Introduction
Chapter 10 of Mishlei opens the second section of the book - a collection of short proverbs, verse by verse, in each of which the righteous and the wicked, the wise and the foolish, are contrasted with one another. Before us are four verses from the chapter, and in each of them we will examine the insights of the Vilna Gaon, Rabbeinu Yonah, and the Malbim, and how they open a gateway for us to understand true wealth, the power of habit, and the measure of reward and punishment for the wicked and the righteous.
The Blessing of Hashem - Wealth Without Sorrow
בִּרְכַּת ה' הִיא תַעֲשִׁר וְלֹא יוֹסִף עֶצֶב עִמָּהּ׃ (כב) - The blessing of Hashem makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.
The Vilna Gaon explains: the word etzev has two meanings. The first is toil and hardship, as in "In sorrow [be'itzavon] you shall eat of it" and "In sorrow [be'etzev] you shall bear children" - meaning, through immense difficulty and pain. The second meaning is anxiety and worry. And the Gra notes: do not wonder at this, for these are not two separate concepts, but one and the same. One who has labored and toiled intensely over a particular thing is henceforth filled with anxiety over it. As Chazal say: "One who increases possessions increases worry." You toiled, you suffered, you gathered - and what did you multiply for yourself? Worries.
A person who has no car does not worry when the insurance premium is due. Nor does he worry that the car is sitting in the parking lot and someone might steal it, or that someone might back up and hit it. The less a person possesses - the fewer worries he has.
A story is told of a king whose son fell into a deep melancholy. His advisors told him that the only remedy would be for the prince to wear the shirt of a happy man, and the influence would lift him from his depression. The king sent messengers to all corners of the realm to seek out a truly happy man. They traveled from place to place, city to city, village to village, asking, "Are you happy?" "No." "Are you happy?" "No." One day, they spotted a shepherd resting along the road, playing a flute and sitting peacefully among his sheep. They asked him, "Are you happy?" He replied, "Overjoyed! There is no one happier in the world than me." They said to him, "Do us a favor: sell us your shirt for the king." He answered, "A shirt? Can you not see that I do not own a shirt? And if I had a shirt - I would no longer be happy. I would have to worry that it might tear, I would have to wash it, and iron it. Why do you think I am so happy? Because I do not even have a shirt!"
Every possession a person owns occupies space in his mind: he must look after it and worry about it. Who are the people with the most free time? Those who have nothing. And who are the most preoccupied people in the world? The wealthy. The wealthier a person is - the more harassed and burdened he becomes. A person asks to set up a meeting with a wealthy man, and he is told: "Three months from now, between 7:00 and 7:15, I have a slot open in my calendar." Poor fellow. Here he needs to close a deal, there he needs to renew a contract, endlessly. These people are consumed with anxiety and busyness.
Thus, etzev denotes toil: you toiled and grieved to acquire the money, and now you suffer worry because of the money itself, for one who increases possessions increases worry. But when there is the blessing of Hashem - when the Holy One, Blessed is He, sustains and blesses a person - this blessing itself enriches him, unlike ordinary forms of wealth where a person must toil and endure grief until achieving some financial success. Moreover, afterward he is free of anxiety as well. For by the ordinary laws of nature, once I have acquired wealth, I begin to worry: that it might be stolen, that I might lose it, that damage will occur, that the stock market will crash. Regarding this, the verse says, "and He adds no sorrow with it" - on account of this wealth, he will have no anxiety, because the Holy One, Blessed is He, will continue to bestow abundance and protection upon him so that no harm befalls it. "May Hashem bless you and guard you" - and Rashi explains: "and guard you" from harm and damage. Do not worry; no one will steal from you or take from you. This is what occurs when Hashem's blessing is present. It turns out: you do not toil to attain the wealth, nor do you worry afterward about preserving it, because the blessing of Hashem rests upon you.
The Blessing of Hashem in Torah
The Vilna Gaon offers an additional explanation: the verse also speaks of Torah study. The Gemara states that in order to retain what one has learned - le'okmei girsa - one needs Heavenly assistance (siyata di'Shemaya), and notes: "Because they were pious, their Torah was preserved within them." That is, a person can learn, but to retain what he learned - beyond diligent review - he also needs Heavenly assistance. One person learns and, blessed with Divine assistance, remembers everything, such that one can only envy him; another must review and memorize time and time again, and even then is not certain he will retain it over the long term.
