Before us are the two concluding verses of chapter 25. The first deals with the boundaries of inquiry: where it is appropriate for a person to delve deep and investigate, and where one must stop. The second deals with man's internal boundary: the power of restraint, the "wall" that protects a person from his yetzer. Both verses, as we will see, touch upon the same principle: a person must know his place and his boundary.
אָכֹל דְּבַשׁ הַרְבּוֹת לֹא־טוֹב וְחֵקֶר כְּבֹדָם כָּבוֹד׃ (כ"ה, כז) - Eating much honey is not good, but investigating their honor is an honor (25:27).
We have already encountered the matter of honey earlier in the chapter: "Have you found honey? Eat only what you need, lest you become gorged with it and vomit it up." Here too, Shlomo HaMelech reiterates that eating too much honey is not good, but here it is used as a metaphor. Rashi explains that this is an allusion to someone expounding upon Ma'aseh Merkavah (the Work of the Chariot) and Ma'aseh Bereishit (the Work of Creation) and revealing these matters publicly to unlearned people, who then mock these ideas and ask what is above and what is below. "Excessively" (harbot), according to this, means in public (ba-rabbim), before the unlearned. And we have already learned in the Mishnah that secrets of the Torah are not transmitted to unworthy individuals.
And if an excess of honey is not good, what is proper inquiry? "And investigating their honor is an honor" - inquiry is proper when directed toward the words of the Sages, whose honor is upheld through their decrees. That is to say: with the words of the Sages, on the contrary, come and ask why they enacted this here, why they instituted that rule, and why they gave such guidance. Through this you glorify their enactments and decisions, striving to understand and analyze their teachings - and that is an honor. But to investigate matters of Ma'aseh Merkavah and Ma'aseh Bereishit, and to ask what is above and what is below, what is in front and what is behind - all of these are inquiries into His very Essence, blessed be He.
As is known, we do not ask questions about His Essence, blessed be He; we ask about His conduct and relationship with us. Judaism allows a person to ask any question. In Christianity, they tell you not to ask; in Islam, there is no point in asking, and it can even be dangerous. But in Judaism, you are told: ask any question.
If so, why is it that when reaching questions about the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself, a person is told to stop? The answer is simple: when the Holy One, blessed be He, permitted you to ask any question, it was not because He obligated Himself to satisfy your curiosity, but rather because every legitimate question you ask will lead you to the service of Hashem. Who says Hashem is One? There are proofs for the unity of Hashem. Who says Hashem requires anything of me? There are proofs. Who says Hashem gave the Torah? There are proofs. Who says we are the Chosen People and that the Exodus from Egypt occurred? Come and ask. By contrast, in Christianity you cannot ask: Who says that virgin was indeed a virgin? Who says she conceived by the Holy Spirit? They will tell you not to ask - "you simply must believe," and that is all they have to say.
And this does not pertain only to science. When people speak to you about faith, a person rightly says: "Thank you, but I do not buy a pig in a poke." Judaism comes along and says, "And you shall know this day" - you can truly know. But when a person comes to inquire about Hashem's Essence, whether He is this or that, not about His ways of conduct but about His very Self - how does that concern you? That is nothing more than idle curiosity, seeking sensationalism, secrets, and gossip. Is there any practical halachic difference (nafka mina) for the performance of mitzvot? It is enough for me to know that the world has a Creator, that He gave the Torah, that the Torah is binding, and that there is reward and punishment - and with that, one can already begin to serve. What is stopping you from starting? Does a lack of knowledge regarding His Essence prevent you from serving Him? Hashem created the world, there is none besides Him, He commanded what to do - that is all; nothing is holding you back. Inquiries into His Essence are mere curiosity, and the Holy One, blessed be He, never obligated Himself to satisfy idle curiosity.
Thus, "and investigating their honor is an honor": when it comes to investigating the decrees of the Sages - delve, clarify, and study, and there is honor in doing so. But coming to debate what is above and what is below - what business is that of yours?
Rabbeinu Yonah explains the verse differently: It is well known that it is a noble trait to speak in praise of the wise and the righteous, as it says, "and searching out their glory is glory." And of the fool it is said that he never speaks well of anyone. And how true these words are.
