Introduction
Chapter 15 of Mishlei deals extensively with the power of speech: when to speak, how to speak, and the source of the words that emerge from a person's mouth. In this lesson, we will examine two adjacent verses that form a single theme: the verse contrasting the heart of the righteous with the mouth of the wicked, and the verse regarding Hashem's closeness to the righteous and His distance from the wicked. We will see how Rabbeinu Yonah, the Vilna Gaon, and the Malbim each illuminate a different angle, and how these concepts directly apply to our lives.
The Heart of the Righteous Meditates to Answer - The Path of Humility
לֵב צַדִּיק יֶהְגֶּה לַעֲנוֹת וּפִי רְשָׁעִים יַבִּיעַ רָעוֹת׃ (משלי טו, כח) - The heart of the righteous meditates to answer, but the mouth of the wicked spouts evil things (Mishlei 15:28).
Rabbeinu Yonah explains the word la'anos ("to answer") as related to anavah (humility). The meditation of the righteous person's heart all day long is to humble himself: his entire thought, his contemplation, everything his heart meditates upon - how not to stand out, how not to make headlines, how to ensure his good deeds go unnoticed. This is the heart of the righteous: he constantly meditates on matters of humility.
Standing in contrast to this is the desire for honor, a craving present in every human being. "The inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth," and man naturally craves honor. In this stumbling block all the inhabitants of the world have stumbled, ensnared and trapped by it. The Mesillas Yesharim elaborates on this, demonstrating how many were ruined on account of the lust for honor. Korach - his entire rebellion stemmed from jealousy over the chieftainship of Elitzaphan ben Uziel. Yarov'am ben Nevat - the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Repent, and I, you, and the son of Yishai will stroll together in Gan Eden. Yarov'am asked: Who walks at the head? It was not enough for him. And everything he did, why did he do it? So that he would not have to stand in the Temple courtyard while Rechav'am ben Shlomo sat in the courtyard. "They will not honor me as befits a king" - and out of this, he went and erected the golden calves. See how many were destroyed and punished because of this matter.
From this you learn: since a person has a natural attraction to honor, the heart of the righteous must constantly meditate on this - his heart is continually filled with thoughts of how not to stand out, how not to perform deeds in a way that will be seen, how to conceal himself. By nature we tend to seek prominence; therefore, we must exert effort to conceal ourselves and act contrary to our nature.
And the Mouth of the Wicked Spouts Evil Things - Domination and Self-Aggrandizement
The wicked, says Rabbeinu Yonah, not only fail to humble their hearts and make no effort to acquire lowliness and humility, but their mouths constantly "spout" - from the root denoting a gushing spring - evil things. They are constantly looking for ways to cast their terror over the land of the living, in the words of Chazal: people who seek to lord over the public, to rule and dominate them with a high hand. They multiply their activities so that the people will honor them and re-elect them again and again - yet they do not truly care about the people.
It is told of a Russian leader who fell ill, and the people gathered outside the hospital to bid him farewell. Hearing the commotion, he asked what it was. They told him: The people have come to bid farewell to you. He said: The people have come to say goodbye to me? Where are the people going? I am here! I am the people, and they exist only for my needs. I am the state, and the state is me. Similarly, when there was a political upheaval and the public voted out the ruling party, one of the leaders of that party was asked what he thought of the election results, and he responded, nothing less, that the people ought to be replaced! In other words: we are the state, the state exists for us, and if the people decided otherwise - we must replace the people. These are people who have completely lost their sanity, and no wonder, for the elders of the ignorant, as they grow older, their minds become increasingly unsettled, and you see this in the clearest way.
This is "the mouth of the wicked spouts evil things": their mouth constantly gushes harmful words, where the objective is to dominate, act haughtily, and seek self-glory. Rabbeinu Yonah adds: yet their evil has still not reached the evil of those who rule by brute force - for there are those worse than them, who strike the people and harm them so that they honor them and do their will, merely to rule by force.
The Vilna Gaon's Explanation: The Righteous Person Does Not "Shoot from the Hip"
The Vilna Gaon explains: a righteous person never allows a false answer to leave his mouth. Therefore, when asked a question, he does not shoot from the hip with an answer, for by giving an offhand reply he might err, say something incorrect, or utter falsehood. Therefore, "the heart of the righteous meditates to answer" - before answering, he contemplates and thinks. If you observe great people, you will see that they never shoot from the hip. Even for a simple question, such a person thinks for a moment and only then replies. He does not toss out an answer immediately, because he does not want any trace of falsehood to mingle with his words.