And this is the meaning of: "The blessing of Hashem makes rich" - when Hashem blesses a person in Torah and bestows an abundance of Torah upon him, he will not forget what he learned and will possess vast Torah knowledge. "And He adds no sorrow with it" - he will not need to suffer distress and strain excessively to comprehend every matter; rather, he will become like an ever-flowing spring from which original insights burst forth. He will not have to strain his mind excessively, but will grasp everything with ease. Furthermore, he will harbor no fear of losing what he has acquired; just as with financial wealth the sorrow lies in the anxiety that it might be lost, so too in Torah - there will be no fear that you will forget what you have learned.
Bread of Sorrow - The Malbim's Explanation
The Malbim explains: Wealth that comes to a person through his own strenuous effort is not true wealth, and its owner eats the "bread of sorrow." Why? Because even when he eats and enjoys his food, his pleasure is incomplete, for he remembers how much he toiled and sweated until he acquired this food. Not only that, but while eating he tells himself: "This is about to run out; I must cut back - I will not eat four slices, but only two." Thus, he eats his bread in sorrow: sorrow over the exertion it required of him, and sorrow from the future fear lest he lack. All this is because it is not true wealth, and in his mind, this person is still poor.
And who is truly wealthy? One who has the blessing of Hashem. Then, "He adds no sorrow with it": he will not have the sorrow of "how hard I toiled" - for you did not toil, Hashem gave it to you; nor the sorrow of skimping on his food - for you do not need to cut back, Hashem gave it to you.
Like Laughter to a Fool is the Doing of Wickedness
כִּשְׂחוֹק לִכְסִיל עֲשׂוֹת זִמָּה וְחָכְמָה לְאִישׁ תְּבוּנָה׃ (כג) - Doing wickedness is like laughter to a fool, as is wisdom to a person of understanding. (23)
Rabbeinu Yonah explains: Just as laughter easily arises from thought - a person laughs even without intent - so it is with the fool in "doing wickedness." Zimah (wickedness or scheme) is related to zemam, thought: the fool's thought is translated into action without contemplation. Whatever he wants to do, he immediately gets up and does; he does not examine things, does not reflect upon them properly, and does not weigh them appropriately. The Vilna Gaon emphasizes: A person never says, "Now I am preparing to laugh." Rather, laughter bursts out of him all at once - he saw something funny, heard something amusing, and it immediately erupts. So too, the fool carries out his scheme: he immediately leaps, without reflection. Furthermore, the fool considers this a virtue and praiseworthy.
In contrast, "and wisdom to a person of understanding" - Rabbeinu Yonah interprets: there is wisdom in carrying out thought for a person of understanding. Before the person of understanding translates his thought into action, he first weighs it on the scales of wisdom. It does not slip out of him like laughter; rather, he deliberates whether it is proper to do, and only then does he take action.
The Vilna Gaon also follows this general approach, but explains zimah in its literal sense of licentiousness. Just as laughter comes without preparation - a person does not prepare himself to laugh, but in a single moment something amused him and he instantly laughs - so it is with the fool regarding matters of immorality and licentiousness: it strikes him immediately, without inhibitions, obstacles, or brakes. Just as laughter bursts forth in a single moment, so can the fool fall in a single second into licentiousness and grave transgressions.
According to the Vilna Gaon, "like laughter" also applies to "wisdom to a person of understanding": just as the fool acts licentiously like spontaneous laughter, so too the person of understanding attains wisdom like laughter. The person of understanding is one who contemplates, studies, and delves deeply - and suddenly a wise concept dawns upon him, a novel Torah insight pops into his mind, a sharp insight occurs to him in an instant. In simple words: each person is drawn according to what occupies him. For the fool, it is "like laughter" leading to licentiousness, and for the wise person, it is "like laughter" - in a single moment, a fresh interpretation, a deep understanding, a novel insight flashes into his mind.
The Power of Habit - The Malbim's Explanation
The Malbim explains: A kesil (fool) is, as we have explained previously, one who turns away from the ways of wisdom not because he doubts it - he knows everything quite well - nor because he lacks intellect, for he is not simpleminded; rather, despite all this, the lusts of his heart pull him to act as he pleases. Regarding this, the Malbim says: As the heart rules either in the ways of wisdom or in folly, so his nature becomes, until his actions are no longer attributed to his free choice, but solely to habit and to the second nature ingrained within him. This is a very important premise.
A person accustomed to a particular habit performs it instantaneously; it bursts forth from him without prior preparation or rehearsal, for it has already become second nature to him. A negative example is an angry person: one accustomed to anger is irritated by everything, and in a single second you can trigger him. Whatever a person is habituated to, the dominion of the heart is so powerful that at that very second, those actions will erupt from him.
