Chapter 30 of Mishlei is a unique chapter: "The words of Agur ben Yakeh" - the words of a sage responding to two scholars, Ithiel and Ucal, who came before him with philosophical debates regarding the existence of the Creator and His Divine providence. In this section, we will explore Agur's twofold request, "Two things I have asked of You," the explanations of the Vilna Gaon and the Malbim on it, and the grave warning, "Do not slander a servant to his master" - a warning that carries moral lessons about leaving judgment to Heaven, profound insights into faith, and a surprising historical background explained by the Malbim.
שָׁוְא וּדְבַר כָּזָב הַרְחֵק מִמֶּנִּי רֵאשׁ וָעֹשֶׁר אַל תִּתֶּן לִי הַטְרִיפֵנִי לֶחֶם חֻקִּי׃ (ל, ח) - "Keep vanity and falsehood far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread of my allotted portion." (30:8)
"Vanity" (shav) - as we explained, refers to studying merely to provoke and argue, which holds no real substance in practice. "Falsehood" (devar kazav) - that it should not be study that deceives me and leads me to abandon the Torah. Agur asks for both of these: keep them far from me.
Regarding "give me neither poverty nor riches," the Vilna Gaon offers a profound insight: excess and deficiency are both harmful, and this applies to matters of wisdom as well. When there is too much, as the Mishnah states, "Whoever's wisdom exceeds his deeds, the wind comes and uproots him and overturns him." This is like a tree with sprawling branches and shallow roots: abundant wisdom, but how many good deeds stand behind it? The wind comes and overturns it. On the other hand, if a person has too little wisdom and his intellect is too limited to grasp the truth of the Torah, this too is harmful; he learns and says, "I found no wisdom here, I saw nothing special here," and thereby denies the Torah, despises it, and pursues secular wisdom.
Thus, too much wisdom and too little wisdom are both detrimental. Therefore, "give me neither poverty nor riches": neither intellectual poverty nor intellectual excess. May I neither be impoverished in Torah nor overly rich in knowledge that far exceeds what I actually fulfill.
"Feed me with the bread of my allotted portion" (lechem chuki) - "bread" represents the Torah, as it is written: "Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine that I have mingled"; and "my portion" (chuki), explains the Vilna Gaon, refers to the mitzvos - "a decree I have ordained" (chukah chakakti), a statute from Hashem. That is, Torah that leads to the fulfillment of mitzvos: what I learn, I practice. When are Torah and mitzvos properly balanced? When the branches correspond to the size of the roots. Not abundant branches and scarce roots, where the wind overturns the tree, but "feed me with the bread of my allotted portion" - that the bread, the Torah, should match the statutes, the mitzvos I observe. May my observance of mitzvos progress alongside my Torah knowledge, rather than possessing vast knowledge while lagging behind in its implementation.
פֶּן אֶשְׂבַּע וְכִחַשְׁתִּי וְאָמַרְתִּי מִי ה' וּפֶן אִוָּרֵשׁ וְגָנַבְתִּי וְתָפַשְׂתִּי שֵׁם אֱלֹהָי׃ (ל, ט) - "Lest I be full, and deny You, and say: 'Who is Hashem?' or lest I be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God." (30:9)
"Lest I be full" - lest my intellect swell, causing me to rely on my own understanding, abandon the ways of the Torah, and deny the existence of God, saying, "Who is Hashem?" This refers to gaining excessive intellectual attainments without fear of Heaven and without fulfilling mitzvos. "Or lest I be poor" - the opposite: that I become impoverished in Torah, failing to understand its wisdom, and pursue secular knowledge instead.
And what is "and steal"? I will steal foreign philosophies. Instead of reaching for the wisdom that Hashem bestowed upon me, the holy Torah, I will go and steal from a place not designated for me. Furthermore, as cited by earlier authorities, most secular wisdom is itself stolen from the wisdom of Israel. Greek philosophy and the other branches of knowledge that spread throughout the world emerged after the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. For Shlomo authored thousands of works and his wisdom was the greatest in the world; when the Temple was destroyed, they took those books, and through this, wisdom reached the nations. Thus, "and steal" means taking wisdom from the nations that is itself stolen wisdom.