The wicked, however - their mouths are full of vanity, falsehood, and flattery, and there is no truth in their speech. They have no concern about what leaves their lips, and therefore "the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil things": it wells up, flows, and rushes like a gushing stream, impossible to stop. Not so the righteous: first he meditates, and only then considers answering - should this be said, should it not be said, how to say it, and is the halachah clear to him or not.
The Malbim's Explanation: Weighing Whether to Answer at All
The Malbim also explains the first part of the verse in a manner similar to the Gra: the laws of righteousness dictate that a person should not open his mouth to speak before considering whether it is fitting to reply with this matter, weighing his words with his intellect. The righteous person constantly considers: should this be said and answered, or is it perhaps better in this situation not to speak? For "know what to answer an apikores" - there are times when one must reply, whereas "do not answer a fool according to his folly" - there are times when it is preferable to remain silent. One is not obligated to react in every situation.
This is a mistake many people make. In public life, there are people who talk themselves into oblivion, and in private life as well: a person often assumes that he must react to everything, that he must answer every point, and that the last word must be his. No. Sometimes one can simply remain silent. There is no requirement to speak all the time.
It is told of one of the great Torah leaders who had a difficult wife. (Incidentally, there was another great man whose wife was short in stature and cursed frequently, and he would say: my wife is like Parashat Bechukotai - short and full of curses.) A disciple entered the home with him, and the wife began with endless complaints and arguments, while the rabbi remained silent, silent, and silent. At a certain point he replied something to her, and immediately returned to his silence. The disciple was astonished and said, "Rebbe, it is Torah and I must learn - I saw that you held back and remained silent for so long, so what happened that you finally broke your silence?" The rabbi replied, "It is not that I could not stay silent; I would have continued to remain silent. Rather, I saw that if I did not answer, it might cause her to lose all self-control. Therefore, I gave the answer I did and returned to my silence." In other words, there are situations where silence itself is infuriating: there is no response, no feedback, and that angers the other person even more - so one must say something to lower the flames. But normally, a person must weigh with precision what to answer, when to answer, and in what manner to answer.
Often, "if you feed your enemy bread... you heap coals on his head." When you respond with a kind word in the face of harsh words spoken to you, you take all the air out of his balloon. He came to curse, and suddenly you speak pleasantly to him - making it difficult for him to attack you now. For example: you make a mistake while driving, and the driver behind you gets furious. Open the window and say to him, "Shalom aleichem, good morning, I am so sorry, I must have cut you off unintentionally." He will reply, "Fine, just pay attention next time." That person was ready to attack you, but once you addressed him gently, with a smile and an immediate apology, he cannot do so. Had you opened the window with an aggressive tone, you would have heard: "Does your father own the road? You're going to tell me how to drive?" When you respond differently, the reaction changes. This is "the heart of the righteous meditates to answer" - he does not shoot from the hip. Sometimes it is better not to reply, and sometimes it is better to reply in one way rather than another: "do not answer a fool according to his folly" on the one hand, and "know what to answer an apikores" on the other.
A Mitzvah Not to Say What Will Not Be Heard
At times, the mitzvah is precisely not to say something that will not be heard. When it is clear to a person that reproof will not help, but will only cause hatred and strife, it is better to remain silent. This applies especially to ba'alei teshuvah who wish to rebuke their family at home. When people ask, "How should I reprove?" the answer is: Do not reprove at all. "But my mother does this, and my father does that" - are they receptive to hearing your rebukes? No. Then do not reprove at all. Whatever pertains to your own observance, be meticulous; but their World to Come is not your responsibility - do not meddle in it.
And one must tell them: if there is anyone who will cause your father never to do teshuvah, it is you. If there is anyone who will cause your mother never to change, it is you. Why? Because you argue with her and correct her constantly. And she thinks to herself: "I raised her, and suddenly she has become a know-it-all lecturing me; suddenly I don't know what to do and she tells me what to do, as if I'm not good enough, as if I'm not decent enough, and my own father was a great rabbi who didn't act this way." These are endless arguments. Do not try to change your father and mother - it will not work.
Those who actually succeeded in inspiring change were specifically the ones who never made a single critical remark at home. "If possible, for my sake, please do such-and-such" - only things concerning myself: "As for what concerns you, do as you wish even on Shabbat, I am not criticizing you; but if possible, for my sake, please set up a warming tray for my food." And those parents ultimately did teshuvah. Why? Because they saw the character and education the child was receiving, the derech eretz, the fear of Heaven, and the wonderful transformation in him - and they were the first to do teshuvah. In contrast, those who actively tried to bring their parents back created tension between them. Then, if the parent were to do teshuvah, it would feel as if he had broken down and conceded, "You are right, I was wrong my entire life." For the child had come to rebuke him and say, "Dad, you ruined me, you led me astray" - who could bear hearing that?