Among Chassidim, this is an entire approach - stories of tzaddikim. They sit together, speak of faith, and recount stories of righteous individuals and all kinds of deeds that took place - or perhaps did not - but this brings great inspiration. A yeshivah student once saw a book titled "All the Stories of the Baal Shem Tov," and remarked, "This is false." When asked why, he replied, "Because one can always invent more. How can you decide that these are all the stories? More can always be composed."
It is well known that these stories are not to be taken as Torah from Sinai. As the saying goes: Whoever believes all of them is a fool, and whoever disbelieves them is a heretic. The meaning is: you are not obligated to believe that every story occurred exactly as written. Nor should one think that the fundamentals of faith depend on this. It is important to emphasize this, because some people struggle, saying, "It is written this way, and I find it hard to believe." You do not have to believe it; this is not one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith. What are you obligated to believe? That the tzaddik was capable of it.
For if such stories are told about the Baba Sali - by people from our own time who witnessed them with their own eyes - astonishing tales of miracles and wonders that took place beneath his table, what shall we say about the Baal Shem Tov two hundred and fifty years ago? In the generation of the Vilna Gaon - who can even fathom what levels existed then? Therefore, we believe that the tzaddik was capable of everything written there, and far beyond it. Yet to believe that every story occurred word for word - this is not Torah from Sinai, and our faith in Hashem does not depend on it.
What is clear is that telling authentic stories of tzaddikim is certainly commendable. By the way, some people think that there is value in inspiring people to repent through fabrications: inventing stories and miracles that never happened. Absolutely not. Our Torah is a Torah of truth. If someone invents fabrications, it is a sign that he has no truth to sell; and someone who has truth to sell, why would he need fabrications? We have genuine substance to offer. We are not Christianity and not Islam; we have no need for stories about al-Buraq or the miracles of "that man." We are speaking of things that can be verified and proven. Truth is not sold with lies - truth is sold only with truth. In Judaism, the end does not justify the means.
This is a mistake made by many ba'alei teshuvah, who believe that by fabricating a story and recounting a miracle that may or may not have happened, they will strengthen people. It is not at all certain that this will strengthen anyone; sometimes it does the exact opposite. There was once a preacher who stood up and said: "I want to tell you that I once went to ask one of the Gedolei Yisrael" - it is always most "convenient" to speak of deceased Torah leaders, whom no one can check with - "'Rebbe, is it permissible to invent stories in order to bring people back in teshuvah?' And he told me yes." And that was the very first story he made up!
However, "searching out their glory is glory" - telling true stories, and there is no shortage of true stories about tzaddikim, about Torah giants, holy men, and their conduct. One recalls from one's youth in yeshivah ketanah a book series titled Tikkun HaMiddot - small volumes by Rabbi Tobolsky, a wonderful series. What people always took from it - not just one individual, but everyone who read the series - were the stories in the final section. When discussing theft, for instance, it showed how meticulous the Gedolei Yisrael were regarding theft, how careful they were never to take a single penny belonging to another, and in all monetary matters.
One could study the entire book, but the stories provided tremendous inspiration, far more than the mussar discourse itself. When you hear about a tzaddik who acted in a certain way, you want to cleave to his path and emulate him. With a mussar lecture, an immediate defensiveness often arises: someone wants to rebuke me, so I resist; someone tells me that I am falling short, and antagonism is instantly triggered. But when a person hears a story about a tzaddik and how he conducted himself, on the contrary, a desire awakens within him to emulate the righteous, to attach himself to them, and to follow in their footsteps. This is "searching out their glory is glory": it is a noble trait to recount the praise of the wise and the righteous, and through this, one comes to emulate their ways.
מַעְיָן נִרְפָּשׂ וּמָקוֹר מָשְׁחָת צַדִּיק מָט לִפְנֵי־רָשָׁע׃ (כ"ה, כו) - "Like a muddied spring and a ruined fountain is a righteous man who falters before the wicked" (25:26).
The Vilna Gaon explains that our verse continues the previous one. If you ask why the righteous faltered before the wicked - after all, he is a tzaddik, and if he is righteous, it would not be fitting for him to falter, but rather to endure forever, "he shall never falter" - why did his feet slip, and why did he fall before the wicked? To this, the verse responds: "Eating too much honey is not good." This tzaddik reached for a level unsuited to him, attempting to attain spiritual heights he had not yet reached.
