Introduction
In this section of the chapter, King Solomon deals with the relationship between the rich and the poor, between the humble tzaddik and the successful, prominent individual, and with the thoughts a person devises in his heart - whether for evil or for good. Three consecutive verses here (19-22) join into a single progression, containing a profound moral lesson on the difference between superficial appraisal and genuine valuation, and between actions performed in the public eye and deeds done quietly away from the spotlight.
"He Who Despises His Neighbor Sins" - Let the Rich Man Not Despise the Poor
בָּז־לְרֵעֵהוּ חוֹטֵא וּמְחוֹנֵן עֲנָוִים אַשְׁרָיו׃ (כא) - "He who despises his neighbor sins, but fortunate is he who is gracious to the humble." (21)
Rabbeinu Yonah explains: "He who despises his neighbor sins" - therefore, it is improper for a wealthy man to despise a pauper, even if he has the upper hand over him. The preceding verse states: "A poor man is hated even by his neighbor, but the rich man has many friends" (20) - and when a rich man has many who love him, he feels entitled to lord it over the poor. On the contrary, says Rabbeinu Yonah: since you understand that the pauper is despised even by his companions, you as a wealthy person must draw him close and treat him with dignity and honor.
Rabbeinu Yonah further explains that the verse "A poor man is hated even by his neighbor" relates back to what was said earlier: "The evil bow before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous" (19). Do not suggest that the reverse is true: that the tzaddik is likewise lowly in the eyes of the wicked, since the wicked man is not impressed by the tzaddik at all and regards him as a mere simpleton. To this comes the answer: the righteous man does not value the wicked man and is not dazzled by his grandeur - and this is a true, objective assessment; whereas the wicked man's contempt for the tzaddik is nothing but a distortion. The proof of this is: "A poor man is hated even by his neighbor" - even his own peer despises the poor man, demonstrating how utterly distorted human judgment often is.
The Unfortunate Reality: Knowing Who Truly Matters - Yet Choosing Otherwise
Rabbeinu Yonah makes a piercing observation: most people, even when recognizing the virtue of fear of sin and piety in a poor man, and even though they believe in the superiority of these qualities over wealth and honor - when they see that the poor man is despised by society and that success has eluded him, they will not accord him honor, and he possesses neither charm nor glory in their eyes.
And this is a deeply regrettable reality. If someone is asked who the decent, upright individual is, he will surely say the poor man. If asked who is compromised, he might say: the wealthy man engages in all sorts of questionable dealings, a businessman whose affairs are not always strictly kosher, touching upon chillul Shabbat here, halachic complications with non-Jews there, and so on. Yet when a shidduch is suggested to him, where will he turn? To the more "prominent" family, to the wealthy one. And this is not referring to the secular world, but to observant Jews. They will say: "That young man is an avrech, a ben Torah, a yirei Shamayim - but what can I do, he is poor."
How warped our perception can be, even though we know who is truly important, who is precious before Heaven. A person will prefer the proximity of the wealthy man and an alliance with him, whereas if one looks honestly - who raised his children to Torah, simplicity, and yirat Shamayim? Who is more refined in his character traits and his upbringing? The son of the avrech. Yet he will still prefer the other: "It is a more prestigious family," "People will speak of me differently," "His name appears in the papers from time to time." That one in kollel - you are right, but...
How clearly this demonstrates that we live in a superficial world, a world of falsehood. For it is precisely this poor man who ought to be granted honor and splendor. He is the tzaddik, he is God-fearing, he serves Hashem with absolute sincerity, free of gimmicks, pretenses, and outward posturing - he is the authentic tzaddik. To the other, by contrast, people flatter and show deference; perhaps they will even sponsor a yahrzeit plaque for him and write on it, "A pursuer of tzedakah and chesed."