On the contrary: honor your parents even more, respect their wishes even more, and regarding prohibitions - simply do not transgress them yourself. But under no circumstances should you go and rebuke them, telling them things they do not wish to hear. There is a mitzvah not to speak. Therefore, in these situations, ba'alei teshuvah require great guidance. And only if the parents are genuinely interested in hearing and ask, "Why didn't you tell me this is forbidden?" - even then, there are specific halachot governing how to reprove: with derech eretz, framed as "we learned such-and-such," "we were taught this," and not in a manner of "Dad, that is forbidden, you are committing a sin." There are proper ways to reprove. And this is "the heart of the righteous meditates to answer" - he contemplates and reflects extensively before answering, and before speaking at all.
Heart Versus Mouth
The Malbim notes a precision: regarding the righteous, Scripture uses the word "heart," whereas regarding the wicked, it makes no mention of the heart at all, only the mouth. For with the wicked, words proceed straight out of the mouth; they do not pass through the filter of the governing faculty, the heart. Rather, it is purely superficial - he instantly blurts words out of his mouth. And all those evil utterances - lashon hara, gossip, heresy, and disbelief - stem from their mouths rather than their hearts. Therefore, the wicked immediately pours forth the evils in his mouth, whereas the righteous contemplates in his heart, neither shooting from the hip nor blurting things out right away.
"Hashem Is Far from the Wicked" - A Direct Continuation
רָחוֹק יְהֹוָה מֵרְשָׁעִים וּתְפִלַּת צַדִּיקִים יִשְׁמָע׃ (משלי טו, כט) - "Hashem is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous." (Mishlei 15:29)
Rabbeinu Yonah explains that this verse is a direct continuation of the preceding one. Since the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil and casts terror across the land of the living, Hashem is naturally far from them and does not hear their prayer. How could it be conceived that a mouth defiled by vile speech could pray and Hashem would accept its prayer?
A parable illustrates this - akin to the parable brought in Chovot HaLevavot - of a man who presented a gift to the king, and in what did he present it? Inside his son's chamber pot, and he did not even wash it beforehand! For such an act, he would be executed on the spot. So it is here: a person spoke lashon hara, gossip, flattery, and falsehood, defiling his mouth - and now, with that very same mouth, he comes to pray before Hashem. This is not a reason to refrain from praying now, but rather a reason to guard one's mouth with greater vigilance.
Rashbi already said in the holy Zohar: Had I been present at the creation of man, I would have requested two mouths - there is a pair of eyes, a pair of nostrils, a pair of ears, so let there also be a pair of mouths: one mouth for words of Torah and one mouth for idle chatter, so that they do not mix. But ultimately he said he retracted this request. Why? Because if with a single mouth we already speak idle chatter, had the Holy One, Blessed be He, given us two mouths, we would speak idle chatter in stereo - we would exploit the second mouth for idle chatter as well. Therefore, it is good that only one mouth was created.
"He Hears the Prayer of the Righteous" - Humility as a Catalyst for Prayer
The prayer of the righteous, who constantly strive to humble their hearts - as Rabbeinu Yonah explained that "la'anot" (to answer) is also related to anavah (humility) - is heard. Humility is a tremendous merit for having one's prayer accepted, as Scripture states: "Hashem is close to the brokenhearted," "You have heard the desire of the humble, Hashem," and "A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and pours out his plea before Hashem." You see that specifically the poor, humble, and lowly individual has his prayer accepted. Thus, the righteous, whose hearts meditate to answer humbly and walk in the path of humility - their prayer is heard before the Holy One, Blessed be He.
The Vilna Gaon's Explanation: Seeing from Afar and Hearing from Up Close
The Vilna Gaon explains: Man possesses two senses - a seeing eye and a hearing ear. Sight operates from a distance, whereas hearing operates only up close. An example of this is lightning and thunder. They occur together, as it is a single explosion, yet we see the lightning before we hear the thunder, because the speed of sound is slower than the speed of light. Furthermore, we can see things from distances where we cannot hear them. A person gazes at stars that are tens, hundreds, and thousands of light-years away and sees them - but if someone were to shout from that star, would you hear him? You see the moon, yet even if the loudest noise in the universe were produced there, you would not hear it. It emerges that hearing is limited relative to sight, both in speed and in distance.
This is what the verse means: "Hashem is far from the wicked" - even though there is Divine providence, which corresponds to the aspect of seeing, the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it were, removes His sight from them; He is so distant from them that one might say He does not even see them. But "He hears the prayer of the righteous" - with the righteous, Hashem is so close that He even hears him. Hashem is distant from seeing the wicked, yet close enough to the righteous to hear him, as it is written: "Hashem is close to all who call upon Him."
