Mishlei 1:23 – Exposure to, and Success in, Torah
How do peple end up hating Torah? See Gaon on 1:22 – insufficient exposure to Torah. Highlights a truth that sometimes an inadequate / inappropriate exposure to Torah is sometimes more damaging than no exposure.Siyata d’Shmaya plays a special role
Mishlei 1:23: Psychological & Emotional Momentum
Should be aware of death and gain perspective thereby, but not focused on it and thus lose simcha.We create a psychological & emotional momentum with everything we do; a person develops a natural desire to continue with whatever he does.
Avos 4:22, 3:1-2
“No shochad” means we’re rewarded for single every mitzvah, punished for every single aveira; they don’t cancel each other out.“Al korchacho ato notzar…” – why not just skip straight to din v’cheshbon? Because starting already from the time one is
Mishlei 1:22: Foolish Decisions
Reasons we distance ourselves from Torah: 1) Olam hazeh is fleeting ephemeral, and yet we have a temptation to become preoccupied with it 2) we enjoy schmoozing 3) when we find we have to work hard to learn Torah, we
Mishlei 1:20: When, and When Not, to be Ashamed
Shouldn’t be ashamed by keeping Torah; Torah is emmes, it is what we should be doing, and thus shouldn’t be embarrassed. He’vei az kanomer. Source of shame is being in the presence of HKB”H. When it comes to doing what
Mishlei 1:16-17: Don’t Follow Rationalizations
There’s a yetzer hara to acknowledge, but then ignore, principles, and rationalize that the current case is an exception. Even when I don’t see how this “exception” can go wrong (vacation spot, secular college, etc.), we have to make our
Cling to Emmes Uncompromisingly
Cling to emmes b/c 1) mandated by v’holachta b’drachav 2) if one compromises emmes on “small” things, that bad habit will spill over into big things. 3) If one genuinely loves something, that entails hating its opposite. If I love
Avos 4:20-21 – Balance
– If someone has a little knowledge but it is confused & incomplete is worse than no knowledge. It generates lots of distortions.– Kin’ah means I begrudge you what you have because I want to be BETTER than you.– Each
Mishlei 1:14-15: Terrible is Still Terrible Even in Small Measures
Sometimes best way to grasp what’s wrong with something is to see what happens in the worst case scenario. And once you see that, you should stay away from that item even in small measure.
Mishlei 1:12-13 – Mashal to Different Types of Thieves