At first glance, the three verses before us seem to address three separate topics: faithfulness and tithes, showing favoritism in judgment, and the haste to amass wealth. Yet, as we will see, the commentators - particularly the Vilna Gaon (the Gra) - weave them all into a single thread: the trait of trust in Hashem (bitachon). One who possesses faith and trust is infused with blessing; his eye is generous and his hand is open. In contrast, one who lacks trust chases after money, pinches pennies, flatters others, and ultimately ends up losing. Let us proceed through the verses in order.
אִישׁ אֱמוּנוֹת רַב־בְּרָכוֹת וְאָץ לְהַעֲשִׁיר לֹא יִנָּקֶה׃ (כ) - A faithful man abounds with blessings, but one who hastens to grow rich will not go unpunished.
Rashi explains: "A faithful man" (ish emunot) is one who gives his tithes faithfully. There is no witness to the matter; no one inspects or audits him - only the Holy One, Blessed be He, sees. Know that you will not lose because of this; on the contrary, "abounds with blessings" - the Holy One, Blessed be He, will grant you abundant blessings specifically for giving in a manner concealed from the public eye. In contrast, "one who hastens to grow rich will not go unpunished" - this refers to someone who presses the hour to become wealthy. Notice how both clauses follow the very same line: one who gives his tithes to the poor abounds in blessings; while one who rushes to get rich, whose intention is to withhold from what belongs to the poor, will not be cleared, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, will exact retribution from him.
The Gra explains "a faithful man" in terms of faith and trust: a believer who is complete in the trait of bitachon is the one who will merit an abundance of blessings. But one who constantly pursues money shows a sign that he lacks the quality of trust, for one who trusts and relies on the Holy One, Blessed be He, does not rush and does not haste. The very act of rushing reveals that this person lacks trust, and for that reason, "he will not go unpunished."
הַכֵּר־פָּנִים לֹא־טוֹב וְעַל־פַּת־לֶחֶם יִפְשַׁע־גָּבֶר׃ (כא) - Showing partiality is not good, and for a piece of bread a man will sin.
Ibn Ezra notes that the words "is not good" apply to both halves of the verse, as though it said: showing partiality is not good, and likewise it is not good that for a piece of bread a man will sin. The phrase "is not good" serves both backward and forward. "Showing partiality" refers to favoritism in judgment. The judge sees one of the litigants and greets him warmly with recognition: "Shalom, Cohen, how are things? How are you doing?" And what happens then? Metzudas David explains: the arguments of his opponent become stifled. The other side sees that the judge knows his rival, and he immediately feels, "I'm finished." He begins to stammer, blush, and lose composure. Nothing he says will help now. Therefore, showing partiality is inherently evil - through it, the opposing party cannot even open his mouth.
Following the approach of Metzudas David that the verse speaks of a judge who shows favoritism, Scripture continues and wonders: "and for a piece of bread a man will sin"? Is it conceivable that for the sake of what you, the judge, expect to receive - a small gift or petty benefit from that person to whom you showed favor - for a mere crust of bread you would pervert and distort justice? For a trivial benefit, would you transgress and commit so terrible an act as perverting justice?
The Gra connects this verse to what we saw above: "one who hastens to grow rich will not go unpunished" - and one who shows partiality will likewise not go unpunished from evil. That is, it refers to the trait of flattery: a person who flatters his fellow. "Showing partiality" - recognizing someone's presence, flattering him - contains no genuine goodness. The trait of flattery is inherently negative in its own right.
To understand the continuation of the verse according to the Gra, let us examine the wording closely. What is the difference between a loaf of bread (*kikar lechem*) and a piece of bread (*pat lechem*)? As explained previously, *pat* refers to a slice or crumb, and not, as is commonly thought today, to an entire loaf. *Pat* derives from *patot otah pitim* ("crumble it into pieces"), a term of breaking into crumbs. Thus the Gra explains: for mere crumbs of bread, not even for a whole loaf, "a man will transgress" - he is willing to convict another person who is righteous. It turns out that showing partiality is inherently negative, and all the more so when someone is ready to condemn the righteous for mere crumbs of bread, which is undoubtedly an unparalleled evil.