"And profane the Name of my God" - when a person occupies himself with foreign wisdom, he ends up touching the very core of faith. The Vilna Gaon explains that "the Name of my God" here refers to polytheism, a plurality of deities, just as the gentiles believed there was a god of the sea and a god of the dry land, a god of war, a god of love, a god of peace, and the like.
The Vilna Gaon asks: Why was it said earlier regarding wealth, "and deny, and say, 'Who is Hashem?'" using the four-letter Name of Havayah, whereas afterward regarding poverty it says, "and profane the Name of my God" using the Name Elokim? It is because the Name Havayah, blessed be He, indicates His very existence, the essential reality of the Creator, and this Name is never applied to any other entity in the world. By contrast, the Name "Elokim" is a title that applies to anything possessing power and authority: "The matter of both of them shall come before the judges (ha'elohim)" - meaning judges; "whom the judges (elohim) shall condemn" - meaning judges; and likewise "El" denotes strength, as in "It is within the power (le'el) of my hand," and we speak of "the mighty of the land (eilei ha'aretz)" or "magnates (eilei hon)." So too with "other gods (elohim acherim)" and "For all the gods of the nations are idols" - even regarding the celestial princes of the nations, the term "elohim" is used, as they are ostensibly endowed with power.
Therefore it is written, "One who sacrifices to the gods (la'elohim) shall be utterly destroyed, save to Hashem alone." You will never find in the Torah or in Tanach a sacrifice offered as "a fire offering, a pleasing fragrance" to Elokim - it is always "a fire offering, a pleasing fragrance to Hashem," because the Name Havayah is unique and belongs exclusively to Hashem, blessed be He, whereas the name Elokim can encompass many perceived powers.
From here we previously brought proof regarding the episode of the Golden Calf, that their entire intention was to serve Hashem: Aharon said to them, "Tomorrow is a festival to Hashem" - not "a festival to the calf" and not "a festival to Elokim," but to Hashem. They understood that through the service of the calf, they were establishing a connection and bond with the Ein Sof, blessed be He, and not with idolatrous powers. Furthermore, they also offered peace-offerings (shelamim), and in the worship of the Baal, the calf, and idolatry, there is never a peace-offering - all sacrifices of the gentiles are burnt-offerings (olot) alone. Only in Israel do you find peace-offerings, which are divided between the altar, the owners, and the kohanim, and we have previously explained the conceptual framework behind this.
Thus we find: when it comes to denying the Creator's existence, it says, "lest I be sated and deny, and say, 'Who is Hashem?'" using the Name Havayah, affirming that there is none besides Him. But when it comes to someone who becomes impoverished in understanding, accepting the wisdom of the gentiles and believing in a plurality of deities, it says, "lest I become poor and steal, and profane the Name of my God," using the Name Elokim, which points to other gods.
From this, says the Vilna Gaon, you can understand the order of the Ten Commandments. First, "I am Hashem your God" - using the Name Havayah, to believe in the reality of the Creator, that there is none besides Him. Afterward, "You shall have no other gods before Me" - for a person might say that Hashem exists, but beneath Him are other entities endowed with independent power. This is what the pagans believed; they too acknowledged a "God of gods," a Creator above all, yet claimed that He does not concern Himself with us, so when one wishes to make an appeal, one must turn to His "officials." The Torah rejected this completely: one may turn only to the Master of the Universe Himself, without intermediaries - "Do not make [gods] with Me," which Chazal interpret as: even to serve Me alongside them. There is no medium and no intermediary between man and the Creator. Therefore, first comes "I am Hashem," and then "You shall have no other gods before Me" - any other deity you believe in is considered "before Me," as if there were independent forces in creation.
The Vilna Gaon explains: Here Agur asks for two things that are actually four, corresponding to "Do not be overly righteous, nor excessively wicked." "Do not be overly righteous" means not to add to the Torah, which is what was stated above:
אַל תּוֹסְףְּ עַל דְּבָרָיו פֶּן יוֹכִיחַ בְּךָ וְנִכְזָבְתָּ׃ (ל, ו) - "Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you and you be proven a liar." (30:6)
"Do not add to His words" - do not be excessively righteous, inventing a mitzvah for yourself that Hashem never commanded. On the other hand, "falsehood and lies" corresponds to "do not be excessively wicked," where you detract from the mitzvos of the Torah. And "poverty and wealth" correspond to what King Solomon, peace be upon him, said: "Do not be overly foolish, and do not make yourself overly wise."
