fundamental benefit of wisdom, and that which ought to be prioritized - to refine the heart."
This is a reality we see with our own eyes, especially among newcomers to observance: it is very easy for a person to correct outward actions. Until now he did not put on tefillin - now he puts on tefillin; he did not keep Shabbat - now he keeps Shabbat; he did not give tzedakah - now he gives tzedakah. But the hardest thing of all is to refine the heart, the inclinations of the heart. There are people who could be described as "secular people wearing yarmulkes": he observes Shabbat, he puts on tefillin - true, but in the heart, in his nature, in his character traits, in his conduct, in derech eretz, in interpersonal relationships, in aggressiveness, in impudence and brazenness - he remains just as before. What did change? He grew a beard, and as Rabbi Lasry quipped: a beard grows on its own, it takes no real effort. He also adopted certain manners, dressing a certain way and carrying himself a certain way. That is the easy part of Judaism. The difficult part is the work of the heart, working on one's character traits and refining them from within.
A person who has never studied mussar, and especially one who does not attend Torah classes, can be seen to be deeply flawed in his character traits, in his conduct, in his treatment of others - he remains with all of his corrupted ways. And if he is a tradesman, Heaven protect us: all the shady deals and schemes he pulled without a yarmulke, he now pulls with a yarmulke, with the added element of chillul Hashem. All the manipulations, cheats, and excuses - the exact same behavior, except that today he has an appearance that misled you into thinking he was honest, that he was a different caliber of professional who would finish the job and not feed you a line of tales.
Therefore, Rabbeinu Yonah says that the fundamental benefit of wisdom is refining the heart. When you study Torah, what is the core goal? To be wholehearted, upright, and God-fearing - without shady schemes, without malice, without things one does to cause grief to others. That is the complete work. This does not mean that everyone born into a Torah home is necessarily fully refined; the point is that someone who grew accustomed for years to living in a certain way often undergoes a transition that is merely external, without undergoing a process of internal refinement - and that is exceptionally difficult.
"I Am Not Permitted to Be Ignorant of It"
Rabbeinu Yonah also cites the masters of mussar: "I do not study wisdom thinking I will reach its ultimate end, but rather so that I may become wise in that of which I am not permitted to be ignorant." This is the meaning of: "and become wise, and guide your heart along the path."
A person often asks: what is the point of learning if I do not remember the details anyway? If someone asks afterward what was determined, what is liable and what is exempt, what is permitted and what is forbidden, one often does not know. First of all, the Chofetz Chaim said: forgetfulness is a physical reality, but in the World of Truth there is no forgetting, and everything a person learned will exist there on high. Moreover, the masters of mussar say: I do not learn to reach the very pinnacle of wisdom, the outer limit, to know everything and remember everything; I learn so that I become wise in that of which I am not permitted to be ignorant.
And what does it mean that "I am not permitted to be ignorant"? That a concept or topic should not be mentioned in your presence while you remain totally oblivious to it. Someone mentions muktzeh machamat chisaron kis (muktzeh due to monetary loss) - and a person asks what monetary loss has to do with it! Some people, of course, understand financial loss only too well: they are guarded about everything for fear of monetary loss, and so they never give charity or donate. (And then there are children whose parents never gave them a kiss, so they suffer from a chisaron kiss...)
The son of Rav Pinchas Schreiber, who was one of the greats of the generation, related that in their home, the requirement to know Shas was taken for granted. If someone did not know Shas, what was there even to discuss with him? He was a complete am ha'aretz! Such were the standards of scholarship and love of Torah instilled in that home. Today, if only a person mastered an entire tractate; if only he mastered a single daf! But at the very least, one should not be an am ha'aretz when it comes to basic concepts. Someone mentions the red line on the Altar (chut hasikra), above the line and below the line, and he has no idea what is being discussed; one has to explain to him that there are sacrificial offerings and there is sprinkling above and sprinkling below. "Yesh boger bakever, ein boger bakever" (does a girl attain maidenhood in the grave?) - he has no idea what that means. "Hitkefo kohen" (if a Kohen seized property) - concepts he once heard in some Daf Yomi shiur but never grasped. It may be that if you ask him for fine details he will not know them, but at least there should not be areas that are a total blackout, pitch black and completely alien to him. A person should have a general familiarity with every subject, so that when someone speaks with him, he understands the topic. This is the meaning of "and become wise" - that you possess wisdom and knowledge, even if you do not reach its ultimate end, so that you do not wander like a blind man in the dark.