"A Pursuer of Tzedakah and Chesed" - According to What Hashem Has Bestowed
Rav Shteinman was once asked whether it is appropriate to write about a certain wealthy philanthropist that he is "one who pursues tzedakah and chesed." He said to them: "One who pursues tzedakah and chesed? Tell me, did this man give his ma'aser? An avreich from Bnei Brak is already better than him, because the avreich gives his ma'aser! This wealthy man tossed you two million - but this year he made two hundred million. According to what Hashem gave him, he should have given twenty million, but 'twenty million is too much.' Yet he feels wonderful, 'a pursuer of tzedakah and chesed,' when in truth he did not even give according to his basic obligation. But such is human nature: people are impressed by external impressions, whereas to that righteous, God-fearing person who looks simple and lives in a modest two- or three-room apartment - they grant no majesty or splendor."
One Whose Desire Is for Fear of Hashem Will Elevate the Simple Man
Rabbeinu Yonah continues: one whose desire and longing are drawn toward the fear of Hashem and His service, and whom Hashem has elevated above the worldly - meaning He raised him above being a coarse person, above living merely according to worldly nature - when he recognizes through the Torah and intellect the virtue of humility and the virtue of every trait pleasing before Hashem, that person will appear graceful and splendid in his eyes, and he will elevate and exalt him. Specifically the simple person, around whom there is no fanfare or publicity, specifically him he will elevate, and he will hold splendor in his eyes.
"Even if he is very despised in the eyes of people" - and he will bestow grace upon virtues, not upon the transient successes of this world. Even if he is despised in the eyes of people; you may see that he barely gets by, that his suit was bought five years ago, that he lacks any outward flair. But one who knows what true virtue is asks: Do you know how much Torah he possesses? How much fear of Heaven? How much service of Hashem? That is what he honors. And the prerequisite for this is that his desire and longing be for the fear of Hashem and His service, that Hashem elevate him above worldly inclinations, so that he is not coarse and does not live according to mere human nature, but rather according to fear of Heaven. For one who does so has already perfected the pleasantness of good character traits, and his refined nature will guide him to his desired haven. Thus, despising one's fellows is a sin; whereas splendor and grace - those should be given specifically to the humble and the lowly, and about this it is said, "praiseworthy is he," for you have attained true happiness.
Financial Security or Spiritual Security
The entire question is: What is more important, financial security or spiritual security? Here Rabbeinu Yonah points out our flaw: we constantly tend to prefer financial security, and we constantly prefer whoever presents better in public and in the community over someone who finds favor in the eyes of the Holy One, blessed be He. In our society people know how to value bnei Torah, yet a person still constantly calculates "how it looks" and "what impression it makes."
A man once came to Rav Shteinman and said that three shidduch proposals had been suggested for his daughter, and he did not know which one to pursue first: this one had one virtue, and that one had another. He asked, "What is most important?" Rav Shteinman answered him, "Everything is important - except for one thing: 'What will people say?' That is not important at all." That man later said: I saw how much wisdom lay in that answer, because when I examined the three proposals, I realized that in each of them, the flaw I had found was purely a matter of "what will people say." Everything looks wonderful, but he has a certain brother, and how will that look? The father was such and such, and how will that be received? The yeshivah is not the crowning glory of the yeshivah world - even though the boy learns exceptionally well - and again, "what will people say." It turned out that all three matches were upright and suitable, if you only remove the "what will people say." A person must realize that this is the main thing: do not reckon with what people say; rather, know what is valued in Hashem's eyes. Choose the ben Torah, the God-fearing person, the one who truly serves Hashem, and not someone who merely makes a fine impression in public and in the community. As Rav Shteinman said: that is like a broken shard; it has no validity whatsoever.
The Gra: "Choteh" in the Sense of Lack
The Gra explains: "One who despises his fellow is a sinner (choteh)" - one who degrades his fellow becomes a "choteh," in the sense of lacking (chaser). If you hurt your fellow, through this you will lack him. And reality proves this: Who are the people who have the most friends? The humble and the modest, not the loud and flashy people. Notice the nature of a person in whose company everyone loves to be: it is the modest person, who does not hurt others, does not look for their faults, and does not constantly try to show how he is better than they are. One who despises his fellow sins and causes loss - he deprives himself of that beloved friend, who will no longer be his friend. And "to his fellow" (lere'eihu) means to his face: he degrades him to his face, and thereby the other person feels uncomfortable in his presence and leaves him.
