Introduction: A Direct Continuation of the Previous Chapter
We begin chapter 16 of Mishlei. Rabbeinu Yonah brings an important point to our attention: the first verse of this chapter is a direct continuation of the end of the previous chapter. We have mentioned several times that the chapter divisions were not instituted by Jewish tradition, so it should come as no surprise when a verse at the beginning of one chapter continues the thought of the chapter before it. The previous chapter concluded with: "The fear of Hashem is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor comes humility" - it spoke there of humility, and our verse comes to continue this very theme.
Verse 1: To Man Belong the Arrangements of the Heart - but from Hashem Is the Answer of the Tongue
לְאָדָם מַעַרְכֵי־לֵב וּמֵה' מַעֲנֵה לָשׁוֹן׃ - To man belong the arrangements of the heart, but from Hashem is the answer of the tongue.
Rabbeinu Yonah explains: A humble person is one who reflects and takes to heart that it was not through his own counsel, his own wisdom, or his rhetorical skill that he succeeded in achieving what he achieved. Indeed, "to man belong the arrangements of the heart" - the plans are yours, the preparation is yours; but ultimately, through whose power does the matter materialize? From Hashem, may He be blessed. Only a humble person can arrive at this conclusion. The arrogant person, by contrast, is convinced that "my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth."
The Vilna Gaon explains the verse in another way: When a person must speak before a king, a minister, or an important dignitary, what he must do is direct and arrange his heart - not toward the minister, but toward Hashem. "To man belong the arrangements of the heart" - arrange your heart before Hashem so that He may guide you on the right path, "and from Hashem is the answer of the tongue" - that which Hashem places in my mouth, that shall I speak. The true address to which you must turn is Hashem, blessed be He; do not place your trust in human effort alone, but in Hashem. A person should direct his heart toward Hashem, and then the response of his tongue will come from Hashem, and he will also find favor in the eyes of that minister or king.
The Vilna Gaon applies this to Torah study as well. "The Merciful One desires the heart" - when a person delves into the Torah of Hashem with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, probing, reflecting, and learning with all his strength, this is "to man belong the arrangements of the heart." But who grants the insight, the understanding, and the intellect to comprehend, to learn, and to teach? It is all from Him, blessed be He - "and from Hashem is the answer of the tongue." You must invest your effort, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will grant His blessing. What is required of you? The effort: to arrange your heart, to dedicate your heart to the study of Torah, and true understanding will surely follow from Him, blessed be He.
"And the Maharam Schick Obligates the Dull-Minded"
There is a story told about the Maharam Schick, that in his youth he was simply slow to comprehend. His mother would often weep over him, for he would sit and study for endless hours. She would say to him, "Go to sleep," but he would answer, "No, Mother, I still have not understood the sugya. I still have not grasped the topic." How hard he struggled, and how painful it was for his mother to see that her son was not blessed with natural brilliance - yet he possessed tremendous diligence and an iron will. Ultimately, as he grew, he became one of the greatest disciples of the Chasam Sofer, and the novellae of the Maharam Schick are renowned throughout the Torah world.
When he was older, he said of himself: The Gemara states that Yosef HaTzaddik obligates the sinful, Rabbi Elazar ben Charsom obligates the wealthy, and Hillel obligates the poor - and the Maharam Schick obligates the slow-witted. For as a child, he testified about himself, he had a thick head, lacking all sharpness; and only through intense immersion in Torah and sheer diligence, accompanied by fervent prayer and great willpower, was he privileged to have the gates of understanding opened for him and to reach the stature he did. There is a profound principle here: "To man belong the arrangements of the heart" - you must arrange your heart; "and from Hashem is the answer of the tongue" - how much success and divine assistance you receive is entirely from Him, blessed be He. Who makes a person wise, who gives a person understanding? It is all from Him. If you turn to the Master of Mercy, to the One to Whom all wisdom belongs, and if you invest your efforts and direct your heart to the study of Torah - you will merit that from Hashem will come the answer of the tongue.
The Malbim's Explanation: Many Preparations - but the Outcome Is from Heaven
The Malbim explains: "To man belong the arrangements of the heart" - the heart arranges and prepares what one will speak. A person formulates plans in his heart and builds various lines of reasoning. Consider a tangible example: a person standing trial. He weighs his options - "I will say this; but wait, perhaps that is unwise, because they might ask me that; I will present this argument, or no, another claim is better, for as soon as the judge hears it..." He considers every possibility and every detail - what to say, how to say it, and in what manner - and consults knowledgeable people. All of these are "arrangements of the heart": numerous strategies, calculations, and scenarios. But the ultimate outcome, "the answer of the tongue" - from Whom does it come? From Hashem.