The Counsel: An Attentive Ear
The Malbim explains that our verse is a continuation of what was said above. Earlier, the father said: "If your heart has become wise, my heart will rejoice, mine too" - which is already a high spiritual level and attainment, where the wise-hearted controls his heart. Now, however, he turns to the son who is still far from wisdom, for when wisdom begins to enter his heart, a battle begins with the yetzer hara, with desires, and with physical pleasures. And what is the advice? "Listen, my son" - the counsel is to listen.
This is wondrous counsel indeed. Our Sages said that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: I ask of you only one thing - "Incline your ear to Me and hear." Out of all the limbs, I ask for just one: the ear. And this is entirely true: the moment a person is willing to listen, willing to hear and willing to accept, there is hope for him. The worst state of all is a knowledgeable and educated person who lacks an attentive ear; nothing can penetrate him, he cannot be corrected, and he cannot be advanced. People tell him: come hear what we have to say to you, and he retorts: "Don't explain it to me, I know very well; I've dealt with plenty of know-it-alls like you." He holds a monopoly on wisdom, has no need for anyone to explain things to him, and already knows everything - "we are all wise, we are all discerning, we all know the Torah." That is the very worst disposition.
A certain sofer STa"M once related that he began on very poor footing because the person who taught him was not skilled. When someone remarked to him, "Yet today you have such beautiful script!" he answered: "True, and do you know why? Because whenever I showed my writing to anyone - merchants and colleagues alike - I would ask what criticism they had and how they could help me improve. From this one I received a pointer, that one offered a critique, and another corrected me in something else." Today, baruch Hashem, his mezuzot are in high demand. A person who is willing to accept critique is a person who will advance and transform himself.
This is what the father tells his son: if your heart has not yet become wise, at least be willing to hear and accept words of wisdom; be ready to acquire wisdom. "And guide your heart along the path" - there is the path of wisdom and there is the path of folly, but the path of true happiness is only one. The path of the yetzer hara is a path fraught with pitfalls, a road of suffering and agony, both in this world and all the more so in the World to Come. But if you are willing to listen and grow wise, your heart will be set upon the path of happiness, and you will walk a path where one attains both material well-being and inner peace. And all of this comes about through listening to wisdom.
"Do Not Be Among Wine Guzzlers" - Desire and Wisdom
אַל־תְּהִי בְסֹבְאֵי־יָיִן בְּזֹלְלֵי בָשָׂר לָמוֹ׃ (כ) - Do not be among wine guzzlers, among gluttonous eaters of meat for themselves.
The Metzudat David explains: "For themselves" (lamo) - for their own personal pleasure. For there are those who eat meat voraciously in honor of Shabbat and Yom Tov (even if the term "glutton" does not truly apply there), but "for themselves" means solely for one's own enjoyment and bodily gratification, devoid of any mitzvah. And this term "for themselves" applies to wine as well: do not be among those who guzzle wine for themselves and those who devour meat for themselves. But when you drink wine in honor of Shabbat and Yom Tov, and eat meat for the sake of a mitzvah, this is not "for themselves," but for the sake of Hashem's commandment.
The Malbim adds a third level within the father's words: the highest level is "if your heart is wise"; if you have not attained that - "Hear, my son," be willing to listen, pay attention, and make progress; and if you have not yet reached even that stage, I will at the very least warn you against that which will surely harm you - the devouring of meat and guzzling of wine. For physical desires and wisdom are two diametrically opposed opposites, and it is impossible for a person to pursue all his physical desires while also becoming wise.