"And one who is gracious to the humble, praiseworthy is he" - the wording of the verse is in the causative form (hif'il): not merely "chonen anavim," but "mechonen," meaning that he causes others to show favor to the humble, encouraging them to give to them and bestow goodness upon them. "Praiseworthy is he" - praiseworthy in this world, as it is said, "praiseworthy are you in this world," and it is also good for him in the World to Come.
Aniyim or Anavim - Giving Without Expectation of Reward
It is written (ketiv) "aniyim" (poor) and read (keri) "anavim" (humble). What does this teach? That true wisdom is to show favor and give to someone from whom I have no expectation of repayment. When you give according to the principle of "cast your bread upon the waters," in the end there is also self-interest involved - while the act of giving is certainly noble, ultimately it pays off, and someday the benefit will return to me. But "one who is gracious to the poor" gives without any hope of reward, and then the giving is a complete, unadulterated giving that will truly lead him to genuine happiness.
Generally, a poor person is also humble - this is usually the case, though not necessarily so. It is told of the Brisker Rav that he would give something to anyone who stretched out a hand to him, even a small coin, so as not to stumble, Heaven forbid, into the Torah's warnings: "and your eye be evil against your needy brother" and "do not shut your hand." Why are we not as concerned today? The Gemara says that we must be grateful to the impostors, for they save us - because there are impostors, one never knows whether this person might be one of them. But the Brisker Rav apparently did not rely on this, saying: one cannot rely on the impostors, and therefore I give to every beggar who stretches out a hand.
One day, someone stretched out his hand, and the Rav gave him a small coin. The man said to him, "What, is this all you are giving me?" The Rav said to him, "Give it back to me." The man returned the coin, the Rav put it in his pocket, and walked on. His attendant was astonished: "The Rav is always concerned about 'do not shut your hand,' so why did you take the coin back from him?" He replied, "He is not a poor man." The attendant asked, "Through Ruach HaKodesh?" The Rav replied, "No, King Solomon revealed it to me - 'and the rich answers impudently.' A poor person speaks humbly, and one who speaks with impudence is not poor. A person who lacks breakfast can buy a pita or a roll and have a meal with this coin and another coin from someone else; but this man is not talking about breakfast, he is talking about far more - a sign that he does not have the status of a poor person, and therefore let him return the money."
This brings to mind a story someone related: a solicitor knocked on his door, someone who had placed a kippah on his head purely for "sales promotion," and he gave him nothing. When asked why, he replied, "He showed up with a smartphone more advanced than mine." The response to him was, "Perhaps you suspected him without cause; perhaps it was not his." In any case, a person who goes around collecting tzedakah while living comfortably and indulging in luxuries is not truly poor, and there is no obligation to assist him. But one who is truly poor - to him, on the contrary, one must give.
"Do They Not Stray Who Devise Evil?" - Harboring Evil Thoughts About the Poor
הֲלוֹא־יִתְעוּ חֹרְשֵׁי רָע וְחֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת חֹרְשֵׁי טוֹב׃ (כב) - Do they not stray who devise evil? But kindness and truth are for those who devise good. (22)
This is not referring to farmers plowing the soil, but to people who plow thoughts: one who devises evil thoughts, and one who devises good thoughts. Rabbeinu Yonah attributes "those who devise evil" to people with malicious thoughts - continuing the previous theme: when they see the poverty of the destitute, they disparage them and say in their hearts that the poor man is probably not so righteous, for "had Hashem, blessed is He, desired him, all this would not have happened to him." If this is his condition, Heaven must have brought poverty upon him because of his deeds.