And we all know this reality. How many times have you prepared for an important meeting - a job interview, an acceptance interview for a child at an educational institution - and prepared extensively in advance: I will say this, I will mention that, I will argue this. Yet right when you arrived, words suddenly failed you, you spoke off-topic, or you suddenly brought up something you had never planned to mention. And conversely: things you had not even thought about might come out of your mouth at that very moment, and you say: I really did not plan to say that, but he brought it up and it just came out. Where does this come from? "And from Hashem is the answer of the tongue." The Holy One, blessed be He, wanted you to succeed, and placed His words in your mouth, and at that very moment the exact right words emerged even though you had never planned to say them.
And specifically, says the Malbim, the speech of the tongue is from Hashem, as it is written: "So I prayed to the God of heaven, and I said to the king" (Nechemiah 2:4-5). About whom was this said? About Nechemiah, who asked the king to grant him permission to go up to Jerusalem and rebuild its ruins, because he saw the city of his ancestors' heritage lying desolate and destroyed. And what did he pray to the God of heaven? That what he said to the king would find receptive ears, that his words would be well received by the king, and that he would succeed in speaking the right words at the right time. We see from this that "the arrangements of the heart" are not enough, and the answer of the tongue is necessarily from Hashem. You can make many plans, and suddenly something unplanned slips out, or you say something you had not properly thought through. The essential factor is Hashem, from Whom comes the answer of the tongue.
Verse 2: All the ways of a man are pure in his eyes
כָּל־דַּרְכֵי־אִישׁ זַךְ בְּעֵינָיו וְתֹכֵן רוּחוֹת ה'׃ - All the ways of a man are pure in his eyes, but Hashem weighs the spirits.
Rabbeinu Yonah explains: It is human nature that whatever one does seems pure in his own eyes, both in good and in bad. Everything a person does stemming from his character traits appears upright to him. The examples are endless. A person failed to give to someone he should have given to, driven by the negative trait of stinginess - yet it is pure in his eyes: he will offer you a thousand and one explanations as to why this person does not deserve it, why now is not the right time, and that if you give to him you will only spoil and ruin him, so it is better not to give. And where does this truly stem from? From the trait of stinginess.
The same applies to arrogance: a person goes around singing his own praises. You ask him: Why? How can you do that? He will answer: Look, a person has to market himself so people know him; otherwise, how will they recognize him? How will they know who he is, or hire him, appoint him, or give him a position? It is a necessity! And likewise with bearing grudges and taking revenge: a person takes revenge and bears a grudge, nursing his wrath forever, and if you tell him that this is improper, he replies: Look, some people simply need to be educated; otherwise, he will repeat his actions again and again, so let him learn for once that there is a price to pay for what he does. He has turned himself into the national educator, opening his own personal department of education! The Creator of the world did not assign you this role; the Creator explicitly commanded in His Torah, "Do not take revenge and do not bear a grudge." Yet he insists: We have to educate him! And where does this come from? From a person's flawed character traits.
From here Rabbeinu Yonah deduces that refining character traits is difficult. And why is it so difficult? Because after all, I am perfect; what I am doing is exactly what ought to be done and must be done, and he provides arguments and justifications for his actions. How then can he rectify himself? It is like the great tragedy of a dispute "for the sake of Heaven" - a person quarrels with his fellow for the sake of a mitzvah. What is the great tragedy in this? That he will never do teshuvah for it. Does one do teshuvah for mitzvos? One repents for sins, not for mitzvos! When the yetzer hara portrays a sin to a person as a mitzvah, that is the greatest tragedy of all, for he will never repent, believing it to be a mitzvah. The same is true regarding character traits: of course one must refine his traits, but the person is convinced that his conduct is fully aligned with refined character. If you tell him it is proper to give, he will turn the tables and argue that those who give are merely wasteful, that a person is forbidden to squander his assets, and that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him wealth to safeguard and use for worthy purposes rather than ruin. Therefore, Rabbeinu Yonah says: refining character traits is difficult.