The Malbim offers an original interpretation here, departing from the standard view that *haker panim* refers to the judicial prohibition of "you shall not show partiality in judgment." Often, a person thinks to himself: I know how to read people. We all know that type: "I spoke with him, and take it from me, something feels off"; or, "That guy seems fine to me." He imagines he possesses some sort of physiognomic insight, convinced he can look at a person and immediately decipher his character.
Says the Malbim: even if you feel you know a person and that he is trustworthy, you cannot rely on facial impressions - "showing partiality [reading a face] is not good"; it is unreliable. Why? Because that very person whose face you think you recognize - "for a piece of bread a man will transgress." A *gever* denotes someone who masters (*mitgaber*) his inclination; even if he strikes you as someone who never stumbles or falls, once he is reduced to a crust of bread in genuine poverty, he is capable of sinning. Even an ordinary, decent person will commit transgressions under such pressure. In plain terms: when tested, that person you thought you knew might fall. Do not rely on what you supposedly discern in someone or on the sense that you have "read" him - this offers no guarantee that he will withstand even a minor temptation, for even for a piece of bread a man will transgress.
נִבְהָל לַהוֹן אִישׁ רַע עָיִן וְלֹא־יֵדַע כִּי־חֶסֶר יְבֹאֶנּוּ׃ (כב) - "A man of an evil eye hastens after wealth, and does not know that poverty will come upon him." (22)
First, two grammatical notes. *Cheser* ("want") is spelled with a *reish* and not a *dalet* (*chesed*), as the Minchat Shai notes; the few texts that had *chesed* contain an outright error. The second, more intriguing note concerns whether the text reads *nivhal* or *navhal*. The Minchat Shai cites two possibilities: with a *sheva* (as in the biblical phrase *hayiti nivhal*) or with a *chataf patach*, denoting past tense. In our printed editions, however, it appears with a *chataf kamatz*. According to Sephardic pronunciation, a *chataf kamatz* is read as an "o" sound, which would yield *novhal lahon ish ra ayin*. The Minchat Shai does not mention such a variant at all, and it is worth examining other sources to see where the reading found in our printed texts originated.
Rashi interprets *nivhal lahon* in the sense of urgency: a person who rushes to amass wealth. Here Rashi maintains his earlier approach: a "faithful man" (*ish emunot*) is one who separates tithes faithfully, and consequently, the one who "hastens after wealth" is someone who withholds the *terumot* and tithes, failing to separate them faithfully. Such an individual is called an *ish ra ayin* ("a man of an evil eye"), begrudging giving from his own. "And does not know that poverty will come upon him" - he fails to realize that not only did he gain nothing by withholding them, but loss and deficiency will overtake him, for a curse is dispatched upon the labor of his hands.
There is a wonderful and famous parable, attributed to the Dubno Maggid or the Chafetz Chaim, originally applied to someone who works on Shabbat believing it will increase his earnings, convinced that if he refrains from working on Shabbat he will lose out, since Shabbat brings in significant income. Such an individual is "a man of an evil eye who hastens after wealth," blind to the fact that this will bring him nothing but deficit.
The parable: A farmer worked his field for months - plowing, sowing, reaping, and threshing - and now possessed a vast yield of wheat. He loaded his wagons and set off for market day. A buyer approached him, they bargained, and reached an agreement: ten shekels per bucket. But how were they to keep count without losing track during the transfer? The buyer suggested: "I have a large pile of shekels here. For every bucket you unload, I will place one shekel into this tin box. At the end, we will count the shekels - and each one represents ten shekels." They agreed and began unloading bucket after bucket.
And while the buyer is absorbed in moving the buckets, the seller - who hasn't seen money in months, having spent half a year working the fields - waits for a moment when the buyer isn't looking, puts his hand into the box, takes a few shekels, and slips them into his pocket. And he does this again and again. Says the Chofetz Chaim: What do you say about such a person? A complete fool! You are stealing from yourself! Every shekel there is worth ten shekels; let him finish counting at the end, and you will receive ten for every one. But you are rushing to wealth; you saw money and wanted it immediately. And what is the result? "And he does not know that lack will come upon him" - you are causing your own loss.