The Malbim explains that "lest I be sated and deny" refers to an overabundance of good, the allegory being: one who delves too deeply with his intellect to speculate on what lies beyond nature - what is known today as metaphysics, the spiritual realm that cannot be measured, quantified, weighed, or tested in a laboratory, the transcendent spiritual dimension above physical reality - may come to deny the reality of Hashem, claiming that the universe is eternal and that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not create everything.
And the second possibility, "Lest I become poor and steal, and profane the name of my God" - to swear falsely. In the nimshal: a person who is impoverished in his intellect will seize upon all kinds of spiritual powers to strengthen himself through them and worship them, turning them into idolatry. Therefore, the best path is not to let one's intellect break through excessively beyond the established faith of the Torah: he should believe in what the Torah says, not delve excessively into philosophical inquiries, and not neglect involvement in Torah study. The middle path, whose essence is an abundance of Torah study, is the correct path.
אַל תַּלְשֵׁן עֶבֶד אֶל אֲדֹנָו פֶּן יְקַלֶּלְךָ וְאָשָׁמְתָּ׃ (ל, י) - "Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be found guilty" (30:10).
Rashi explains: Do not surrender a person to divine judgment by crying out against him to the Holy One, blessed be He, even if he is wicked - belonging to that "generation that curses its father" and possessing all the abominations mentioned here. A proof of this comes from Hoshea ben Be'eri. Hashem said to him: Have you seen what Your children have done? Hoshea said to Him: Master of the Universe, exchange them for another nation. It is true that they are problematic and have caused trouble ever since the giving of the Torah, so exchange them. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Is that so? My children for another nation? Go take for yourself a wife of harlotry and bear children by her. Afterwards, He said to him: Send them away. Hoshea replied: How can I? This is my wife, and these are my children! Hashem said to him: And My children you told Me so casually to exchange for another nation?
We see how terrible it is when a person invokes divine judgment against his fellow, and how severe the punishment is. We find similarly with our matriarch Sarah, who said, "My grievance be upon you," and was punished severely. Any situation in which a person has a grievance on earth and invokes judgment against his fellow in Heaven - "delivering his judgment to Heaven" - is of immense severity.
Beyond this, there is a deficiency in emunah here. If someone hurt you, caused you damage, or deprived you of your money, and you say, "Look what he did to me" - as if the Holy One, blessed be He, were not in the picture, as if He momentarily looked away while that person struck you and took your money. Instead, think: Hashem did this to me, and I accept the judgment of Heaven with love; and as for what that person did - guilt is brought about through the guilty; he is a culpable person, and this liability was brought about through him. No person touches what is designated for his fellow even by a hairsbreadth, and it is impossible for someone to harm me unless it was decreed against me in Heaven. Yet you say: Master of the Universe, go harm him! Is Hashem your messenger? He orchestrated for him to do this in order to bring about this loss for you, because this loss was due to you - whether as an atonement for sins, as a rectification, or because in a previous gilgul you took from him and now he is taking from you, for a thousand and one reasons that we do not know.
And if it was not coming to you, Heaven will restore it to you. And what was coming to you? The distress, which is the test: how do you receive Hashem's decree? Do you justify Heaven's judgment or do you lodge a complaint? The money will return to you in another way, but you failed the test, coming with complaints and thinking that you are righteous and did not deserve this.
And what happens to such a person? In Heaven, his ledger is examined. The most terrifying thing for a business owner is to be selected for an audit, for the tax authorities to decide to inspect his books. Every now and then, one reads in the press the reactions of people caught in awkward situations, and you do not know whether to laugh or cry - a vacation rental owner in the north who was caught with ten thousand dollars in his pocket and claimed he did not know the dollar exchange rate, which was why he had not recorded it yet. When a person is in a difficult situation, he will make the most illogical claim, because he has to say something. And if a visit from the tax authority inspires fear and dread - when the Creator of the world inspects your ledger, woe is us. After all, it is written that had the Holy One, blessed be He, entered into strict judgment with Avraham Avinu, even he could not have stood. And if Avraham Avinu could not, we would not be able to stand, sit, or lie down. How dangerous it is, then, for a person to be scrutinized: the best course is do not invoke judgment against anyone, do not request judgment in Heaven, lest they begin to examine your own judgment.