However, "but Hashem weighs [and rectifies] the spirits." Know that if you truly desire to refine your character, Hashem will help you rectify your traits, observe their distortions, strengthen the good ones, and correct the flawed ones. True, you have a natural disposition, and perhaps the nature you were born with leans negative, but the One who weighs and measures the spirits is the Holy One, blessed be He; He examines hearts and He will help you. It is exceedingly difficult to fight against human nature; you need siyata d'Shemaya, you need the "weigher of spirits," the Examiner of hearts, to assist you in refining your traits. And if you genuinely strive to prepare your heart for the service of Hashem and the fear of Hashem - Hashem is the One who measures and rectifies the spirits. Rabbeinu Yonah explains that the word tochen here is related to tikkun (rectification): "I established [tikanti] its pillars" (Tehillim 75:4), "and actions are not weighed [nitkenu]" (I Shmuel 2:3) - all spelled with the letter kaf; and alongside them, "he weighed and sought out, and set in order [tikken] many proverbs" (Koheles 12:9), "a crooked thing cannot be made straight [liskon]" (Koheles 1:15) - with the letter kuf. The rectification (tikkun) with a kuf is similar in meaning to the establishing/weighing (tikhun) with a kaf. Thus, refining one's traits is very difficult, for you are convinced you are doing what is right - and who can help you? Only Hashem. He will rectify your character traits if you truly strive for it, for Hashem is the weigher and rectifier of spirits.
The Vilna Gaon's Explanation: The Initial Will
The Vilna Gaon teaches an important principle here: all of a person's ways are drawn after his initial will. This is human reality - it is extremely difficult for a person to rid himself of his first impression or initial premise regarding any matter. A person forms an initial will, and follows in its footsteps. Not only that, but even if he comes to see that his initial will and first conception were mistaken, and even concedes that he was wrong - after two months he will automatically revert to his initial will. You will have to remind him that he was wrong and convince him all over again, and you might succeed once more, but he will always drift back to that first desire. "Throw a stick into the air, and it will land on its original base" - throw a stick in the air, and it returns to where it came from.
This is also the reason the Torah warns a judge never to listen to only one of the litigants, but rather: "Hear the disputes between your brothers, and judge righteously" (Devarim 1:16) - the other side must be brought in and the judge must hear both parties together. The moment the judge hears one party alone, his mind is already set, he is already convinced, and now try persuading him otherwise! This is also one reason it is so difficult to reach out to the average secular person and successfully alter his misconceptions: for thirty years he has been fed all the distortions broadcast in the media, so to him it is simply obvious - it is obvious that all Charedim are parasites, obvious that they are all thieves, after hearing it morning and evening. To pull him out of that mindset, how much effort is required? And even when you succeed in proving the truth to him and reach clear conclusions, suddenly he repeats the very same questions all over again - even though you already settled it, answered it, and he admitted he accepted it! What is happening here? Since a person formed an initial conception, an initial opinion, a first thought, he always gravitates back to it; and it requires tremendous effort to uproot those ingrained first impressions.
Thus, "all the ways of a man are pure in his eyes": the initial thought a person had is the one he walks with throughout his life; to him, it seems logical and right. "But Hashem weighs the spirits" - only Hashem knows whether that initial will and first thought were truly pure or not. You will always revert to that first opinion, but Hashem knows whether it was correct or inherently flawed from the outset. To return to the example we discussed, as character traits are the most common illustration: a person claims that this poor man should not be given aid for reasons A, B, and C. That is his initial thought, his first impression. But Hashem knows where it stems from: does it come from truth and justice, that this individual truly does not deserve it, or does it stem from stinginess, because I simply do not want to open my heart and my pocket? Your initial thought was not to give - but only the Holy One, blessed be He, knows where it truly originated: from an inward trait of stinginess, or from genuine righteousness and integrity. "Hashem weighs the spirits" - Hashem knows whether the initial will was pure and genuine, or whether it was biased from the start by a negative character trait and stemmed from corrupted middos.
The Malbim's Explanation: "Tochen" as an Expression of Measurement
The Malbim explains: The paths of the soul are exceedingly numerous, and it is difficult for a person to choose a path devoid of dross, free from impurities. Only the Holy One, blessed be He, is "tochen" (weighs and measures) the spirit - and the word "tochen" with a chaf denotes measurement, as in, "Yet you shall deliver the quota (tochen) of bricks" (Shemot 5:18), which refers to the measured allotment of bricks. The Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, measures the spirit from which thoughts flow - what is termed the inner imagery of the heart. Rabbeinu Yonah interpreted "tochen" as an expression of rectification (tikkun), whereas the Malbim interprets it as an expression of measurement.
