Introduction
In this section, we reach the conclusion of Chapter 27: one verse dealing with the fool (evil) for whom suffering is of no avail, and from there a transition to an entire passage of "Know well the condition of your flocks" - guidance on how to relate to one's modest possessions, business, and livestock, and through this, also a wonderful parable regarding a Rav, a public leader, and his guidance of his disciples. We will follow the order of the verses, with the straightforward meaning of the text (peshat), the explanations of Rashi, the Vilna Gaon (Gra), and the Malbim, along with the parables that accompany them.
Though You Grind the Fool - The Instruments of Crushing
אִם־תִּכְתּוֹשׁ־אֶת־הָאֱוִיל בַּמַּכְתֵּשׁ בְּתוֹךְ הָרִיפוֹת בַּעֱלִי, לֹא־תָסוּר מֵעָלָיו אִוַּלְתּוֹ׃ - Though you crush a fool in a mortar among crushed grain with a pestle, his foolishness will not leave him.
Let us begin with the peshat. "Though you crush a fool in a mortar (bamachtesh)" - this refers to a mortar. The mortar was a heavy vessel, typically made of copper, with a deep cavity inside (what is called a hollow basin). The implement with which one grinds is called an eli (pestle), and Rashi explains that it is called this because one constantly raises it up (ma'alim) and brings it down. The pestle is a type of rod, flat at the bottom and widening slightly beyond the rod's width, with which they would beat and crush spices, grains, and whatever ingredients needed preparation. In the language of the Talmud: the mortar is an asita, and the pestle is a bochna - that tool which rises and descends (from which the modern Hebrew word for piston, bochnah, is derived).
"Among the rifot" - rifot refers to the grains of wheat that were crushed and ground in the mortar. That is to say: even if you crush the fool in the mortar, among the groats of wheat, with the pestle - his foolishness will not depart from him. And here the question arises: What is the relevance of rifot here? It would have been sufficient to say, "Though you crush the fool in a mortar, his foolishness will not depart from him"; what do the words "among the groats with a pestle" add?
The Gra's Explanation: Three Occasions When a Person Is Stricken
The Gra explains: The grains are crushed, and the pounding is beneficial to them - whereas he, the fool (evil), draws no conclusions. He ought to see that the crushing benefits the grains and understand that for him, too, this is the intended purpose, yet he learns nothing from them; therefore, "his foolishness will not depart from him."
The Gra adds: There are three different times when a person is punished and stricken. First, when he commits one of the negative commandments involving an action, and Beit Din administers lashes to him. Second, when the Holy One, Blessed is He, pours out His wrath upon the entire world, and everyone acts upon "Let us search our ways and examine them," introspecting and probing their conduct, while he remains serene and indifferent, untouched by it all; around him the storm rages, yet nothing disturbs him, and he does not abandon his evil ways - upon such a person, heavenly wrath and afflictions will fall. Third, when the Holy One, Blessed is He, sends distress and anguish upon him specifically, striking him through his children or other matters, may the Merciful One preserve us, irrespective of a specific court transgression or global wrath, but rather as an individual reckoning from Heaven.
According to this, the entire verse is interpreted: "Though you crush a fool in a mortar" - this is the punishment of Beit Din, who saw that he transgressed and sentenced him to lashes. "Among the rifot" - an allusion to a collective affliction upon the community, where the entire community is crushed, meaning they repent and mend their deeds, yet our fool remains unmoved; nothing crushes him, as though he were made of different matter, unaffected, persisting in his ways and refusing to repent. "With a pestle (ba'eli)" - from the word elyon, from Above, where the Holy One, Blessed is He, directly metes out punishment from Heaven and brings afflictions upon him. And across all three circumstances - whether through Beit Din, through communal hardships which he failed to take to heart, thereby bringing upon himself "sevenfold for your sins," or through heavenly chastisement stemming from other Divine reckonings - his foolishness will not depart from him.
The Malbim's Explanation: Evil, Kesil, and the Cleaving of the Shell
The Malbim notes what has already been explained several times: an evil is different from a kesil. Evil is related to ulai (perhaps) - this is the skeptical, doubting type. "Who says?", "There is no definitive proof", "Nothing is certain", "There are arguments both ways" - he constantly casts doubt, questions the axioms of wisdom, and does not believe in them. For such a person, suffering is of no use. In contrast, the kesil can be highly intelligent and knows full well that he is acting wrongly - but he follows the desires of his heart, and desire blinds his eyes. Therefore, if you crush the kesil, a little suffering will bring him back to the right path, since the path of truth is clear to him; the moment it becomes apparent that the pleasures he imagined yield nothing but misery, he will return. But the evil will not return, for he doubts the very laws of wisdom, says "perhaps" to everything, and even when he is being crushed, the purpose of the crushing remains unclear to him.
