Introduction: Chapter 26 - The Chapter of the Fool
Chapter 26 of Mishlei opens a long series of verses dealing with the kesil (the fool): with what is fitting for him and what is unfitting, with the honor accorded to him, and with the damage caused when something good arrives in a place and time not its own. We will begin with the first two verses, studying them according to the plain sense of Scripture (peshuto shel mikra), the Vilna Gaon, and the Malbim.
Verse 1: Like Snow in Summer and Rain at Harvest
כַּשֶּׁלֶג בַּקַּיִץ וְכַמָּטָר בַּקָּצִיר כֵּן לֹא נָאוֶה לִכְסִיל כָּבוֹד׃ - Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, so honor is unfitting for a fool.
First, what is "kayitz" (summer)? Many do not know the origin of the word. "Kayitz" is the name for dried figs, and this appears many times in Scripture - they would bring the "kayitz". Why were they called this? Because the dried figs were chopped and made into pressed fig cakes (ketzi'ot). And since this is the season when the figs are brought out to dry and are chopped, the entire season came to be called by that name: kayitz.
The plain meaning of the verse: snow - summer is not its time, yet here it has arrived in summer. And rain - the harvest is the time when the wheat is dry and there is no rain, yet here rain falls during the harvest. Both are things that are out of season and inappropriate. "So honor is unfitting for a fool" - in the same way, honor is not fitting for a fool, just like "a golden ring in a swine's snout", like snow in summer and rain at harvest time.
The Vilna Gaon's Explanation: Rain in Its Time Gives Life; Out of Season It Destroys
The Vilna Gaon emphasizes that snow and rain are of tremendous benefit to the earth. Snow saturates the earth, as it is written, "For to the snow He says: 'Be earth'" - through the snow the earth is formed and strengthened. So too with the rain in the first two seasonal falls, as it is stated, "For as the rain and the snow descend from heaven... but saturates the earth, causing it to birth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater." The entire process of the earth is compared to pregnancy and birth: the rain is called "revi'ah", from the root of mating; afterward "causing it to birth" - this is the gestation; and finally "and sprout" - the stage after birth, when the plant emerges and grows.
However, snow in summer - not only does it fail to nourish the earth, it ruins the grain that has already ripened and causes severe damage. And rain during harvest is a sign of a curse: it ruins and spoils the crops; even the produce that has already been harvested and lies in the field to dry, instead of drying, becomes soaked, rots, and goes to waste.
So it is, says the Vilna Gaon, with one who gives honor to a fool - meaning, one who teaches Torah to a fool. The Torah in itself is "a good doctrine I have given you", truth and goodness, but not in this place and not for this person. Rain - is it good? It is wonderful, but not at this time. And just as you understand that rain is wonderful yet destructive at the wrong time, so you should understand that the Torah is sublime, yet for a person unsuited to it, it becomes destructive.
And the fool will not realize this. What is the result? From what he learns of the Torah, not only does he fail to elevate it, but he produces "novel insights" the likes of which no ear has ever heard - not because they are wondrous and sublime insights, but because they are baseless concoctions, fabrications, distortions, and a complete misunderstanding of what he studied. Why? Because the fool does not invest himself in the Torah. He glanced over something superficially, proclaims, "I got it, I got it!", and immediately, "Based on this, here is a chiddush," jumping straight to conclusions. How much did you toil to understand? How deeply did you contemplate? How much did you labor over this before reaching these conclusions?
"Did You Review Choshen Mishpat?"
A man once came to ask Rav Moshe Feinstein a question on monetary law, in Choshen Mishpat, and Rav Moshe issued his ruling. However, a young fellow had previously given him the opposite directive. That insolent fellow came to Rav Moshe Feinstein and challenged, "Rabbi, on what basis did you say that?" and began to argue with him. Rav Moshe asked him, "Have you gone through Choshen Mishpat?" He replied, "Not all of it." Rav Moshe said to him, "I have reviewed it a hundred times. Go through Choshen Mishpat, and then come back and we will debate." Such is the sheer audacity: he has not even learned Choshen Mishpat, yet he comes to argue with Rav Moshe Feinstein, armed with theories, objections, and critiques! Master of the Universe, what have you learned that you come raising questions? What have you mastered that you already consider yourself an authority?