This was precisely the claim of Iyov's companions, who, when afflictions befell him, condemned him and said, "Remember now, whoever perished being innocent?" - do you know of any righteous person who perished? If this is happening to you, it must be a sign that you are not righteous. Yet the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, "You have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Iyov has," instructing them to ask Iyov to pray on their behalf and forgive them. Therefore, the verse states, "Do they not stray who devise evil?": whoever devises evil against the poor person and thinks that Hashem has rejected him because of his sins - his thoughts are negative and mistaken.
This is especially clear given that we find great sages who lived in abject poverty. The Gemara relates concerning Rabbi Elazar ben Pedas that on a day he was bled, he had nothing to eat other than a single clove of garlic - extreme poverty, to the point that he grew weak and aged. The Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to him, and Rabbi Elazar asked, "Until when must I suffer here?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "There is a possibility that I could overturn the world and recreate you under a constellation of wealth." Rabbi Elazar asked, "Which is greater, what I have already lived or what remains for me to live?" He told him, "What you have already lived." He replied, "If so, Master of the Universe, leave the world as it is; I will endure what remains." Here was an extraordinary tzaddik, mentioned hundreds of times throughout Shas, and yet he was impoverished. Shall we determine from this that every poor person is wicked before the Omnipresent? It is very possible that this is his spiritual rectification and his decree; we know nothing of previous incarnations, and the Holy One, blessed be He, may have brought this poverty upon him with no connection to negative deeds, Heaven forbid.
One Who Advises Evil Ultimately Errs Himself
Rabbeinu Yonah explains further: "Do they not stray who devise evil?" - those who give evil counsel and cause the public to sin will ultimately stray themselves. This is like the well-known folk tale of Joha, who was being pestered by children and said to them, "What are you doing here? At the edge of the village they are handing out candies!" The children heard this and began to run; seeing them running, Joha began running as well, thinking, "If they are giving out sweets, why should I miss out?!" So it is: sometimes a person misleads others, and in the end he himself falls into the delusion.
Where do we see this? Our Sages say: one who causes the public to sin is not given the opportunity to repent. He becomes entrenched in sin and reaches a state where he cannot return, so that he will not be in Gan Eden while his disciples are in Gehinnom. Thus, one who causes another to sin will ultimately sin and become corrupted himself. Even if he claims, "I do not do this myself" - you advise others to do it, and in the end you too will do it.
The Vilna Gaon explains: "Do they not stray who devise evil?" - regarding one who plots evil against his fellow, the Holy One, blessed be He, causes him to err through that very evil and fall into it, as in the story of Haman. Haman went and erected a gallows on which to hang Mordechai, and in the end, "they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordechai, and the king's wrath subsided." This is the meaning of "he who digs a pit will fall into it": the very obstacle you prepared for your fellow, the Holy One, blessed be He, causes you yourself to stumble upon.
The Difference Between Chesed and Emes
"While chesed and emes are for those who devise good." What is the difference between chesed (lovingkindness) and emes (truth)? The Vilna Gaon explains: chesed is when I do something for you that I am under no obligation to do; emes is something established and binding, paying what I already owe. Therefore, the verse states: "You will grant truth to Yaakov, lovingkindness to Avraham" (Michah 7:20). Initially, when the Holy One, Blessed is He, came to Avraham and made him a promise, when He owed him nothing - that was chesed. But once He had already promised, the fulfillment of that promise to Yaakov became emes, as He was bound by the promise.
From here stems an ethical and halachic principle: if someone did you a favor, is it enough to repay him in equal measure? No. You must repay more. The Gemara teaches that one who returns a greeting (shalom) to his fellow must add an extra blessing to the greeting. The reason is: when I did you a kindness, I gave to you when I was not obligated at all; and when you return it to me, you are merely settling a debt. When does it become truly equal? When you return more than you received - for only then have you also done something you were not obligated to do. Therefore, returning in equal measure is "emes", while the addition is "chesed".
To what can this be compared? You did a favor for a friend, and naturally he feels gratitude toward you. Now, when he sees you stuck with a flat tire, left to himself he might not have stopped to change it, but now he cannot refrain - he feels indebted. Changing the tire is emes, not chesed, because the first person gave without obligation, while the second gave as a debtor paying what is due. But if he also goes ahead and fills your gas tank - that addition is already chesed.