Now Shlomo gives us two examples. The fool commits wickedness in a single instant, without thought and without preparation - just as something humorous causes him to laugh immediately - and why? Because this is his habit, and habit becomes mastery and becomes second nature. And the same applies to "wisdom to a man of understanding": a person who possesses understanding (binah), who gathers into his soul all matters of understanding and contemplation regarding everything, wisdom comes to him effortlessly and immediately. He is immersed in it; it is second nature to him. Words of wisdom and thoughts of wisdom have become his way of life, an inseparable part of his nature.
The Dread of the Wicked Shall Befall Him
מְגוֹרַת רָשָׁע הִיא תְבוֹאֶנּוּ וְתַאֲוַת צַדִּיקִים יִתֵּן׃ (כד) - The dread of the wicked shall come upon him, but the desire of the righteous He will grant. (24)
Megorah denotes fear and dread, as in "terror (magor) all around." "The dread of the wicked shall come upon him" - the very thing the wicked man fears is what will come upon him. Rashi illustrates this with the Generation of the Dispersion (Dor Haflagah): that generation said, "lest we be scattered," and therefore said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower, and make a name for ourselves" - and what did the Holy One, blessed be He, do to them? "And Hashem scattered them from there." The very thing the wicked person fears is precisely what the Holy One, blessed be He, brings upon him.
Rabbeinu Yonah explains: What the wicked man looks forward to and longs for will not reach him - the desires he pursues will elude him. Only the things he fears - those he will receive, and in abundance. He wants to win the lottery and the like - that he will not receive. Two things occupy his mind: desires on one side, and fears on the other, dreading lest this or that happen to him. The verse tells you: the side of desires will not come to him. And what will come? "The dread of the wicked shall come upon him" - the very thing he fears and dreads.
"But the desire of the righteous He will grant" - and what do the righteous desire? For Hashem's kindness and to do His will, and this the Holy One, blessed be He, grants. In contrast, the dread of the righteous - the tzaddik fears the wicked, fears the enemy - this the Holy One, blessed be He, does not bring upon him. After all, it is impossible to grant the wicked man his desire, because his desire is for forbidden things; but the tzaddik, what is his desire? "All my desire is before You" - my entire longing is toward You, solely to do Your will, and consequently Hashem grants it.
Who Extracts Retribution from a Person - The Vilna Gaon's Explanation
The Vilna Gaon explains: What does the wicked man fear? The sins in his hands, as it is written: "The man who is fearful and fainthearted" - what is he afraid of? Of the sins in his hands. And concerning this it says, "The dread of the wicked shall come upon him": the very sin you dread, it itself will come upon you. For the one who exacts retribution from a person is not an external agent, but his own sins: when a person commits a transgression, he creates a destructive angel (mashchit), and that destructive force itself exacts retribution from him and repays him as he deserves. This is the meaning of "the iniquity of my heels surrounds me."
And in contrast, regarding the righteous - "the desire of the righteous He will grant": with the tzaddik, the mitzvah itself does not repay him. Why? The Gra explains: If the mitzvah itself were to pay the reward, the reward would be finite, since the mitzvah is finite. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: The mitzvah will not repay you; I will repay you - "He will grant," the Holy One, blessed be He, gives rather than the mitzvah, because He desires to bestow boundless reward. Conversely, with the wicked, if Hashem Himself were to administer the punishment - may Hashem protect us - the punishment would be infinite; therefore, "the dread of the wicked shall come upon him" - the sin itself exacts retribution from him, so at least the punishment has a limit, for just as the sin is finite, so too the retribution is finite. But good reward - Hashem does not wish to give with limitation, but without bound, and therefore Hashem gives it Himself.
The Vilna Gaon notes an additional nuance: regarding sins, it is written "shall come upon him" (tevo'enu), whereas regarding mitzvot, it is written "He will grant" (yitein). What is the difference? The reward of mitzvot comes later; the yetzer hara pays in cash, while the yetzer hatov pays net plus seventy years, or with strength eighty years - on long credit. Therefore, "the desire of the righteous He will grant" - in the future, there is plenty of time. But the retribution for sins - the impurity (kelipah) immediately seeks to exact payment from the person and harm him. Thus, "the dread of the wicked shall come upon him" immediately: the kelipah instantly wants to draw sustenance from him, for he created and formed it. And if you see that it is not immediate, this is solely Hashem's kindness upon him, sustaining and nourishing the forces of impurity until the person repents; but in the ordinary course of things, it comes immediately.
