Mishlei 2:11 – Torah’s Protection from Aveiros
Your preoccupation with machshevos haTorah will safeguard you. This is true on 2 levels: Rambam end of Hilchos Isurei Bi’ah: a person should turn his thoughts to divrei Torah, since thoughts of arayos only enters when there is a vacuum
Mishlei 2:10 Upward Spiral of Learning
Upward chochmo-binah-da’as-chochmo-etc. spiral in talmud Torah. The more chochmo one has, the more sweetness there is in the learning. Greater chochmo leads to greater retention. Understanding and sweetness of Torah is greater the more panoramic one’s view of Torah is.
Mishlei 2:9: Derech Meisharim, Middah Beinonis, and Tochacha
Interactions with other people should lean towards Rachamim / tzedek, controlling himself from excessive ta’ava – deal with himself in a manner of din / mishpat, and in necessary things he should deal with meisharim / the middle ground, e.g.
Emunah Must be Shared
We see from many sources that emunah must be shared. Why?1) ahavas Hashem2) One aspect of yichud Hashem is how much people perceive the reality of HKB”H3) Emunah belongs to everyone, not just the person who “finds” it; it belongs
Mishlei 2:8: Choosing Good At Every Level
Yetzer hara also manifests in how one understands Torah, i.e. interpret truthfully. HKB”H created the world in a way that good requires making a choice; there’s always an alternative to doing, thinking, interpreting what is right. Everyone has to make
Avos 3:8-9
3:8 – R’ Dostai. Rambam (Hil. Talmud Torah 1:8, 1:10-12): learning and knowing the entire corpus of Torah and reviewing to prevent forgetting all apply until one’s death.3:9 – R’ Chaninah ben dosa. Rambam and Rav Chaim Vital: middos tovos
Mishlei 2:6-7: Applying Tradition Today
2:6 – Person works on chochmo, etc., then HKB”H gives it to him on a higher level, on which he in turn builds, spiraling upward.2:7 – Must be a tam in our commitment, but combine that with being a yashar
Mishlei 2:5-6
Genuine yiras Hashem is mechayev in yiras chet.Relationship between chochmo, which is yesh mei’ayin, and bina, which is embedded within chochmo.Upward spiral of chochmo, bina, da’as, via siyata dishmaya.
Derech Beinonis: The Need for Balance
Rambam Hilchos Dei’os: Derech Beinonis is derech hayashara and is derech Hashem. Rambam says it is not “ra’oy” to veer from derech beinonis. Rambam uses “ra’oy” to mean a chiyuv which emerges from sechel. Hence Rambam mentions that derech beinonis
Avos 3:6-9
R’ Nechunyah ben Hakana: when one accepts Torah, HKB”H sees to it that he will not have extra tirdos. Rambam (Hil. Shemita V’Yovel, 13:13) highlights the combination of commitment (l’he’badel…) and implementation (holach yashar…) The difference the context of the