"You Understand Less About Torah Than I Understand About Aerodynamics"
Rav Yaakov Galinsky recounted his days as a teacher in the yeshiva in Hadera, during the period when new immigrants were arriving. It was an extremely difficult battle to rescue the children of the Sephardic communities, fight for them, bring them into yeshivot, and educate them in the path of Torah. Anyone who wanted to send their children to religious schools was denied the "Red Booklet" - well-known stories. They established the Hadera yeshiva, and one day an academic from the Technion appeared there. "Who are you, sir?" "I am a doctor of aerodynamics." "And how can I help you?" The man said, "I heard you deliver a sermon yesterday in Haifa, and I came to argue with you about the Torah, and why you still believe in it." Rav Yankel replied, "I am willing to debate, but first I want to debate you about aerodynamics." The man began to sneer: "Do you even know what aerodynamics is?" He said, "Not really, but let us debate." He asked, "Why do you want to argue with me about something you do not understand?" Rav Yankel answered, "You should know that you understand less about Torah than I understand about aerodynamics."
If a person expresses an opinion in a field he knows nothing about, people mock him. Only when it comes to Torah does every novice open his mouth without restraint, offering critiques, objections, and corrections to the Sages, lodging complaints about why the Sages did not act in such and such a manner. What do you know? What have you studied that entitles you to dictate to a Torah sage how he should conduct himself?
"Clean the Glass"
A man once approached Rav Yisrael Salanter and said, "The Rabbi is open-minded and a man of the world. There are many benighted rabbis who do not understand worldly affairs; they need to be taught derech eretz (proper conduct)." Rav Yisrael Salanter answered him, "To fix the entire world and all the rabbis right now is very difficult. But I have an idea for how to rectify this in a single moment." "How?" "Simply repent in your heart, and then you will see that the rabbis are fine, that they are wise, that they know the Torah, and that everything is in order." When a person's windowpane is dirty, everything outside looks filthy to him. The view is fine; the problem is with the window - clean the glass.
And when a person imagines that he has critiques and objections - why did that rabbi say this, or why did Rav Ovadia express himself that way - he suddenly considers himself the gadol hador, an authority with something to teach them. They once asked someone, one of those subservient "court rabbis" brought into the media to dance to the tune of the establishment: "Rav Ovadia Yosef said that the victims of the Holocaust were souls that came down for a tikkun (spiritual rectification) - what do you have to say about that?" He replied condescendingly and dismissively: "I do not have Rav Ovadia Yosef's answers." One cannot help but reflect: how foolish such a person is! You don't have his answers? You don't have his Torah, you don't have his wisdom, you don't have his diligence, you don't have his fear of Heaven - you have nothing of the sort! And what Rav Ovadia said was stated by the greatest luminaries of the previous generation. But such a person simply says whatever the media wants to hear. And before whom does he come to attack a giant of Israel? Before those who forsake the covenant, whose sole purpose is to portray Rav Ovadia Yosef as a benighted fanatic - and you supply them with fuel and aid their cause. How much ignorance is here, and how much malice!
Thus, there is a fool whom one must not teach Torah, because if you teach him - not only will he fail to improve through it, as the Vilna Gaon explains, but he will also fabricate novel interpretations that never existed, distort and twist the Torah, and spawn notions entirely foreign to it. Rain is a wonderful blessing, but in the summer it is utterly destructive.
The Malbim's Explanation: Rain on an Unseeded Field
The Malbim explains that both snow and rain benefit seeds and produce: snow fertilizes the soil and rain causes growth. However, in the summer and during harvest, there are no longer seeds in the field - so what will sprout? Not what is supposed to grow. What is present in the summer? Thorns, thistles, and weeds. Thus, rain during harvest is harmful and rots the grain; not only did you fail to improve anything, you caused damage. And snow is harmful in summer, for in summer we need the heat of the sun to dry the figs, and when snow arrives prematurely - not only is it unhelpful, it ruins the figs. The proper time for snow is after the rain, and the proper time for rain is in the winter, after the summer; and as soon as they arrive out of season, they cause ruin and decay.
So too, "Honor is not fitting for a fool." When honor is accorded to a wise scholar - "The wise shall inherit honor" - that honor nurtures in the scholar his Torah, his fear of Heaven, and his divine service, for when honor is bestowed upon the Torah, people cleave to Torah, to the Sages, and to those who serve Hashem. Indeed, one of the harshest curses foretold for the final generation, the era preceding Mashiach's arrival, is that "those who fear sin will be despised" - precisely the God-fearing and servants of Hashem will be deemed lowly, disgraced, and repulsive. Therefore, if we wish to elevate and cherish the Torah, we must accord honor to the Sages.
Conversely, when honor is given to fools, it is a disgrace to the Torah. Instead of admiring Torah giants, people revere soccer players and movie actors. Where does this come from? From bestowing honor upon a fool; one who deserved disgrace has instead received honor.