This can even be observed among the thinkers and scientists of the nations of the world. Not all of them, but many, especially the greatest among them, individuals drawn to intellectual pursuits were more detached from matters of bodily lust and materialism. Figures such as Einstein and his peers were not truly attached to the material world. The more a person engages in intellectual pursuits, the further he moves from crass physical indulgence. In Torah, this is far more than a mere recommendation: Rabbeinu Bachya writes in Chovot HaLevavot that desires and materialism on the one hand, and Torah and wisdom on the other, are like two rival wives - if you please one, you anger the other. A person must realize that he must surrender one of them: either the desires and pleasures of this world, or the Torah. Here, one must make a true calculation of what is truly worthwhile. But "grasp this and do not let go of that" - in this matter, the two cannot coexist.
"Among gluttonous eaters of meat for themselves" - He is eating his own flesh
Regarding the meaning of "for themselves" (lamo), the Malbim offers an original interpretation. Chazal discuss the case of a wicked person who is seen enjoying every pleasure in this world, and they ask: Where are reward and punishment? When will this person receive his retribution? Rabbi Yaakov of Dubna, the Dubno Maggid, offered a wonderful parable on this: A man rebelled against the king, defied his decrees, betrayed royal secrets to enemies, and committed the most disgraceful acts. The king said that a swift death would be a reward for him, so he sought an unnatural, agonizing death. He built a glass chamber in the middle of the city square and placed the rebel inside to starve to death in full view of everyone, and crowds gathered to watch. One day, a curious onlooker arrived and saw the prisoner taking pieces of meat and eating them. He exclaimed: "You said he was being starved to death, yet look at him eating meat!" They told him: "Fool! This man has lost his mind. From sheer starvation, he is cutting off pieces of his own flesh and eating them. That is his true state."
Said the Dubno Maggid: When a person sees a wicked man enjoying all the bounty of this world and asks, "From where does he have these merits? How does this man have all of this?" - do not envy him; he is eating his own flesh! Whatever a person builds for the World to Come, if he is wicked, they bring it to him here in this world for him to consume. Says the Malbim: This is the very meaning of "among gluttonous eaters of meat for themselves" (lamo) - you imagine you are enjoying yourself, but whose meat are you eating? You are eating your own flesh! As it is written, "And you groan at your end, when your flesh and your body are consumed." In the end, a person discovers that he has consumed his very own flesh. Therefore, do not envy such people.
"For a drunkard and a glutton shall become impoverished" - Speaking a language he understands
כִּי־סֹבֵא וְזוֹלֵל יִוָּרֵשׁ וּקְרָעִים תַּלְבִּישׁ נוּמָה׃ (כא) - For a drunkard and a glutton shall become impoverished, and drowsiness shall clothe one in rags.
Until this point, he spoke in the language of wisdom; now, he addresses the practical matter of benefit and harm. There are people whom wisdom alone cannot penetrate; to persuade them, one must speak in terms of tangible, material consequences. Shlomo tells them: a drunkard and a glutton will become impoverished. Do you want to lose your money? Do you want to end up destitute? That, he understands. "Do you want to forfeit acquiring wisdom?" - that does not move him as much. But when speaking to him about money, Baruch Hashem, he understands remarkably well.
Regarding this, Rav Shteinman observed: The Gemara teaches the principle of a migo claim - believe me regarding this claim, since I could have made a stronger claim and been exempt, and therefore I am not lying. Someone asked him: Does an ordinary person necessarily know the other legal claims? Is he such an accomplished scholar to know that he could have made a different claim? Where, then, is the validity of the migo? He replied: When it comes to a person's money, everyone turns into a talmid chacham, everyone knows all the claims, and everyone becomes an astute scholar! Regarding his own money, he knows extraordinarily well and weighs every possibility. So too in our case: if one cannot be persuaded through the pathways of wisdom, Scripture tells him - a drunkard and a glutton shall become impoverished. That, you understand perfectly well.