The Gaon explained there that "a righteous man faltering before the wicked" refers to the good inclination collapsing before the evil inclination. This is what causes the Torah to become unclear, turning into "a muddied spring and a ruined fountain," where we cannot connect to what we study or understand it properly - because the evil inclination genuinely prevails. These spiritual husks prevent us from delving deeply into the Torah as we should. And why did this state arise, where the good inclination collapses? Because "eating too much honey is not good" - you pursued things too great and wondrous for you; you tried to grasp matters you have not mastered, which are beyond your level, matters that require first filling one's belly with the Talmud and Halachic authorities to attain.
Consequently, when you attempt to apply these concepts, you realize they are beyond your level, and the good inclination collapses before the evil inclination - "a righteous man faltering before the wicked." Naturally, you do not understand what you are studying, and this breaks your spirit. Regarding this, it is said: "Do not seek what is too wondrous for you, nor search into what is concealed from you; you have no business with hidden things." Matters that are concealed and sublime, beyond your comprehension - do not delve into them. After all, we have seen those who entered the Pardes and did not emerge unscathed. If a person attempts to grasp what is beyond his capacities, it may well cause his downfall. One should not think, "If I grasp it, great, and if not, no harm done" - if you fail to grasp it, you may end up falling because of it.
The Malbim explains: Just as you understand that eating too much honey is not good, so too understand that overindulging in "investigating their glory" brings no glory. One who probes incessantly into the honor of the righteous will achieve no honor. How so? When you see the righteous falter before the wicked - remember, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter." You cannot fathom the ways of Hashem's providence; you cannot know past reincarnations; you cannot know what rectification that tzaddik requires and why he must endure such a period right now.
What troubles a person is understandable: the righteous should be exalted and esteemed, while the wicked should be abased before him, yet you see the very opposite - leading you to question and ponder: Where is the honor of the righteous? To this, Shlomo says: Just as overeating honey harms the stomach, so probing their glory will bring you neither honor nor benefit. These matters belong to the hidden secrets of the Creator, and if you attempt to investigate why the tzaddik collapsed here, and why the Holy One, blessed be He, did not aid him and exalt his stature - you will achieve nothing, for you truly cannot comprehend Hashem's providence.
Above all, a person must realize that honor here is not true honor. "The wise shall inherit honor" - the primary realm is the eternal world. Therefore, when one sees the righteous falter before the wicked, it is a mistake to think this is the conclusion or the final outcome, and to begin probing why, or where justice lies. You are not even in the middle - you are only at the beginning of the story. The culmination is Up Above, and there you will see the wicked as ash beneath the soles of the feet of the righteous. Then you will understand that everything here was nothing; it neither reflects nor represents ultimate reality, and no conclusions should be drawn from it. Why, then, conduct investigations here?
Anyone familiar with history knows that many such questions have arisen. As we saw regarding the tongue of Chutzpit the Meturgeman rolling in the dust - Elisha ben Avuyah witnessed this, and it is recorded that this was one of the reasons he went astray. When a person sees the righteous falter before the wicked, difficult questions arise. Regarding this, the verse says: Do not think that "probing their glory is glory." Realize that "the wise shall inherit honor" refers to the eternal world, and even if you see him humiliated here - what is that compared to eternal spiritual honor, which is the only true honor? Why draw conclusions from what you see here?
עִיר פְּרוּצָה אֵין חוֹמָה אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אֵין מַעְצָר לְרוּחוֹ׃ (כ"ה, כח) - Like a breached city without a wall is a man who has no restraint over his spirit. (25:28)
Seemingly, there is a redundancy here: if the city is "breached," what is added by "without a wall"? The Ibn Ezra explains: "A breached city" means breaches have been made in it, and "without a wall" means they did not subsequently repair them with a wall; they did not rebuild a wall at the breach. So too is a person who has no restraint over his spirit and soul - someone unable to hold himself back, who lacks internal brakes, who blurts out whatever is on his tongue and immediately says whatever crosses his mind without thinking twice before speaking.
We have already noted that there are people whose mouths work faster than their brains. Such a person rushes to speak before his internal processor has evaluated the data: Is it worthwhile to speak? Is it beneficial to speak? Will someone be hurt? Might this statement be incorrect? Perhaps it is inappropriate? Before he has even had a chance to think, his mouth has already blurted it out. This is a breached city without a wall.