By the way, regarding whom else is it written that his ledger is examined? Regarding one who prays alone. He has a synagogue nearby yet does not attend a minyan - his ledger is examined. For they say: Why does he consider himself so righteous that he does not need a minyan, that his prayers can ascend on their own, that he is so attached to Hashem that he has no need for a synagogue? Let us see what his merits are! And as we have already said, woe to a person in that position.
In Bnei Brak, there is an old bakery on Rabbi Akiva Street, Katz Bakery, which exists to this day, where a tragic event once occurred: tax investigators walked in, and when he saw them and they began asking questions, he suffered a heart attack, and his funeral was held that very day. How terrible. This shows just how much a person fears having his books inspected in this world, where what can they really do to him? A monetary fine, or at most imprisonment. Yet when the Creator of the world inspects one's ledgers, it is for generations upon generations and for all eternity. How much must a person dread this! Therefore: do not deliver a person to judgment by crying out against him to the Holy One, blessed be He, even if he is a wicked person who curses his father and possesses all these abominations; and the proof of this is Hoshea ben Be'eri.
The Vilna Gaon explains regarding "Do not slander a servant to his master": How can man fathom the mysteries of Hashem's ways? Here is a servant who rebelled against his master after his master had done him many kindnesses - a truly ungrateful person. What would we say about him? Wicked, corrupt; your master did so much good for you and helped you so much, yet you go and rebel against him! We would label such a person with the worst superlatives. Yet despite all this, Hashem comes and warns: "Do not slander a servant to his master." And not only that, but "lest he curse you and you be found guilty" - guilt will be upon you, and ve'ashamta is also related to shemamah (desolation). See how far you are from understanding Hashem's mysteries: a person whom you feel obligated to harm and pursue, an ungrateful servant who rebels against his master, and nevertheless Hashem says not to slander him! You do not even begin to understand Hashem's commandments, and this is what Agur ben Yakeh teaches us.
The Malbim explains that this verse as well is Agur ben Yakeh's response to the sages Itiel and Uchal, expounding it both according to the literal meaning and in an allegorical, deeper intellectual sense. Those men, as we saw at the beginning of the chapter, philosophized before Agur. They believed that the universe is primordial or was created from primordial matter, that the world stands on its own and has always existed, and that the four elements are eternal. Consequently, they held the heretical view that the world runs on natural course alone with no Divine Providence watching over it, and therefore they rejected the concept of serving Hashem entirely: What profit is there in serving One Who does not supervise His world, or Who does not exist at all, heaven forbid?
To this Agur answered them: "Do not slander a servant to his master" - do not speak slander against the servant who serves his Master, namely, one who serves God. "Lest he curse you" - the Master Whom this God-fearing person serves will hear your words and curse you; "and you be found guilty" - the blame will fall upon you, for through your actions you brought that servant of God to heresy, telling him that serving God is in vain, that the Creator does not exist, that the world is primordial. Therefore: do not speak negatively about the one who serves his Master, and do not attempt to deter him from serving the Creator, lest the Creator curse you and bring desolation upon you, and the guilt will fall on you, because through your foolish ideas that servant of God fell into heresy.
As we will see further on, this also aligns remarkably well according to the literal meaning. The wives of the king in that generation were wicked and corrupt - and what could one expect from women whose mother was called a "leech" (alukah)? They corrupted the people, and through their evil conduct and corrupt counsel, the Malbim explains, they succeeded in bringing the king to ruin, corrupt, and destroy many among the nation.
Furthermore, says the Malbim, during that time there was a severe drought, and a great fire consumed areas throughout the land, and many terrible troubles surrounded them. The king himself, when he rose to reign, was not merely wicked; he deposed his father from the throne, rebelled against his father and mother, and took power by force - similar to the rebellion of Avshalom. And this, too, says the Malbim, was at the instigation of his wicked wives.
This king had a maidservant named Shemamit - shemamit is a type of lizard - and she was cunning and scheming. The king committed immorality with his maidservant, and she cast her web over him and gained control over him. Her husband, who was a servant of the king named Alkum, rebelled against the king, apparently because the king had committed adultery with his wife. Ultimately, Alkum deposed the king, killed him, and gave his flesh to the birds of the sky. Then the maidservant inherited her mistress: the noble ladies who had ruled until then were cast aside, and the wife of the rebel who took the throne became the new queen.