"And drowsiness shall clothe one in rags" - drowsiness, or laziness, clothes a person in tattered rags. One who does no work and merely slumbers away his days will end up in rags. And why is it called numah (drowsiness)? When asked what he is doing, he replies, "Nothing." They say to him: "Nu, mah? (Well, what then?) What will become of you?" In the deeper allegorical sense, says the Malbim, he will be impoverished of the wealth of wisdom. A person who occupies himself with wisdom and perseveres in it acquires further portions of Torah, understands another concept, advances through another tractate, and gains further knowledge. But one who dozes - as Chazal say regarding one who slumbers in the beit midrash - his Torah becomes torn into shreds. Drowsiness brings him to a state where his Torah is in tatters, leaving very little in his hands.
And as a witty aside: Two mechutanim (in-laws) met to discuss the wedding expenses for their son and daughter. One was wealthier, while the other had fewer means. The wealthier one said to the other: "Let us make a deal: whatever you give, I will give double." This was something of a trap: on the one hand, he offered double, but on the other hand, if the second father gives nothing, the first gives nothing either. Each side waited to hear what the other would say. They say that the one who was supposed to give half said respectfully to his counterpart: "You honor us by starting first." The wealthy one replied: "Nu, nu... after all, 'Rags clothe - nu, mah!'"
"Listen to Your Father" - Life Wisdom versus Academic Education
שְׁמַע לְאָבִיךָ זֶה יְלָדֶךָ וְאַל־תָּבוּז כִּי־זָקְנָה אִמֶּךָ׃ (כב) - Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she grows old (v. 22).
Some young women marry when they already hold an academic degree. And one says to oneself: Master of the Universe, our grandmothers possessed far greater life wisdom. A grandmother knew how to conduct herself, knew how to manage a home, knew how to honor her husband, knew how to raise children - she knew everything, without a degree. In Yemen they did not earn degrees, neither in a faculty in Sana'a nor anywhere else, yet they raised magnificent households, and everything ran precisely as it should. Today, by contrast, a woman has studied, earned a degree, and is educated, yet here she struggles and there she does not know what to do with her child. What happened? General worldly education offers nothing that teaches how to live properly.
A grandmother back then barely had money, but she knew how to manage with what she had. Today, one sees young couples sinking into an overdraft where you cannot fathom how they reached it: "I bought this, and I bought that." Why did you buy it? A grandmother in those days would never buy anything unless she knew she had the cash in hand, literally in hand. "I bought it on installments and thought I would manage, and money was supposed to come in" - our grandparents did not buy on installments; what they knew they had, they bought. "I will wait another month or two, save up a little more, and buy it. If I haven't saved it, I won't buy it." In the school of life, the education is sometimes far more successful than in any academic faculty. You ask what she studied - a master's degree in economics; perhaps "ruination" rather than "sustenance" (playing on the Hebrew kalkalah), for sustaining a household she does not know how to do. And of course, this does not apply only to her; it applies equally to him. The point is one: life wisdom is often far superior to any secular wisdom and education one might acquire. And this is "Do not despise your mother when she grows old" - do not despise her old age and her life wisdom, which are vastly more precious and important than the wisdom you think you possess.
When Parents Become a Burden
Rabbeinu Yonah further explains: Do not despise her words even though she is elderly and has become a burden upon others. For often, when we receive from someone, we hold them in high esteem; but when they become dependent on us, their standing diminishes in our eyes. Chazal say this regarding a Torah scholar: At first, in the eyes of an unlearned person, he is like a vessel of gold; once he speaks with him, he is like a vessel of silver; once he derives benefit from him, like glass; and once he becomes dependent on him, he is already like an earthenware vessel. That is, the moment a Torah scholar needs an unlearned person, the unlearned person begins to feel self-important: "Even Rabbi So-and-So needs me!" It is human nature that when someone needs a person, that person feels superior to him. In the same way, one honors his mother as long as he needs her and she is active; but the moment his mother grows old and she is the one who requires his help, unfortunately, he tends to despise her. Concerning this, the verse says: "Do not despise your mother when she grows old" - even though today she is a burden and you can no longer receive help from her, do not despise her.
