Do not boast about tomorrow—Since the events of time renew themselves at every moment, you cannot boast about what you will do tomorrow, for even what the present day will bring is unknown to you, and tomorrow is not yours.

Let a stranger praise you, and not your own mouth; a foreigner, and not your lips—A person’s praise of himself is no praise. It is better that you perform deeds worthy of praise, so that a stranger will praise you. There is a difference between a stranger and a foreigner: a foreigner is from another land. He says that after a stranger praises you, even the foreigner who does not know you will praise you, for he will hear it from the stranger, who will publicize your praise. Moreover, the “not” of your lips—the very fact that you do not praise yourself with your lips—will itself praise you, for it demonstrates humility and virtue. The lip is external in relation to the mouth; that is, others will not hear you praising yourself even from your lips. Alternatively, they will hear “not” from your lips, meaning that you minimize yourself and say that you do not possess this praise—as the Sages said, “In three matters scholars deviate from the truth,” etc.—and this too will bring you praise.

A stone is heavy, and sand is a burden—A stone is heavy in itself, even a single stone, whereas sand is heavy only when much of it is lifted upon one’s shoulders; its weight comes through its accumulation into a load and burden. But a fool’s anger is heavier than both, for each separate outburst of anger has its own weight, like a burdensome stone, while the accumulation of all his continual angry outbursts has the weight of sand. Thus the Midrash applies this verse to “Come to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart”: Pharaoh’s sin in saying, “Who is the Lord? I do not know the Lord,” was heavy like a stone, and by continuing to harden his heart time after time, he acquired the heaviness of sand. His burden was therefore compounded of both stone and sand.

Wrath is cruel, and anger is a flood, but who can stand before jealousy? Wrath is the inward anger that preserves hatred in the heart, while anger is its outward expression. There can be anger without inward wrath, and it has the quality of a flood, for in his anger a person sweeps forward and chastises, but without cruelty. There can also be wrath without outward anger: his fury burns in his heart and contains the cruelty of hatred and wrath, but not the flood, for he does not punish at once. Jealousy for one’s violated honor, however, contains both cruelty and flood, for the jealous person takes revenge immediately in a flood of anger and acts with the cruelty of wrath.

Open rebuke is better than hidden love—If a person rebukes his fellow for his evil way, and the rebuke proceeds from hidden love, like a father rebuking his son out of his great love for him—as it says, “For the Lord rebukes the one He loves”—then even though this rebuke is given openly, it is very good.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend—Even if a loving friend strikes him to discipline him and return him to the good path, the love remains faithful, for all this proceeds from great love, as it says, “As a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.” But the kisses of an enemy are profuse: the enemy multiplies kisses and neither disciplines nor rebukes, because in his hatred, when he sees the other acting badly, he kisses him so that he will continue doing so.

A satisfied soul tramples honeycomb, but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet—What is pleasant or unpleasant does not depend upon the nature of the food, but upon the condition of the person. One accustomed to delicacies comes to despise them, while one who lacks them finds pleasure in everything. This rebukes those who seek delicacies and pursue them, for the more abundantly they obtain them, the more their pleasure ceases; conversely, they would enjoy everything if it had been withheld from them. The poor person finds more pleasure than the rich. It is therefore clear that such pleasures are not the sought-after purpose: they are attained when they are not attained, and not attained when they are attained.

Like a bird wandering from its nest, so is a man wandering from his place—Human beings share their natural constitution with other living creatures, and it is embedded in animal nature not to change their place. Even a bird, whose way is to wander—as it says, “Like a bird that wanders”—nevertheless seeks to return when it has wandered from its nest. Likewise, it is human nature to return to one’s place. The allegory is that the human soul also longs to return to its place, to God who gave it. While it is in this world it is like a bird wandering from its nest, yearning to return to its place and be bound in the bond of life.

Oil and incense gladden the heart—The heart, which is the dwelling place of the vital soul, rejoices through fragrant oil and incense. Although God has already arranged that it draw in pure air and that the lungs wave life-giving air over the heart, the spirituality of the soul is awakened by fragrance coming from outside, which adds strength to its inward power. So too, although the power of counsel is implanted in the soul, it is strengthened through the sweetness of one’s friend: by sweetly consulting with his friend, so that when his friend’s counsel comes from outside and joins the counsel of the soul, the counsel becomes complete.

Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend—If you have a companion whose love has long been proven to you, so that he was always your friend and your father’s friend, do not forsake him. Although nature implants love between brothers, a brother’s love may exist only while things go well for you and you do not need him. But on the day of your calamity his love may cease, either because “all the brothers of a poor man hate him,” or because he will not wish to help you. Then a neighbor who is near—one close to you because he constantly dwells beside you—is better than one who is far away, even if he is a brother.

Be wise, my son, and gladden my heart, so that I may answer the one who taunts me—That is, even if until now you have not accepted the laws of wisdom, be wise now and gladden my heart, for until now people taunted me because of you, as the Sages said, “Cursed is the one who bore him; cursed is the one who raised him.” Now I will be able to answer the one who taunts me.

A prudent man sees evil and hides—This was already explained above (22:3). There it referred to the evil of circumstances; here, in the allegory, it refers to evil affecting the soul. The prudent person foresees the punishment destined for one who abandons wisdom. This relates to “Be wise, my son”: see the end of a matter from its beginning, and do not be like the simple.

Take his garment, for he has guaranteed a stranger—This was already explained above (20:16). There it was stated according to the literal illustration, and here it is repeated according to the allegorical meaning explained there.