Magor - A Flight That Avails Nothing
The Malbim explains the distinction in Lashon HaKodesh between magor and pachad (fear). Magor refers to something a person dreads, hides from, and devises schemes to escape, as in "terror (magor) all around" - going and trying to hide to escape pursuers. And with the wicked person, even the thing he dreads and devises every scheme to escape - "the dread of the wicked" - his hiding will not avail him; rather, "it shall come upon him," and in the end retribution will be exacted from him. Just as Iyov said: "For the thing I feared has overtaken me."
"And the desire of the righteous He will grant" - by contrast, regarding the righteous, even something they merely desire in their hearts, Hashem will grant them without their needing to invest effort to attain it. It turns out that regarding the wicked person, who strives with all his might to flee from evil, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: You want to flee? It will not avail you; in the end, you will receive the evil. But the righteous person - even a small desire he has for a certain thing, even before he has uttered a request from his mouth, but merely "the desire of the righteous," the Holy One, blessed be He, fulfills even that. Not only will evil not reach him, but he will also attain good even with minimal desire and without striving for it, under the complete Divine Providence of Hashem.
Incidentally, the Malbim adds, megorat (dread) is related to "do not fear (lo taguru) any man," which Chazal interpreted as an expression of storing up (agira): do not hold back (store up) your words on account of any man. A person wants to say something, but he is afraid, perhaps because the other is an honorable person, and serving as a judge, he remains silent and does not say what must be said - which is extremely grave. "Do not fear (lo taguru) any man" - do not store up your words, do not hide, and do not conceal the truth; rather, speak the words as they must be spoken. And this is the same idea behind megorat.
When the Whirlwind Passes, the Wicked Is No More
כַּעֲבוֹר סוּפָה וְאֵין רָשָׁע וְצַדִּיק יְסוֹד עוֹלָם׃ (כה) - When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is an everlasting foundation. (25)
Just as a storm passes quickly, so the downfall of the wicked will happen in the blink of an eye. Do not demand that it happen right now; the Holy One, blessed be He, says to you: in its due time, in a single moment, and in one second you will see that "when the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more." Just as we see in Arab countries: rulers, tyrants, and corrupt figures reign for years upon years, and within a single month, suddenly that same person is on his way to the gallows. Where is all the pride? Where is all the arrogance? Where is all the boastfulness? You are told: do not worry, wait.
And this is what King David says in Tehillim: "When the wicked flourish like grass" - in a single moment you see him grow, from an anonymous figure into a party of eight seats, and then fifteen, and a person is alarmed. "And blossom" - like grass. But what is the nature of grass? A little sun, and it is finished. "Will you glance your eyes at it, and it is gone?" - one moment, and it is no more. The righteous person, by contrast, proceeds slowly, "like a palm tree he will flourish": until the date palm blossoms, it takes an eternity, but once it has blossomed, year after year the palm continues to yield its fruit. The wicked person - his rise is meteoric, and his fall is equally meteoric.
"But the righteous is an everlasting foundation" - the righteous person never passes away; rather, he has a foundation and roots, and this foundation endures forever. The Vilna Gaon offers an additional explanation: "When the whirlwind passes" - when a storm, distress, and wrath sweep through, the wicked person does not escape, vanishing as though he never existed; when a time of trouble arrives - "the wicked is no more." And if you ask, does not the righteous person perish as well? You are told: not at all. The righteous person is the foundation of the world, and even after his death, he stands and protects the world. But as for the wicked person - his entire existence is temporary, and his being here in this world is the entirety of his existence; once the storm passes - he is gone, erased, finished. The righteous person is an everlasting foundation, even after his death, forever and ever, even when he is no longer physically present.
In Summary:
The four verses we learned teach a single fundamental principle: that which is built solely on human effort remains limited and accompanied by sorrow, whereas that which comes from Hashem's blessing is true wealth - in money, in Torah, and in life - unburdened by the strain of acquisition or the anxiety of loss. We saw the power of habit, which transforms a person's actions into a second nature that bursts forth as sport - for bad in the case of the fool, and for good in the case of the person of understanding, for whom wisdom has become a way of life. We saw that the wicked person receives the very thing he dreaded and sought to hide from, as the sin itself exacts retribution from him immediately, whereas regarding the righteous person - the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself grants him boundless reward, fulfilling even a desire he did not voice. And finally: the wicked person rises quickly and falls quickly, "when the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more," while the righteous person is "an everlasting foundation," protecting his world forever even after he is gone.