Metzudat David adds another reason: Do not despise her, even though it is common for elderly women to speak at length without deep intellect.
A Mother's Customs - "That Is No Longer for Our Generation"
The Malbim explains: "Listen to your father who begot you" - Scripture commands the son to listen and accept the laws of wisdom from his father and not worry lest his father passed down something false to him, as the Ramban writes that fathers do not transmit falsehood to their children. "Who begot you" - the one who brought you into the world will not pass down falsehood to you. And customs should be received from the mother, for in their times a son grew up at home without educational institutions, receiving the core of his daily conduct from the home. Concerning this: do not despise these customs simply because your mother has grown old.
And here the Malbim says something wonderful. There are people who say: "True, that was good back then; that was the style of the past; those were customs accepted in earlier times. Today is a new generation; today things work differently; that is no longer accepted. Proper manners (derech eretz) and respect - that was nice for the elderly, but today everything is freer." And all sorts of other misguided expressions of this kind. And we know the reality: restraint has been thrown off, there is no derech eretz, no respect for others, no respect for elders. If you comment on it, they tell you: "That's not the younger generation; today, if you don't act this way, you will be trampled." Everything is deemed legitimate: do whatever you feel like, otherwise people will step on you. Concerning this, the verse says: "Do not despise your mother when she grows old." Do not say, "These are customs of the past, of old people; today there are new customs."
"I Am Among the Progressive Ones"
It is told that the Malbim was once traveling on a train when an "enlightened" person (a maskil) met him. It was the time for Shacharit, and he saw the Malbim take out tefillin and put them on. The maskil opened his eyes wide in astonishment: "The Malbim dons tefillin? I thought the Rav was among the progressive ones!" For the Malbim was a very learned and cultured man, and this person assumed he would not cling to outdated practices. The Malbim said to him: "Pardon me, sir, but it is actually you who still clings to outdated practices. I am the progressive one, for 'In the beginning, our ancestors were idolaters' - and you are continuing their path; whereas we, 'now the Omnipresent has brought us close to His service.' I am among the advanced, while you are still among the idol worshipers."
The Mindset of the "Enlightened"
On another occasion, one of the Torah greats remarked wittily: It is written that Yosef told the Egyptians to circumcise themselves - they came asking him for food, and he told them to circumcise themselves and then receive it. The commentators discuss this: since when does a gentile need to be circumcised, and what did Yosef hope to gain by this? There is an entire explanation for it. But wittily he said: Yosef understood the mindset of the "intellectuals." You approach an intellectual and tell him that there is such-and-such Jewish custom - "Leave me alone with outdated customs." But if you tell him: "There are gentiles who practice such-and-such" - "Really? Where? The Inca tribe? They practiced this thousands of years ago? And another ancient tribe was found to do so as well? And the Chinese have also practiced this for thousands of years? You don't say!" - and he embraces it completely. Tell him it is Jewish - it is obsolete; but a gentile custom, he adopts with great enthusiasm. What did Yosef do? He ensured that the Egyptians were circumcised. So when people would later say, "Circumcise? What for?" - they could answer them: "What are you talking about? Even the Egyptians in ancient Egypt recognized the value of circumcision!" - "Oh, really? Then I will be circumcised too."