The Malbim offers an analogy: there are seeds to which the chaff adheres only externally (a neighboring attachment), and there are seeds to which the chaff adheres intrinsically (an essential attachment). "Neighboring attachment" means it is not truly fused, but merely coats it from the outside - like a peanut, whose outer shell and inner red skin are easily removed. In contrast, in wheat and barley the attachment is intrinsic; the husk is fused to the grain itself, so to remove it one needs a mortar. This is what the verse means: even if you pound the fool (the evil) in a mortar, his husk will not be removed from him, for the distorted views and nonsense in his head are not merely an external husk but part of him, part of his very being and essence. Such a husk cannot be removed by pounding. Not so the kesil, whose entire error stems from lust; with him, the husk is merely an external attachment - pound him, and his foolishness will depart from him.
The Malbim adds: "Even if they pound him among the groats" - he ought to have looked around him and observed what is happening to the groats, that their husks are separating from the grain, and understood that perhaps he, too, is expected to shed his husks. But he draws no conclusions; he is not certain of it, for that is the nature of the evil - the perpetual doubter, the one who is never certain; and because he is never certain, he remains forever trapped in his doubts and his folly.
The Dubno Maggid: "They Didn't Mean Me"
The Dubno Maggid explains "among the groats" in a famous and wonderful way: They pound the fool among the groats and say to him, "Well, fool, wake up! Learn, draw conclusions - don't you see what is being done to you?" And he replies, "No, they did not mean me at all; they meant the groats, and I just happen to be here by coincidence." If the fool were alone in the mortar, says the Dubno Maggid, the pounding would have helped, for he would have understood that they meant him - what could he possibly say to explain it away? But since the pounding takes place among the groats, he feels he is merely here by chance, and that they really meant the groats. And that is why his folly will not depart from him.
"Know Well the State of Your Flocks" - Do Not Neglect Your Property
יָדֹעַ תֵּדַע פְּנֵי צֹאנֶךָ, שִׁית לִבְּךָ לַעֲדָרִים׃ - Know well the state of your flocks; set your heart to the herds.
Rashi explains: Do not take it lightly to observe them constantly and see what they need. Do not say, "What are they, just animals?" - rather, examine all their needs. And the Gra explains: Go regularly to check on the well-being of the sheep, and pay attention to organize them into separate herds, each herd on its own.
The Malbim explains that this verse comes to teach us not to abandon our assets into the hands of others. The Gemara states that one who wishes to become impoverished should hire workers and not sit with them. When you do not supervise them, you arrive at five o'clock expecting the job to be finished, only to discover that "we got stuck here," "there was an issue," "we spent four hours trying to free it" - and work that should have taken one hour was dragged out over the entire day. This leads one to poverty. Therefore, "Know well the state [literally, face] of your flocks": do not leave your business entirely in the hands of others; know what is happening with it, monitor what is being done. "Penei" (face) connotes face to face. Through this, ensure that they multiply and flourish into many herds. But if you leave them in someone else's hands, you may very well return to find that of all the flock that was meant to multiply, only "one from a city and two from a family" remain.
"For Wealth Is Not Forever" - Do Not Disparage the Small Things
כִּי לֹא לְעוֹלָם חֹסֶן, וְאִם נֵזֶר לְדוֹר וָדוֹר׃ - For riches do not endure forever, nor does a crown last for all generations.
Rashi explains: If you are wealthy in silver and gold, silver and gold do not remain in your hands forever. Therefore, do not say, "Sheep are insignificant things; I pay no attention to them, for I have major investments, I have millions." The verse tells you: Wealth does not endure forever; there is no guarantee that this strength will last forever, so do not belittle the small things - which is the flock.
A man once came to the Chafetz Chaim and said to him: "Rebbe, you always say that a person must be careful, that one never knows what the day will bring, that the wheel of fortune can turn against him, and therefore one should accomplish and act today to the best of his ability - but I do not understand this. I am invested across half the world: in banks, oil stocks, textiles, gas, stock markets, and diamonds. Even if the entire diamond industry collapses, there is still oil; even if the oil industry collapses, there are other natural resources, and so on. So how can the Rabbi say that the wheel can turn against a person, and that 'in the midst of his days it shall leave him' - that his money might suddenly leave him?" The Chafetz Chaim said to him: "'In the midst of his days it shall leave him' does not necessarily mean the money leaves the man; it could also mean the opposite." The man was instantly terrified and said: "No, no, the Rabbi must not say such things! Let no error go forth from the ruler; heaven forbid the Rabbi should utter such a thing..." He immediately caught the point and understood. For it is not written who leaves whom: if the money leaves you, that is the better scenario; and in the worse scenario, God forbid, you will leave the money. Therefore, a person should not disparage the small things or say, "This has no value" - for wealth is not forever.