תַּחַת שְׂנוּאָה כִּי תִבָּעֵל וְשִׁפְחָה כִּי תִירַשׁ גְּבִרְתָּהּ׃ (ל, כג) - "Under an unloved woman when she is married, and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress" (30:23).
Itiel and Uchal, the two sages we met at the beginning of the chapter, learned of the rebellion being plotted against the king. They considered informing the king to warn him of the impending coup, and they came to consult Agur ben Yakeh as to whether they should notify him or not. To this he answered them: "Do not slander a servant to his master" - do not inform on Alkum to the king.
And why? The first reason: "Lest he curse you and you be found guilty." This servant was considered a trusted man in the king's eyes, and it is very likely that the curse would rebound upon you: the servant will justify himself and produce arguments to prove that what was said against him is false and fabricated. The matter will remain unprovable, and in the end you will be blamed for fabricating false accusations against the king's servant, who appeared pure and innocent.
And a second reason: Is this king even worthy of continuing to reign? A wicked and corrupt king, who ousted his father from his throne and rebelled against his father and his mother, and whose two wives are wicked and cause great ruin among the people. Would you object if someone rebelled against him and overthrew him? If someone were to tell us today that he is going to overthrow the regime of the Ayatollahs, would any of us shed a tear or try to prevent the rebellion? Surely not. So too here: this king, his generation, and all the wicked people around him deserve destruction, and therefore do not slander a servant to his master - it is good that the king and his throne fall, and perhaps a better king will arise in his place.
Along these lines, an example is cited from Megillat Esther, concerning Mordechai who saved the king from death: "And it was found written that Mordechai had told of Bigthana and Teresh." Everyone asks: Earlier they were called Bigthan and Teresh, so why did it suddenly become "Bigthana"? Did they change his name?
Rather, the king's scribe was Shimshai, and Shimshai was one of Haman's sons, and it rankled him greatly that Mordechai might receive a commendation for saving the king. He was compelled to write it down, as he could not omit it from the royal book of chronicles. What did he do? He wrote that Mordechai told about "Bigthan or Teresh" (בגתן או תרש) who sought to lay hands on King Achashverosh, and both were executed. His intention was that when the king wished to reward Mordechai and opened the book of chronicles, they would say: He only testified about "Bigthan or Teresh"; he did not provide precise intelligence, and based on his words both of them were killed - and if so, he actually deserves to be punished! This was Shimshai's scheme.
However, as it is written, and in the words of the Gemara in Sanhedrin, Shimshai wrote and the angel Gavriel erased. What did Gavriel do? A separation of forces: he stepped between the aleph and the vav of "or" (או) and pushed them outward to the sides. Thus, from "Bigthan" it became "Bigthana," and from "Teresh" it became "and Teresh" (va-Teresh), producing "Bigthana and Teresh" - and by virtue of this, Mordechai was indeed entitled to a reward.
We see from this that such a danger exists: if it turns out that your testimony was imprecise, or that an innocent person was killed based on your words, or that you fabricated a plot, they can easily execute the informant himself. Therefore, Agur told them: it is better that you gather and restrain your words, remain silent, and do not tell the king, for this could cause you to end up guilty - "lest he curse you, and you be found guilty" - and you will be the ones who suffer harm.
Agur's request, "Two things have I asked of You," teaches the middle path: neither falsehood and deception in study nor learning that fails to endure, neither intellectual poverty nor intellectual excess, but rather "feed me the bread of my allotted portion" - Torah in proportion to the mitzvot that I fulfill, so that the roots can support the branches. For one extreme breeds denial of the Creator's existence, "Who is the Lord?", while the other extreme breeds a multiplicity of gods, "and profane the name of my God." From here we proceed to "Do not slander a servant to his master": do not arouse divine judgment against your fellow and do not hand his judgment over to Heaven, for one who arouses judgment invites scrutiny of his own record; and do not dissuade a person from the service of his Creator. And even on the level of peshat, as Agur instructed Ithiel and Ucal, informing sometimes rebounds the curse upon the informant's own head - "lest he curse you, and you be found guilty."