The Vilna Gaon explains differently: A "breached city" is a city that has a wall, but there are breaches in the wall; while "lacking a wall" refers to an entirely different city - a city that has no wall at all, one built from the outset as an unwalled town (perazot). Perazot is related to peratzot (breaches), as the letters zayin and tzadi are interchangeable, referring to open cities that are not enclosed in any way. And if this refers to two kinds of cities, it also refers to two types of people.
There is a person who generally places restraint on his spirit, but occasionally his brakes overheat and fail to respond, and then he bursts out: someone annoyed him, his wife said something that disrupted his calm, the neighbor took his parking spot just as he was rushing home. There are situations in which he overcomes his impulses, and situations in which he does not. In contrast, there is a person who has "no wall" from the outset - he constantly blurts out whatever comes to mind.
The Vilna Gaon explains the practical difference: Whom must a breached city fear? Only an enemy and foe, someone who is actively "looking for it." For when the city is enclosed and merely has breaches in it, an attacker seeking to penetrate and cause damage will actively search for the breaches, find them, and enter. An ordinary passerby, however, sees a wall and does not know that there is a breach at one far corner or a breach behind a tree. By contrast, a city that has no wall at all must fear every passerby; any nameless wanderer can enter it, for it has no barriers and no walls, and anyone can walk right in smoothly.
The lesson: A person who occasionally lacks restraint over his spirit - who generally fences himself in, but has sporadic outbursts - is like an enclosed city whose walls have breaches. Who will actually cause him to lose control? The yetzer hara, which is the one actively "seeking" a person out. As the Chovot HaLevavot states: you sleep regarding him, but he is awake regarding you. The yetzer hara is constantly looking for breaches. And as we have already discussed, the yetzer hara enters through an opening - "sin crouches at the door." The yetzer waits for the narrowest opening, and as soon as one appears, he puts his foot in the door, and then try shutting it. That is why one cannot treat the yetzer hara with "approximations," "close enough," or "almost." With the yetzer hara, draw a hard line: do not touch. Strike a sharp divide between them.
It follows, then, that the way to keep a person from illicit desire, to save him from the snares and nets of the yetzer hara, is to place restraint on his spirit - so that the thoughts of his heart do not roam among forbidden matters. Indeed, two types of thoughts are forbidden to us, where the thought itself constitutes a prohibition: improper thoughts regarding forbidden relations and the like, and idolatry.
How does a person come to idolatry? "When you say in your heart: How do these nations serve [their gods]? I will do so too" - it begins with the heart's desire. "Wait, what does he worship? Look, they have economic success, meteoric success, while we are floundering; let us see what their idol worship is, who is the god that accomplishes this for them" - it all begins with the heart's desire. With forbidden relations, all the more so, everything begins with contemplation and thought. One brings a thought to mind, which is why a person should not even look at colorful women's garments hanging on a wall, since this leads to illicit thoughts, and once he covets her in his heart, it leads to action. Thus, the foundation is to place restraint on one's spirit so that these thoughts and fantasies do not take control, for those very imaginations will ultimately lead him to sin.
The Malbim explains: Most human drives are negative - pride, jealousy, vengeance; all of these are harmful thoughts raging in a person's heart. If a person does not place restraint on his spirit and does not cultivate emunah in his heart, it pains him to see his fellow succeed, and he becomes jealous of him. Why be jealous? What is decreed for you is yours, and what is not is his. That is emunah, which he lacks. Sometimes he even comes to hate him. Why do you hate him? Because he is successful. It is hard to believe, but there are people who see this as a legitimate reason: "Curse him, did you see how much money he made?" Why curse him? Why not say, "Good for him, and may Hashem grant him even more and more"? Is it at your expense? Did you lose anything because he made money?
In a person lacking emunah, these traits nest inside him. These negative traits run rampant within him without his even noticing; they express themselves naturally. As for pride, what is there to say? A person without Torah sees no flaw in it whatsoever: "Of course I am something special; of course there are not many like me. Do you know that I built this with my own ten fingers? Do you know how much effort I invested? Do you know how I knew exactly when to enter the market and when to exit? Everyone else fell and only I succeeded - me, me, and me." Pride is certainly something inherent to human nature.