It must be noted that all of this applies only when it is not a loan. One who borrows a cup of sugar and returns an entire bag - that is ribbis (prohibited interest), and one must be very cautious about this. With a loan, one does not need to be excessively meticulous about exact weight; an approximation is sufficient, and when the difference is negligible, people do not mind. However, if one borrows a small egg (size three) and returns an extra-large egg (size one), these are two entirely different commodities, and returning the larger one is ribbis. And with interest, calling it a gift or offering forgiveness is of no halachic effect.
And this is what Chazal meant when they said: One who is fed lentils by his friend should not reciprocate with lentils, but rather with legumes. If Reuven gave Shimon lentils, when Shimon reciprocates, he should not simply return lentils - for returning the same thing is merely emes; Reuven did chesed with you, while you are only doing emes with him. Rather, he should give him higher-grade legumes, which are superior and more expensive. This is the meaning of: "While chesed and emes are for those who devise good" - to those who constantly seek the good, the Holy One, Blessed is He, pays their reward with both chesed and emes: the earned reward that is due, which is emes, and beyond that, which is chesed.
The Malbim: Quietly in Evil, and Quietly in Good
The Malbim explains "those who devise evil" (chorshei ra) from the root ch-r-sh, meaning silently, stealthily: a person who schemes to commit his deeds in secret, without people knowing. Regarding him it says: "Will they not go astray?" A traveler who strays from the road in plain sight of others can be redirected to the right path; people will say to him: "Sir, your GPS is off, you are driving in the wrong direction; turn back here and you will reach your destination." But one who devises evil in secret - there is no one to correct him, for no one knows what path he has strayed onto in the dark. Therefore, his error will be perpetual.
An example of this: a yeshivah student who begins to decline spiritually. If the change is noticeable on the outside - his clothes change, adopting new fashions - the Mashgiach can speak with him, see what he is going through, and try to help, so that he stays in the yeshivah and gets back on track. But if outwardly he looks completely the same, yet within he lays an ambush for himself - an internal decline begins that no one is aware of - then suddenly, four months later, he leaves the yeshivah, and no one understands what happened. The rot spread from within, and no one was alerted in time to set him straight.
On the other hand: "While chesed and emes are for those who devise good" - those who devise good, meaning those who perform their good deeds quietly and in secret, are the ones spoken of as receiving chesed and emes. For good deeds ought to be performed discreetly and concealed; one who does good publicly often expects feedback, "likes," social approval, honor, and prestige. But one who acts in secret demonstrates that he knows reward comes solely from Him, Blessed be He, and He alone is the One he looks to. In such a person, the traits of chesed and emes prevail: he knows that the truth is that reward exists only Above.
Therefore, one who devises good and acts quietly and covertly - fortunate is he. Concerning this it was said: "A person is scalded only by his fellow's canopy (chuppah)" - that is, by his fellow's concealment (chipuy). The more concealed a person was, performing his good deeds in secret, the higher his stature will be in the World Above. This causes anguish to the one standing beside him: "Why did I not also conceal my deeds? Why didn't I do things with less publicity, so that I too would have merited such reward?" In the soul of one who acts in secret, the attributes of chesed and emes have triumphed, whereas one who acts publicly forfeits his eternal reward.
In summary:
The verses before us teach us to overturn the superficial scale of values: not to despise the poor, for "he who despises his fellow sins" and deprives himself of those who love him, but rather to bestow honor and splendor upon the one who is truly worthy - the God-fearing person, the humble one, the one who serves Hashem with simplicity, and not the one who merely presents well in the media and the community. "He who is gracious to the humble, fortunate is he" - true giving is that which carries no expectation of reward. And in contrast to those who "devise evil," whether those who think ill of the poor or those who act wickedly in secret - whose end is to wander astray with no one to set them straight - "those who devise good," who perform their good deeds discreetly, merit kindness and truth: the reward due to them and the bounty that goes beyond it, an eternal reward from Hashem, blessed is He.