The Gra explains: "House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers" - naturally, this does not remain in your hands forever; your fathers bequeathed it to you, but it is not guaranteed to you eternally. Also "a crown" - referring to the royal crown: a king's reign is usually perpetual, as he is not elected every four years, but is king for all his days and passes the kingship to his sons. Nevertheless, the verse says, "and does a crown endure for generation to generation?" - you have no guarantee that your sons after you will be kings. Behold, King David had Solomon, and there was also Rehoboam son of Solomon, in whose days the kingdom was divided and most of the kingdom passed to Jeroboam son of Nebat. Likewise in our times, how many leaders and tyrants thought their sons would rule after them forever, yet everywhere it became clear that there is no guarantee that kingship will remain in your hands from generation to generation. Therefore, says the Gra, pay attention to your flock - for flocks endure from generation to generation: a person who has a flock of a thousand sheep, this remains for his children after him. Wealth is not forever, nor is a royal crown from generation to generation - but sheep are.
Hay is Removed and Tender Grass Appears
גָּלָה חָצִיר וְנִרְאָה דֶשֶׁא, וְנֶאֶסְפוּ עִשְּׂבוֹת הָרִים׃ - The hay is removed and the tender grass appears, and the herbs of the mountains are gathered.
The Gra explains: Inquire whether the hay has been removed and the tender grass has appeared - grasses and vegetation that are animal fodder, and although they may also serve man, their primary purpose is for animals. "And the herbs of the mountains are gathered" - atop the mountains it is impossible to graze the animals (where the air is cooler and rains are more frequent), so gather the mountain herbs to yourself and bring them to your flock. This is a continuation of the theme: a person should not disparage the flock, because great benefit will emerge from it.
And the Malbim explains: "The hay is removed" - when the summer season arrives, the hay, which is food for the animals, is harvested, as it is written, "He causes grass to grow for the cattle"; "and the tender grass appears" - the grass is seen and recognized in the field. "And the herbs of the mountains" - gather these into your home, for it is impossible to bring the sheep up there.
כְּבָשִׂים לִלְבוּשֶׁךָ, וּמְחִיר שָׂדֶה עַתּוּדִים׃ - Lambs are for your clothing, and he-goats are the price of a field.
The sheep that have good wool - you will use them for clothing and enjoy their fleece. And the he-goats, which are fat and healthy - you will sell them, and with their proceeds purchase fields. In simple terms: you derive immense benefit from the flock, so do not belittle it; therefore, "know well the state of your flock" and "set your heart to the herds."
And Enough Goats' Milk - and the Parable of a Rabbi Leading a Community
וְדֵי חֲלֵב עִזִּים לְלַחְמְךָ לְלֶחֶם בֵּיתֶךָ, וְחַיִּים לְנַעֲרוֹתֶיךָ׃ - And there will be enough goats' milk for your food, for the food of your household, and sustenance for your maidens.
Rashi explains: It will be enough for your sustenance to have goats' milk for your bread. You have already taken wool from them, and now milk them, and this will be for your bread and the bread of your household - be content with the goats' milk.
From here, Rashi explains the allegory at the end of the chapter: "The state of your flock" - this refers to the rabbi appointed over the community, where "know well" and "set your heart to the herds" means he should carry them in his bosom and guide them gently. He should not lead them with harshness, shouting, and threats, but rather carry his flock - the members of his congregation - in his bosom and lead them patiently. "For riches do not endure forever" - you will enjoy their fruits while the principal remains. "The hay is removed" - because when his congregation and listeners publicize his words and his teachings spread, the Torah grows; the Torah that was previously confined to a certain place travels, becomes publicized, and proclaims his greatness. "Lambs are for your clothing" - these are the students, who will be a source of renown and garments of glory and splendor for him, so that everyone will say, "They are the seed blessed by Hashem," these are the students of Rabbi So-and-so - and it is evident that they are God-fearing, men of fine character and Torah. Thus, through this very thing he will attain a good name, and through this very thing he will be able to magnify the Torah and make it glorious.
The Gra explains: "Enough goats' milk for your food and the food of your household" - "bread" does not strictly mean baked bread, but any nourishment, as in "except for the bread that he ate"; the meaning is your livelihood and the sustenance of your household. And why regarding the maidens did the verse use the term "life" rather than "bread"? This is what is said in Eishet Chayil: "She gives food to her household and a set portion to her maidens" - to her household she gives all their needs - food, whatever is necessary; but to her maidens she gives a "set portion," something measured, with restraint and allocation. Here too: for you and your household there will be food to meet all your needs, while to your maidens you will give enough for their basic sustenance. In the allegory, the Gra explains, the flock represents the students: look after them, "set your heart to the herds" - establish yeshivot, so that through this they will conduct themselves and be guided in the path of the Torah.