The meaning of this is: Sometimes a person performs a mitzvah, but the source of that mitzvah is a thought of pride in his heart. A person gave charity - an onlooker might think that the poor person's plight touched his heart, and that he did so out of compassion and a desire to fulfill Hashem's commandment, Who said, "You shall not hide your eyes," and commanded us in the Torah to have pity on the poor and the destitute. So it appears on the surface. But the Holy One, blessed be He, weighs the spirits, and He knows what spirit motivated this deed. Perhaps giving the charity stems from pride: "Did you see how much I gave? Did you catch that?" He then takes care to give in a way that people will see his donation, and if they did not see it - don't worry, he will make sure to inform others and update those who missed out. "Yesterday a poor man was here, and I took out a hundred shekels and gave it to him..." The poor fellow, nobody saw him give it, so what can he do? He feels compelled to tell someone, so that at least somebody will realize how generous he is and recognize what a great ba'al chesed he is. Thus you see that sometimes a person performs a good deed, but his underlying objective is flawed and negative.
The Malbim adds: It is also possible for a person to walk in the path of humility. You see him acting modestly, fleeing from publicity, conducting himself like lowly and unassuming people; yet sometimes all of this stems from being so arrogant that he wants people not only to praise him for all his virtues, but to laud him for his humility as well. That is to say: "Do not think I am just an ordinary tzaddik - there are many tzaddikim, but I want you to know that I am both a tzaddik and humble, a truly exceptional tzaddik; take note of that." And the observer says: Look how humble he is, "he enters bent and leaves bent, taking no credit for himself" (cf. Sanhedrin 88b), truly impressed. But "Hashem weighs the spirits" - the Holy One, blessed be He, examines the spirit to see where this act, which superficially appears to be an act of modesty and humility, originated, and what its true source is. A person must choose the straight and proper path without any dross or blemish, and the Holy One, blessed be He, examines the heart in truth to see whether the thought is pure and holy, or whether you indeed chose the path of humility, but it is a humility ridden with dross. And what is dross? The slag of gold. When smelting gold, the dross is separated from it. You are walking along a golden path, the path of humility, but impurities are mixed into it - humility for the sake of pride. This is what the Holy One, blessed be He, measures and weighs.
A Scale for the Spirit: The Pride Needed for a King and a Kohen Gadol
The Malbim further says that there is a balance-scale for the spirit, and brings another example requiring measurement: the pride needed for a king and a Kohen Gadol. A king and a Kohen Gadol cannot remain in a state of lowliness; they must embody the aspect of "And his heart was lifted up in the ways of Hashem" (Divrei HaYamim II 17:6). They must possess, in the words of the Gemara (Sotah 5a), an eighth of an eighth of pride - for otherwise, people would trample over them. There was only one person who could achieve what he achieved with one hundred percent humility, and that was Moshe Rabbeinu. But for an ordinary person to assert his authority and judgment, he must possess an eighth of an eighth.
It is told of the author of the Bach (the Bayit Chadash) that he met Eliyahu HaNavi and asked him why he revealed himself to another tzaddik who lived in his town, yet did not visit him. Eliyahu replied: Because I only come to someone who possesses the absolute peak of humility and self-effacement; and you, since you are the mara d'atra, the town rabbi, cannot conduct yourself with one hundred percent humility and lowliness, for if so, who would heed your ruling? One must have "his heart lifted up in the ways of Hashem" in order to uphold his authority and leadership. Thus we see that a balance-scale is needed - an immense scale - to discern: is this action he is doing meant to lord over the public, to be honored, and to demonstrate who is in charge, or is his intention holy, for the sake of Heaven, so that the public will fulfill the will of Hashem, which requires him to establish Hashem's authority, and for this purpose he raises his voice and speaks in an authoritative tone rather than with self-effacement? "Hashem weighs the spirits" - Hashem knows where that pride originates, whether it is genuine arrogance or "his heart was lifted up in the ways of Hashem." Thus: "All of a man's ways are pure in his own eyes" - you must choose the path without dross, and Hashem knows whether your ways are mixed with dross, dregs, and impurities, or whether your ways are clear, free of any dross or blemish.
In Summary:
The first two pesukim of the chapter place man in his true perspective. "To man belong the arrangements of the heart, but from Hashem is the answer of the tongue": the preparation, the planning, and the arrangements are yours; the final outcome, the success of speech, and the intellect to comprehend and innovate are from Hashem. Therefore, a person must direct his heart toward Hashem, whether standing before an official or king, or in the toil of Torah study, remembering, like the Maharam Schick, that toil and prayer are what unlock the gates of understanding. And "All of a man's ways are pure in his own eyes, but Hashem weighs the spirits": every person justifies his own character traits and his initial desires, which is why refining one's traits is so difficult; but Hashem is the One Who weighs the spirits - He measures the source of the deed, whether it stems from pride or for the sake of Heaven, from stinginess or from truth, and He is also the One Who rectifies the spirit, assisting anyone who genuinely seeks to mend his ways and choose a path free of all dross.