A Student Should Not Stand Out in Anything Except Torah
Rav Kahaneman ztz"l saw to it that they did not sing on Shabbat in the Ponevezh Yeshiva. In Chevron they sang at the Shabbat table; in Ponevezh they did not. And this was not due to diligence, so that they would rush back to learn, but because he said he did not want a young man in the yeshiva to stand out in anything other than Torah study. For if they sing, there will be one student with a special voice, an extraordinary talent - and in the yeshiva he will gain renown and prominence for that. He did not want a student to stand out in the yeshiva for anything else.
Therefore, this entire phenomenon of musical idols, which to our sorrow has also penetrated our own community, the God-fearing public, is deeply flawed and corrupt, and the Gedolei Yisrael speak out against it: concerts and shows where they are put on a pedestal and spoken to with great honor. For it is well known that eighty or ninety percent of them - and some would insist on one hundred, but let us suffice with eighty - are very degraded people in their private lives. As for the secular ones, there is no need to speak at all; they are in the mire of the public sphere, possessing media, fame, and splendor; but even within our own community, more and more stories emerge time and again, and they are known to be very base individuals in terms of their character. This is not a figure to emulate, neither that singer nor that actor, nor is it someone to elevate as a banner. And to such a person one gives a platform and interviews, speaking to him: "What new song did you release?" and discussing the song for half an hour. Is this of any interest? Why create an aura around something that is fundamentally empty? Do people need songs? True, one can sing, one can buy a recording and listen. But to idolize it? What are you doing to your children's education? Your child, instead of aspiring to Torah, noble character traits, and fear of Heaven, aspires to be like that actor, like that singer, like that media figure. "They choose new gods" - new objects of veneration. We want him to admire great, God-fearing people, individuals for whom the service of Hashem is a guiding light, people of noble character and righteousness. Let him not hang a picture of a singer in his room; let him hang a picture of a Gadol. And if you do not want that - do not hang anything, but under no circumstances take someone who is not an object of admiration for us and turn him into someone looked upon with awe.
We find, therefore: honor given to a wise person is like rain upon a sown field - there is seed within it that yields and sprouts, and the rain is wonderful. But the fool is like thorns; he has neither wisdom nor seed that can yield good things. If you give him honor, it will only cause his foolishness and vanity to grow, for he has now received validation for his words and nonsense, seeing that he was honored for them. With the wise person, honor leads him to engage even more in Torah and to exert himself further in his deeds. Honor is fitting for the wise, whereas for one who gives honor to a fool, who has sown nothing - the rain only corrupts and spoils, further causing him to persist in his foolishness.
Verse 2: Like a Wandering Bird, Like a Flying Swallow
כַּצִּפּוֹר לָנוּד כַּדְּרוֹר לָעוּף כֵּן קִלְלַת חִנָּם (לא) [לוֹ] תָבֹא׃ - Like a bird wandering, like a swallow in flight, so a baseless curse will not come [or: will come upon him].
Rashi explains: just as a bird wanders, and just as the swallow returns to its nest, so is a baseless curse. And according to the written text (ketiv) with an alef, "lo tavo" (it will not come) - the plain meaning is that the curse will not take effect. Note that there are two readings here: the spoken reading (keri) is "lo" spelled with a vav (meaning "upon him"), while the written form (ketiv) is "lo" spelled with an alef (meaning "not"). Both readings are true, for both convey an authentic message.
The Zohar: A Tzaddik's Curse Even Without Intent
The Minchat Shai cites from the holy Zohar in Parashat Vayishlach: Rabbi Yose said, it is written, "A baseless curse lo [spelled with an alef, meaning not] shall come," yet it was established as "lo" with a vav [meaning to him] - this is the keri. And if it is the curse of a tzaddik, even if he did not intend it, once it has left his mouth, the evil inclination seizes it and prosecutes with it at a time of danger. This is what happened to Yaakov Avinu, who uttered a curse without ill intent: "With whomever you find your gods, he shall not live." Lavan came searching for the teraphim, and Yaakov told him that whoever was found in possession of them would not live - unaware that Rachel had taken them. It was like "an error proceeding from the ruler," where a small mistake caused terrible harm. Concerning this the Zohar says: "A baseless curse will come to him" - it will come upon the very person who cursed; not that it fell upon him personally, but upon his wife. That curse was fulfilled, even though he certainly had no intention, God forbid, that Rachel should die.
The Minchat Shai further cites from the second chapter of Makkot a warning that one must not curse another person, for the curse will surely recoil upon the one who utters it: "A baseless curse will come to him" - upon himself. You cursed? The curse will rebound upon you.