The Vilna Gaon explains that this verse also refers back to the preceding ones. There he explained that everything stems from a lack of bitachon: "A man of faithful integrity has many blessings" - one who possesses emunah is blessed, because he trusts in Hashem. Consequently, "A man with an evil eye rushes to wealth" - such a person, too, who lacks bitachon, is the one who rushes to wealth.
And what is the virtue of one who trusts? The holy books write: serenity of soul. Why? Because a person who relies on the hand of another is not anxious. "Like a weaned child with its mother" - we have never seen a nursing infant anxious about whether he will have what to eat at noon, in the evening, tomorrow, or a month from now. He relies on his mother, and therefore does not devote even a moment's thought to it. Similarly, an adult who has a steady income - when it comes to something on which he can rely, he has no anxiety.
And what does worry a person? Rav Dessler says: precisely those areas where he thinks, "It is within my power to act, and if I do not act I will lose out, suffer harm, or fail to gain." Anything a person assumes is in his own hands brings anxiety and consumes his thoughts. But if a person says to himself: Everything is from Him, blessed is He; I am commanded to make hishtadlus (effort), I have made my hishtadlus, and from here on I am in the hands of the Holy One, blessed is He - then he has gained the most wondrous thing of all: peace of mind.
Consequently, says the Vilna Gaon, a person lacking bitachon fears greatly lest he will have nothing to eat tomorrow, and then he hoards and casts a grudging eye upon his wealth: "If I do not skimp now, where will I have what I need for tomorrow? I must save." And the Gemara says that anyone who has bread in his basket and asks, "What will I eat tomorrow?" is of little faith. Incidentally, Halachah states - something almost no one observes today - that a person should not purchase food for an extended period. Today our way of life is different; no one buys just four hot dogs for lunch, but rather buys three packages and puts them in the freezer. Nevertheless, there is a halachic concept that one should not purchase large quantities out of worry, thinking, "Let me have enough for tomorrow and the next day as well." For otherwise, would you really be anxious without this? Do you not trust the Holy One, blessed is He? "Blessed is the Lord who daily bears our burden" - each day brings its own blessing.
And what is the result? The person who hoards his wealth out of concern for "what will I eat tomorrow" is a "man with an evil eye," and "does not know that lack will come upon him": the very fact that you withhold your money due to anxiety about tomorrow will itself diminish your wealth. For what truly brings a person wealth and abundance? Bestowing and giving. Yet he always hoards - when people ask him, he says, "No, what will I have tomorrow?"; when tzedakah is requested, he says, "What will become of me?" - and so he causes lack. Had he given and bestowed, the Holy One, blessed is He, would have granted him overflowing measure. And the verse can also be read this way: "Chasser" with a dagesh in the samech - diminish your money and give to charity, and see how your wealth will be blessed.
There is a story told of the Brisker Rav, who was very meticulous about this halachah not to save food from one day to the next. This was by no means simple, as already back in Europe he was extremely scrupulous regarding the concern of chadash - a stringency that is not universally practiced outside the Land of Israel - and often it was impossible to obtain bread free of any suspicion of chadash, meaning bread known with certainty to be made from grain of the previous year.
It was the day before Erev Yom Kippur. The Rav was eating dinner, and one of the household members suggested that it would be advisable to save two slices for the next day, since the baker had only brought this bread, and it was uncertain whether there would be bread free of chadash for the seudah hamafsekes (pre-fast meal) - which is a mitzvah. The Rav was not comfortable with this: "Since when do we save food?" But since they pleaded and explained that this was for a seudas mitzvah, he agreed, and they saved it.
The next day at noon, the baker knocked on his door and brought two loaves of bread: "I know the Rav is meticulous about chadash; these loaves are completely free of any concern of chadash." He added: "My wife prepared a platter brimming with fish for the Rav's household. However, these were days of war and bombardment, and not far away a shell hit; from the blast, the platter of fish fell and was ruined in the dirt, completely unusable. I left it there, and here, I have brought only the bread." The Brisker Rav heard this and said to his household: "Do you see? Had we possessed full emunah, we would now have fish as well. But because we lacked emunah, Heaven provided for us only bread, and took away the fish." One who lives this way knows there is no need to worry about what tomorrow will bring - do not distress yourself over tomorrow's troubles; He who cared for today will care for tomorrow as well.