Rabbi Grozman related that when he wanted to deliver a class on Pirkei Avot at a university, he knew that if he advertised "Pirkei Avot - The Wisdom of the Tannaim," only a handful of people would show up. What did he do? He wrote "The Wisdom of Chang Chung Chang - 2,000-Year-Old Ancient Wisdom." People flocked to the class, and he delivered a lecture on Pirkei Avot, merely altering the phrasing slightly. The audience thoroughly enjoyed it: words of wisdom, words of intellect, words of logic. Until someone remarked to him: "Wait, isn't that written in Pirkei Avot too? There is something similar there." He replied: "Yes, the entire lesson I gave you was Pirkei Avot." For had he told people "Pirkei Avot" from the outset, they would have answered: "Leave me alone with those ancient fathers."
And so it is today: tell someone a halachah - he does not accept it; tell him, "In a study conducted at a university..." - suddenly it is credible. Yet how many studies exist today that tomorrow are completely refuted by a new study? And why is a secular study more precious in your eyes than the words of the Torah? Tell him, "Archaeologists discovered such-and-such" - what excitement: "They discovered that there really was a king named Achav!" Why do you need to tell me that? It is written in Tanach! But Tanach is not credible to him. "They found a pottery shard in an excavation," "They found that the walls of Yericho sank" - and now he believes. How clearly this demonstrates a person's lack of faith! Regarding this it is said: "Do not despise your mother when she is old." Do not despise the customs of your mother, and do not say that they are aged, ancient customs; accept them, and do not say that they are irrelevant to this generation - for they are certainly relevant to every single generation.
Man Has Not Changed
Someone once asked Rabbi Neugroschel: "After all, we are an advanced generation, and tefillin strapped to the arm, tzitzit worn as a garment, and parchment with a few letters affixed to the door - don't these seem to you like antiquated customs? We are in the twenty-first century; perhaps we should prefer a digital mezuzah that beeps whenever you approach it." He replied: "Excuse me, sir, did you use the restroom today?" The man answered, "Yes." He said to him: "And don't you think that is an outdated practice? We live in an advanced world; does it make sense to you that in the twenty-first century a person still enters a restroom - forgive the expression - and relieves himself, cleans himself, and expels waste from his body?"
He added: "My friend, man has not changed one bit from the day he was created until today. And if the Torah gives us instructions on how to align the human soul - the human soul has not changed, and the human body has not changed. What has changed? Environmental conditions. The fact that people once cooked over hot coals and today cook on electric stovetops - does that alter anything about man's fundamental character, his path of self-refinement, and his spiritual service? People once shaved with a razor and today use an electric shaver; people once removed hair with wax and today use a modern device - that is all that has changed. But has anything changed in man's character and his nature? When you read what is written in the Torah, and see the words of Chazal, and look at what is happening today - everything is identical. Leaders of thousands and leaders of hundreds, 'companions of thieves,' 'everyone loves a bribe and pursues payoffs' - Yeshayahu is describing our very generation. It has all happened before in ancient times. And if man has not changed, why do you think we need a different Torah and a different routine? The very same regimen designed to straighten man then was designed to straighten him today. And this is: 'וְאַל־תָּבוּז כִּי־זָקְנָה אִמֶּךָ' - 'Do not despise your mother when she has grown old.'"
In Summary:
In these verses, Shlomo Hamelech outlines three levels in man's spiritual service. The highest of them is the "wise in heart," whose very heart becomes a compass directing him on the upright path, like David Hamelech, whose heart smote him for cutting the corner of Shaul's robe. One who has not yet reached that level - "Listen, my son, and be wise": let him lend an attentive ear and be willing to receive, for this is the only way to advance, and its ultimate purpose is the refinement of the heart, which is the essential benefit of wisdom. And one who has not even attained that - let him at least distance himself from gluttony and drunkenness, for desire and wisdom are rivals to one another, and one who indulges in every physical pleasure here consumes his own flesh, and the end of the drunkard and the glutton is impoverishment, both materially and spiritually. Finally, Scripture warns: Listen to your father and do not despise your aged mother - do not despise life's wisdom and the time-honored customs of past generations, for man has not changed since he was created, and the same Torah that set him straight then sets him straight today.