And when these traits nest within a person, the enemy arrives at the city and war breaks out. For a person is easily drawn after his thoughts - thoughts of pride, thoughts of hatred, thoughts of vengeance, thoughts of sin, and thoughts of heresy. All of these emerge naturally from the human heart, for "man is born a wild donkey's colt": in his base nature, a person is a wild beast, and from that raw material his task is to produce a refined human being, for "the inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth." If he does not work to refine and elevate himself, he will remain trapped in all of this.
However, man possesses the "governing faculty," says the Malbim - the power of restraint, the power to apply the brakes. We have noted before that a person is measured and tested by the strength of his brakes: how capable he is of telling himself "no," how capable he is of saying to himself "this far and no further." This is the precise difference between an adult and a child. A child cannot tell himself "no" and cannot master himself; if you place a sweet beside a child, it will not be long before "while it is yet in his hand, he swallows it." But an adult is capable of saying: "I will not eat now; I will eat later." A person's stature is measured by his power of restraint - how capable he is of putting a brake on his spirit.
This is what is written: "A fool vents his entire spirit, but a wise man calms it backward," as we explained there. The fool vents his entire spirit; whatever comes to his mind, whatever strikes his fancy, he immediately goes and does. Not only that, but he even views this as a virtue. "What can you tell us about yourself? I am a likeable, spontaneous, and sensitive fellow." Is spontaneity really a virtue? Spontaneity is a flaw! What does spontaneous mean? "I act on impulse." Think first!
We once recounted that Rav Wolbe's grandson said to him: "Grandpa, let's go pray at the Kotel." The grandfather thought for a moment and replied: "All right." The grandson assumed they would pack up and leave immediately, but then he saw his grandfather sitting and learning. He asked: "Grandpa, didn't we say we were going to pray at the Kotel?" He replied: "Yes, in half an hour." Half an hour later, the grandfather stood up, took his coat, and they went. The grandson asked: "Grandpa, why didn't we go right away?" He answered: "Do you think it is so simple to just walk over to the Kotel, the remnant of our Beis HaMikdash? Not before I study a bit about what the Kotel is, what the presence of the Shechinah means, and what we are approaching." This is the exact opposite of spontaneity. "Are you coming? Let's go" - and off we go; "Let's jump" - and we jump. Why are you jumping? A person must think beforehand, contemplate beforehand, and examine whether the matter is necessary or unnecessary - that is the virtue. In contrast, "A fool vents his entire spirit": the fool is spontaneous, impulsive; everything with him is instantaneous.
And this is the wall: a person who restrains his spirit. This is what the verse states - "A breached city without a wall is a man whose spirit has no restraint." If there is no restraint on his spirit, imagination runs wild inside, and one will eventually arrive at all manner of sins. Do not say, "But I haven't committed a sin; these are just thoughts" - you will get there; it is only a matter of time. For the moment the imagination develops a thought about something, that thing is no longer unreachable or off-limits; one thinks about it, already pictures himself involved in it, and contemplates how he might do it. When a person harbors thoughts about a certain matter, the act is no longer unthinkable to him. If you dwell on how to steal, how to approach, how to take it, and how no one will notice you, you will end up doing that as well. "What, am I a thief? Absolutely not!" - yet allow such thoughts into your mind, and it will become a reality.
This is "A breached city without a wall," even if there is merely "no restraint to his spirit." What does "merely spirit" mean? No, sir; from the spirit you will inevitably proceed to actual deed, for then the yetzer hara gains the upper hand. The only wall that can be built is the restraint upon the spirit, and the moment you place a restraint upon the spirit - that is the wall through which the yetzer hara cannot enter.
Both verses teach the same reverence for boundaries. "To eat much honey is not good" - a person must not excessively investigate that which is not his: not the secrets of Torah before those who are unworthy, not His Blessed Essence but rather His conduct of the world, and not the accounting of "where is the honor of the tzaddik," for the wise will inherit honor in the eternal world, and one must not draw conclusions from what appears here. The proper "delving" is into the words of the Sages and their enactments, and in recounting the genuine praise of the righteous - true stories, not fabrications - through which a person can cleave to their ways. And "A breached city without a wall" - man's only wall is the governing faculty, the restraint upon his spirit: curbing the mouth before the mind has weighed the words, and curbing imaginations and improper thoughts before they materialize into reality. The more firmly a person maintains this wall, the less opening the enemy has through which to enter.