Two Crowns: King and Ruler
And on the verse, "For wealth is not forever, nor does a crown endure for generation to generation," the Vilna Gaon adds a fundamental explanation: in sovereignty there are "two crowns," two types of royal power. There is kingship that comes from one's ancestors, and there is kingship that comes directly from Heaven. From ancestors - like Shlomo, who inherited the monarchy from his father, and concerning whom it is said, "From the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne." From Heaven - like David, whose father was not a king; Yishai was a great man, but not a king.
Based on this foundation, the Vilna Gaon explains the dual phrasing often found in Scripture. The tribes said to Yosef: "Shall you indeed reign over us, or shall you indeed rule over us?" - indicating that there is the aspect of a king (melech) and the aspect of a ruler (moshel). So too regarding the royal prerogatives described by Shmuel: "who will reign over you," and later, "and you shall be his servants" - "will reign over you" refers to a king, while "you shall be his servants" refers to a ruler. And similarly in our prayers: "Your kingdom is a kingdom of all worlds, and Your dominion is throughout every generation."
And what is the difference? A king (melech) is one whom everyone unites to serve of their own accord, placing the royal crown upon him; the people are the ones who crowned the king, accepting his sovereignty willingly and saying to him, "You shall reign over us." A ruler (moshel), by contrast, governs through sheer power: "I rule over you by force; I seized power because I was stronger than everyone else, I struck down all rebels, and I arose and took control." Dictators who eliminated anyone who might stand in their way and silenced every newspaper and every critic of the regime, until the entire press speaks only of how wonderful and glorious the ruler is - these are the methods of a ruler (moshel) to silence opposition. A king, by contrast, is one whom the people accept willingly.
This explains Yosef's dream, in which he saw two distinct elements: "Behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright" - this represents rulerhip (memshelah): I rise, stand firm, and rule by force. "And behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf" - you come willingly, surrounding me, bowing down, and accepting my kingship. Therefore, the brothers replied with both terms: "Shall you indeed reign over us, or shall you indeed rule over us?" - will you receive kingship with our consent, or will you rule over us by force? Thus, in his dream he saw an expression of both types of rule: both kingship (malchut) and dominion (memshelah).
With this, the Vilna Gaon explains the progression formulated in our prayers: "For the kingship is Hashem's, and He rules over the nations," followed by, "Saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esav, and the kingdom shall be Hashem's," and finally, "And Hashem shall be King over all the earth." Why is "And Hashem shall be King over all the earth" stated only at the very end, and not at the beginning? The distinction is simple: "For the kingship is Hashem's" refers to us, the Jewish people, who accept His sovereignty willingly, for we declared, "We will do and we will hear." "And He rules over the nations" means that the nations have not accepted His sovereignty; over them, the Holy One, blessed be He, rules by force, according to His will, governing them as He sees fit. In the future to come, however, when everyone will unite shoulder to shoulder to serve Him whole-heartedly and crown Him as King, then "Hashem shall be King over all the earth" - not only over us, but over the entire world. Then, even among the nations, He will be called King, because all will willingly accept His sovereignty upon themselves.
The Conclusion of the Chapter in the Malbim's Explanation
The Malbim explains the end of the verse simply: "And there will be enough goats' milk for your food" - milk is good for one's health, and it will serve as staple nourishment for you and for your household. As for the maidservants, even though they will not consume milk regularly as a staple food, nonetheless "and sustenance for your maidens" - they will derive vitality and health from it; even if they do not have milk regularly as primary sustenance, whatever goats' milk they drink from time to time will certainly grant them life and vigor.
In Summary:
The conclusion of the chapter opens with the evil (the obstinate fool), for whom tribulations are of no avail, because his shell is bound to him intrinsically and because he is forever doubtful and draws no conclusions - neither from his own pounding in the mortar nor from what occurs around him. In this he differs from the kesil, who knows the truth but whose desire blinds him, so that a little suffering brings him back to the right path. From there, the text transitions to practical guidance: "Know well the state of your flocks" - do not leave your property and business entirely in the hands of others, and do not dismiss modest assets, for wealth is not forever and no royal crown is guaranteed from generation to generation, whereas the flock and its benefits remain for your children after you. In its allegorical sense, this depicts the rabbi's leadership of his congregation: to carry them in his bosom and guide them gently, to raise disciples who are "lambs for your clothing" and an honor and splendor to their teacher, and to be satisfied with modest sustenance out of joy that the principal remains intact and Torah is disseminated and multiplied.