The Vilna Gaon: A Bird Wanders and a Swallow Returns Immediately
The Vilna Gaon explains how this fits into the words of the verse. "Like a wandering bird" - when a bird is sent away, it wanders from its place. "Like a flying swallow" - when sent to fly, it returns to its original place, to the very house where it was before. So too, "a baseless curse will come to him": you dispatch the curse from your mouth, but like the bird returning to its original place, the curse will likewise return to the one who cursed and descend upon his own head.
And why is wandering (lanud) said of the bird, while flying (la'uf) is said of the swallow (deror)? What is a deror? The Gemara explains: a tzippor deror - and why is it called that? Because it dwells in a house just as in the open field; deror means freedom, as in "to proclaim liberty (deror) to the captives" - meaning it lives freely. The distinction is that a regular bird does not return immediately; rather, it first wanders and only returns later - doves or migratory birds may return only after a year, coming back here each summer; this is lanud, wandering off and returning after time. By contrast, the swallow returns immediately. Through this, Shlomo hinted to us: sometimes a curse strikes immediately, and sometimes it delays and strikes only after time. But keep in mind that if one uttered an unjustified curse - the curse will fall upon the head of the one who cursed.
A Warning: Do Not Treat an Ordinary Person's Curse Lightly
The Minchat Shai further notes that there is a warning here for a person to be vigilant and ensure people do not curse him. For according to the keri, "unto him it shall come" (lo tavo, spelled with a vav) - the curse can take effect, and it could very well be like an inadvertent error proceeding from a ruler and take hold. Therefore, do not place yourself in a situation where people will curse you. Regarding this our Sages said, "Do not treat an ordinary person's curse lightly," for Avimelech cursed Sarah: "Behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes" (kesut einayim) - meaning a covering - and this was ultimately fulfilled in Yitzchak: "and his eyes grew dim from seeing." That is to say, even though the person who cursed is an ordinary and unworthy person, an angel is sometimes granted the power to seize that curse and bring about its consequences.
What does this mean in practical terms? If someone says: "I am going to a certain place; there is a relative there who curses me all the time" - do not go there. Do not put yourself in such a situation, and do not say, "An undeserved curse will not come; it will merely rebound on him." That may be true, but a situation may arise where it affects you as well. Never treat an ordinary person's curse lightly, for you never know. This is comparable to a fly, a mosquito, or an infection: if they find a wound, they will latch onto it. It is true that a completely healthy person remains unharmed, but a narrow fissure or a tiny scratch is enough for the infection to cause damage. Therefore, one must be very careful not to place himself in situations where he will be cursed, and not say, "I am unconcerned, it cannot reach me" - lest there be some slight blemish in you, and the curse will find a place to take hold.
The Malbim's Explanation: The Bird Nests in the House, while the Swallow Does Not Enter at All
The Malbim explains: A bird nests in houses as well, yet its nature is still to wander from place to place and it is not permanently present - this is "Even the bird has found a house," for the bird indeed nests in houses, attics, and similar spaces. By contrast, the swallow does not submit to authority, and therefore does not dwell in a house at all; rather, "and the swallow a nest for herself" - its nature is to fly far away, so it is found only in its nest in the wild.
According to this: based on the written text (ketiv) with an aleph, "an undeserved curse shall not (lo) come" - not only will it not stay permanently, wandering like a bird, but it will not enter the house at all, even temporarily, like a swallow in flight. And based on the traditional reading (keri) with a vav, "unto him (lo) it shall come" - it will return to the one who cursed, like a bird and a swallow that return to their nest after their wanderings. In simple words: both dimensions exist together - the curse will come upon the one who cursed and will not harm the person who was cursed; yet despite all this, as we noted, it is proper to be cautious even of an ordinary person's curse.
In summary: The first two verses of the chapter teach the profound power of proper place and proper time. Snow and rain are a great blessing for the earth - in their proper season; but out of season, they rot the grain and ruin the fruit. So it is with honor: for a wise person, it is like rain upon a sown field, cultivating Torah and fear of Heaven within him and drawing people closer to Torah; but for a fool, it is rain upon a field of thorns, reinforcing his foolishness, legitimizing his nonsense, and diverting public admiration and the education of children away from worthy role models toward vanity. And in the second verse: an undeserved curse returns to the one who cursed - sometimes immediately like a swallow, and sometimes after time like a wandering bird - therefore one must be exceedingly careful never to curse. On the other hand, even though an unjust curse does not settle upon the righteous, do not treat an ordinary person's curse lightly, and one must never place himself in a situation where he will be cursed, lest the curse find a tiny crack through which to take hold.