The Malbim's Explanation: Hashem Is Your Shadow
The Malbim explains: The Divine Providence with which Hakadosh Baruch Hu oversees a person is directly drawn from the person's own actions. "Hashem is your shadow upon your right hand" - Hashem acts like a shadow: if you draw near, He draws near; if you move away, the shadow moves away.
Rabbi Yaakov Galinsky related that he once came to the home of the Chazon Ish, and the Chazon Ish was standing outside beneath a streetlight that had recently been installed there. The Chazon Ish asked him, "Did you see? They installed a streetlamp here on the street." Not knowing how to respond, he simply muttered, "Nu, nu." The Chazon Ish said to him, "Did you notice? When a person stands close to the streetlamp, he casts a small shadow, but when he moves away, the shadow stretches all the way to the horizon. For when you are close to the light, the light strikes you from directly above and your shadow is small; but when you move away, the light strikes you from the side and from a distance, casting a huge shadow behind you." Rabbi Galinsky still did not grasp what the Rav was getting at. The Chazon Ish explained: "When a person is close to the Source of light, to the Master of the Universe, he casts a small shadow. But when a person moves away from the Source of light, he casts a large shadow - taking up a great deal of space, making a great deal of noise, and trying to make a big impression. The tzaddik, on the other hand, who remains close to the Source of light, makes no noise and seeks no impression, and his shadow is small."
There is a profound observation: when small people cast large shadows, it is a sign that the sun is setting. This is very true of contemporary politicians, and it can be applied to many other areas as well. Anyone who reflects upon this will find great wisdom in it. We find ourselves, regrettably, in a state of sunset, and therefore one sees all sorts of small people casting such large shadows.
Thus, the Malbim says, Hashem acts in the manner of a shadow: raise your hand, and the shadow raises its hand; lower it, and the shadow lowers it; draw near, and it draws near; move away, and it moves away. The shadow reflects how the person acts, and that is how Hakadosh Baruch Hu relates to man. Hashem shines His countenance upon you when you turn your face toward Him, and if you hide your face from Him, you cannot complain that Hashem hid His face from you, for the moment you hid your face, Hashem correspondingly hid His face. Hashem is close to the righteous and hears their prayer - "Hashem is near to all who call upon Him" - because the tzaddik truly calls to Him and draws near to Him, and consequently Hashem is close to him. The wicked person, by contrast, distances himself, and therefore, "Hashem is far from the wicked."
This is the meaning of the adage, "If you leave Me for one day, I will leave you for two." It is explained: when a person learns Torah and attends the shiur every day, he is traveling alongside the Torah and advancing. But if instead of coming to the shiur he goes elsewhere, he is traveling in the opposite direction, while the Torah does not wait but continues on its way - and consequently the distance between them is now two days. Do not think that your actions are a one-sided matter; there is an equal response: if you move away, Hashem moves away; if you hide your face, Hashem hides His face.
There Is No Change in Him, Blessed Be He
The Malbim raises a difficulty: If Hashem is far from the wicked and close to the righteous, this would seemingly imply a change within Hakadosh Baruch Hu, yet we know there is no change whatsoever in Him, blessed be He. How can He be near at one moment and far at another? Rather, know that this stems entirely from you. "Hashem is far from the wicked" means that in the hearts of the wicked, Hashem is distant, and so, as it were, He becomes distant; it is not that Hashem Himself pulls away in His essence, but rather the distance originates from the wicked themselves. Likewise, regarding "and He hears the prayer of the righteous," the tzaddik draws near, but no change occurs within Him, blessed be He; He remains, as it were, unchanged. Everything depends on you: whether you wish to draw near or drift away. And when you drift away, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is consequently, as it were, far from you - not because Hashem changed, but because you created the distance.
In summary: "The heart of the righteous meditates to answer" - the tzaddik reflects with humility, seeking not to draw attention to himself, and weighs carefully whether to answer, what to answer, and how to answer, so that no falsehood is found in his mouth and he does not say words that will go unheeded. The wicked person, in contrast - "the mouth of the wicked spouts evil": his words burst forth superficially from the lips without the filter of the heart, driven by a pursuit of honor and dominance. From this follows the next verse: "Hashem is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous" - a mouth that has defiled itself is not worthy of standing before the King, whereas humility is a vessel for having one's prayer accepted. Nor does this imply any change, Heaven forbid, in Hakadosh Baruch Hu; rather, He is like a shadow: the closer a person is to the Source of light, the smaller his shadow, the less noise he makes, and Hashem is close enough to hear his voice.