The Brisker Rav was famous for his wondrous bitachon (trust in Hashem). He maintained a kollel of dozens of avreichim, and on every Rosh Chodesh he would pay their stipends - very respectable sums, thousands of dollars or even more. And he always, always paid on time. There are roshei kollel who effectively "open an indefinite savings plan" for their avreichim, but with him, a Rosh Chodesh never passed without him paying on the day.
Once, someone came to him with a proposal: "Perhaps it would be worthwhile to set up an endowment fund that will accrue profits and dividends, and from the investment returns alone it will be possible to support the avreichim every month?" The Rav asked, "And where will we get the capital?" The man replied, "I am prepared to make a substantial contribution right now, say half a million dollars, for the fund." The Brisker Rav told him: "My bitachon in Hashem I will not sell even for a million dollars. If you bring me half a million dollars right now, I will see what mitzvos I can fulfill with it right now; I will not set up a fund out of it just so that I have something stored away for the future."
He added: "Do you know what a school of bitachon I have every single month? Sometimes I wake up on the morning of Rosh Chodesh without knowing where I will find the money to pay the avreichim today - and Hakadosh Baruch Hu has never once let me down. Never. And you want me to sell that trait? So that from now on I will no longer have to turn to Him: 'I have a fund, I'm all set; Master of the Universe, if I need You I have Your phone number'? Why, that is precisely what was said to the serpent: 'Dust shall you eat all the days of your life' - here is dust available everywhere, do not turn to Me, just ask nothing of Me. But Hakadosh Baruch Hu actually desires that a person maintain an active relationship with Him! The trait of bitachon is a wondrous thing, and seeing how it works month after month is a renewed exercise in that extraordinary quality. If you provide me with an endowment, how will I ever merit that?"
This is what the Vilna Gaon explains here: one who "rushes after wealth" is a person lacking bitachon, who worries constantly lest he be left with nothing tomorrow. But such a person fails to realize that "want will overtake him." Trust in Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and you will see that you will receive double and redoubled.
Ralbag explains: The miserly man acts stingily because he is convinced that through this he will amass great wealth. Yet he does not sense that this degraded character trait is itself the very reason that lack will come upon him. Why? Because such a person has no one who cares for him. When someone behaves stingily, people distance themselves from him and feel no goodwill toward him, and inevitably damages and financial losses will befall him.
This is a reality clearly visible in many settings, particularly in the workplace. When an employer is generous with his employees, open-handed, and appreciative, the workers serve him faithfully and devotedly; they are willing to invest and give far more than their baseline duties because they feel a personal connection to the place. By contrast, when workers feel that an employer will squeeze and bleed them dry at every opportunity - constantly piling on demands while chipping away at their pay, claiming "this month we cannot pay for such-and-such," imposing cuts, and then insisting "now we need an extra push, we've launched a new campaign" - their motivation plunges to zero. "I have no desire to exert myself for someone like that." And why don't you leave? "Because I haven't found another offer yet."
What happens in practice? A hidden slowdown takes over the factory, the office, or wherever it may be. Every worker minimizes responsibility, doing only the absolute minimum required of him. At times, a worker might notice a clear vulnerability or an impending loss to the employer, but thinks: "That's his problem; let him handle it himself. It's not part of my job description. I am responsible only for my assigned tasks, and this is none of my business." A steady monthly loss is incurred, and no one cares. Why? Because the employer is stingy, withholding, and begrudging - "Why should I look out for him? I won't give him anything beyond what I must."
It must be emphasized that this response is by no means justified: halachically, such indifference is strictly forbidden. The mitzvah of returning a lost object applies equally to preventing financial loss - "You must not ignore it." If someone sees damage occurring, even as a complete outsider who never received a paycheck from that business owner, he is obligated to inform him. Yet where did this negative human reaction originate? From the employer's own conduct. That is what Ralbag means: one who rushes after wealth with a begrudging eye fails to realize that this behavior only works to his own detriment - "he knows not that want will overtake him." Losses and mishaps will strike him, no one will lift a finger to assist him, and his miserliness will prove to be the direct cause of his ruin. A person imagines he is gaining, whereas had he been generous, he would have received twofold in return.
