Mishlei 1:11 – Categories of Yetzer Hara. Associating with Wrongdoers.
Two categories of yetzer hara – desire and anger – which all yetzer haras fit under. Similar idea to the Aseres haDibros being categories for all 613 mitzvos. One can not maintain an association with an operation / company which
Mishlei 1:9-10: The Big Picture
9: A person ornaments himself through Torah (“roshecha”) and mitzvos (“gargerosecha”), and both are “ohr echad.” All of Torah & mitzvos is one – there’s an intuition for Torah which ultimately one fully refines based on kol haTorah kula.10: context
Urgency to Change. Dangers of Superficiality.
The prospect of the end of the pandemic should instill within us a sense of urgency, because it can’t shouldn’t be that after a catastrophe of this magnitude we just pick up our lives and resume as if nothing happened.
Avos Perek 4:16-19
4:16, Rambam: “…this world is only a pathway to olam habo” , i.e. the antechamber has no purpose other than serving as a pathway to olam habo.4:17, Rambam; No addition to shleimus in olam habo, but what one experiences with
Mishlei 1:7-8: Ingredients Needed for Spiritual Success
Pessukim 7-8 list off Torah, mitzvos aseh, and mitzvos lo sa’aseh. These 3 correspond to the 3 partners in creation (HKB”H, father, mother), i.e., each is contributing to us something we need to fulfill our obligations in this world.
Mishlei 1:8: Why Use a Mashal?
What’s accomplished by speaking in mesholim? To help us understand the point. Another reason to use mesholim – if dealing with sisrei Torah, to communicate it to those who are qualified and remain discrete to those who are not. Why
Yiras Hashem is Required to Acquire Chochmo u’Mussar
Yirah is the beginning / foundation of da’as. Only one who has Yiras Hashem can acquire and retain chochmo u’mussar. There has to be receptivity in order to learn and absorb, and the yirah is the receptivity to chochmo. “Chaviv
Mishlei 1:2: Chochmo and/vs. Mussar
What’s the essential defining quality of Mishlei? that’s what passuk 2 tells us. Chochmo allows us to avoid being ensnared in the Yetzer Hara’s trap. Yetzer Hara works by allowing us to perceive something as good when it is not.
The Power of Speech
Torah teaches us about koach hadibbur. On the natural level: speech 1) can be persuasive and 2) can trigger emotional reactions, and can thus result in action. On the metaphysical level, ba’asara ma’amaros nivrah ha’olam, b’dvar Hashem ha’shomayim na’asu: speech
Avos 4:13-15: Shem tov, talmidim, makdim b’shalom.
4:13, Rambam: Keser Shem Tov not an independent crown, rather results from keser Torah. The real shem tov only comes from being associated with Hashem.4:14, Rambam: need a place with both chaveirim and talmidim. Where does Rambam see talmidim here?