Malbim explains that ra ayin (one with an "evil eye") refers to someone who begrudges giving to others. In this context, the Maharal explains that there is a fundamental difference between an evil heart (*lev ra*) and an evil eye (*ayin ra'ah*), just as there is a difference between a good heart and a good eye (an idea elaborated in the shiurim on Michtav Me-Eliyahu, volume 4). The distinction is this: one with a good heart wishes good for his fellow, whereas one with a good eye desires the ultimate perfection of good for his fellow. The same applies to evil: one with an evil heart wishes bad upon his fellow, but one with an evil eye seeks total deficiency - he desires that his fellow suffer an absolute perfection of evil, nothing less: complete misfortune devoid of any redeeming good.
This is what the verse means by "A man with an evil eye rushes after wealth": one who is begrudging (*ra ayin*) has no desire to bestow or share with others, but is always rushing to accumulate wealth strictly for himself. Consequently, "want will overtake him," for the wicked will rise up and plunder his property. Seeing that this man gives nothing to anyone and hoards solely for himself, people find far greater motivation to inflict harm upon him and strip him of his possessions.
The Malbim adds another reason, continuing what he explained regarding the previous verse: even a trustworthy person cannot withstand the dire pressure of hunger - "for a piece of bread a man will transgress." Even a gever - one who normally masters his inclination - if he reaches a state of desperation for a piece of bread, will transgress, do things contrary to law and halachah, and steal. And if an upright person will transgress for a piece of bread, all the more so someone who is not upright. Thus: who will harm the one who "rushes after wealth, a man of evil eye"? The very person who transgresses for a piece of bread. But had you been a generous person who gives and shares, no one would have needed to transgress for a piece of bread to take from you, for on the contrary - you would have distributed and bestowed of your bounty upon others. This is just as we saw earlier: "the borrower is a slave to the lender" and "he who has a generous eye shall be blessed" - all these verses teach the same principle.
The Malbim further explains regarding "want will overtake him": that which he withheld from the poor through his stinginess - that very lack will overtake him. It is as though the lack itself comes, demands, and punishes: that which you sought to withhold and not give - that very lack will come and strip away what is yours.
The Malbim offers an additional explanation by way of homily, based on the statement of Chazal, "The salt of wealth is diminishing it": if a person wants his wealth to endure, he should salt it. Just as meat was salted so that it would be preserved, so too one who wishes for his wealth to endure should salt it. And how? By giving of his money to tzedakah, diminishing his wealth for charity - this preserves the wealth and ensures it will not be lost in an unfortunate venture.
According to this, the verse can be interpreted beautifully, as a witty and insightful homily in the spirit of Chassidut: What brings wealth? Not frantic haste, nor endless chasing. "And does not know that want will overtake him" - he does not realize that it is precisely the diminishing (*cheser*) that brings the wealth! If he diminishes his wealth for tzedakah, that is what will bring him wealth. According to the plain meaning (*peshat*), a person does not know that his haste brings him loss and deficiency; but according to this homiletic path, he does not know that precisely by diminishing your wealth and giving to charity - that will "overtake him," meaning it will bring the wealth, rather than being in a frantic rush for riches.
These three verses form a single chapter in the teachings of *bitachon* (trust in Hashem). "A faithful man will abound with blessings" - one who gives his tithes faithfully, in matters hidden from sight, is blessed; while one who rushes to be rich, taking what belongs to the poor, will not be held blameless, for his very haste reveals a lack of trust. "Showing partiality is not good" - whether as showing partiality in judgment, which silences the litigant's claims, or as the trait of flattery, or as the Malbim's warning not to rely on appearances, since even a strong person who masters his inclination may fall for a piece of bread. And "A man of evil eye rushes after wealth" - the stinginess born of the worry "what will I eat tomorrow?" is itself what brings deficiency: it spoils a person's relationships with others, it invites against him those who will transgress for a piece of bread, and it withholds blessing from him. And one who attains the virtue of *bitachon* - like the conduct of the Rav of Brisk - attains tranquility of soul, and learns that "the salt of wealth is diminishing it": it is precisely the diminishing that a person takes from his money for tzedakah that preserves his wealth and brings him true abundance.