One who blesses his friend in a loud voice, rising early in the morning—it will be considered a curse to him—A blessing should be given discreetly, not loudly, lest the evil eye take hold of it, and it should be given at a favorable time after prayer, not early in the morning, since one should not greet another before praying; otherwise, it is considered a curse. This may also continue the preceding verse, “Take his garment, for he has guaranteed a stranger.” One may not take security from the borrower himself, but may take it from the guarantor. One must return a garment needed at night, and Scripture says, “He shall lie down in his garment and bless you”; the Sifrei says it is a mitzvah for him to bless the lender, though even if he does not, “it shall be righteousness for you.” But one is not required to return the guarantor’s pledge. Thus, if the guarantor comes in the morning and loudly blesses him as if the pledge had been returned, that blessing is considered a curse, since there was no obligation to return the guarantor’s pledge and he is not owed a blessing.

A constant dripping on a rainy day—Dripping is troublesome only on a rainy day, when the clouds are closed together by the wind that God brings forth, as it says, “He brings forth the wind from His storehouses.” But a contentious wife is comparable to it at all times, for she constantly troubles him even on a clear day.

One who conceals her conceals the wind, and the oil on his right hand calls out—It has already been explained that the north wind brings forth rain: as it emerges laden with vapors it generates rain, while so long as it remains hidden within the vapors there is no rain. But if one wishes to hide the wind of this woman and restrain the rain, he is trying to hide the wind even as it roars and storms to emerge. Moreover, the oil found on his right hand, applied to the blows he received from her—for blows are customarily softened with oil, as it says, “They have not been bound up or softened with oil”—will call out, publicize the matter, and expose what was hidden.

Iron sharpens iron—The defining form of a sword or knife is its sharpness. When one wishes to restore its form, one sharpens the iron against another piece of iron and removes the rust. So a man sharpens the face of his friend—his defining form—because when they occupy themselves with wisdom and each helps the other understand, as the Sages said, “I learned much from my teachers, and more from my colleagues,” their faces, which represent their form, are sharpened; for the form of a human being is his intellect, wisdom, and powers of the soul.

He who guards a fig tree will enjoy its fruit, and he who watches his master will be honored: One who wants to eat the fruit of the fig tree needs to guard it (as guarding is greater than watching). For the fruits of the fig tree ripen one by one. So he needs to pick them every morning before the sun shines. For otherwise the fruit that have ripened become wormy, as it is written in the Midrash and in the Yerushalmi. Hence one who watches his master needs to be found with him every morning and pick the fruits, meaning the fruits of his wisdom. This is as it is written about Joshua (Exodus 33:11), "he did not move from being within the tent." And through that he will be honored; he will merit the honor of [his master] placing his hands upon him (to ordain him), as said by the Sages, may their memory be blessed.

As water reflects face to face, so the heart of man reflects man—The heart sends the flow of blood to all the limbs and gives them life, while all the limbs return the choicest blood to the heart. Thus the heart gives back to a person what it received from him. It resembles water, in which an observer sees his face: the face that the water presents to his eye is the same face it received from the form of the person standing before it. So too, the heart returns what it receives. The heart tells a person his inner speech, for the form of all his powers appears in the heart; it therefore sees all his powers and foretells good or evil to him, just as the form of a person’s face appears in water. This also serves as an allegory for the general “heart” of a collective body: the king is the heart of the state, and the Torah scholar the heart of the community. What the people give the king in taxes and the like returns to them, just as the limbs receive from the heart after supplying it; likewise, what they give to support a Torah scholar returns to them as blessing through his merit. God is the heart of creation: according to how people prepare their deeds, they give strength, as it were, to the power above to bestow abundant blessing upon them. Zion was the heart of the Land of Israel, and the abundance brought to Zion and the Temple returned to the people, as it says, “For there the Lord commanded the blessing,” and similarly in other cases.

Sheol and destruction are never satisfied, and the eyes of man are never satisfied—A person’s eyes and desires are never satisfied, for whatever temporal delight he attains causes him to seek still more. The matter from which man was created is prime matter, constantly casting off one form and clothing itself in another without interruption. Sheol and destruction are never satisfied, because matter does not remain for even a moment without continual loss and destruction. Human nature is likewise to seek novelties at every moment: every desired thing that reaches his hand is immediately lost to him as an object of desire, and he seeks another in its place. His eyes are also never satisfied with wealth, because this belongs to the nature of his prime matter, with Sheol and destruction bound to its heel.

A refining pot is for silver and a furnace for gold, and a man is tested according to his praise—Silver is refined in a refining pot, while gold, which is more precious and better than silver, requires a furnace whose fire is greater, because it does not melt and release its impurities as easily as silver; and because of its greater value, greater care is taken that it be entirely free of dross. So too, a man is refined according to the measure of his praise: the more highly praised he is, the more particular people are about even the slightest impurity. Thus the inadvertent sins of Torah scholars are regarded as deliberate ones, and they are refined by fire and sufferings more severe than those of ordinary people.

Though you pound a fool in a mortar among crushed grain with a pestle, his folly will not depart from him—The fool will not be refined, nor will his impurities be removed even by the greatest sufferings. The fool is one who doubts the laws of wisdom and does not believe in them; therefore suffering does not help him. This differs from the dullard, who does not doubt the laws of wisdom but is blinded by desire, and from the simple person, who has no doubts of his own but is seduced by the counsel of others, as it says, “The simple inherit folly.” These can be disciplined, unlike the fool, who attributes everything to chance. We explained at Isaiah 28 that some grains have chaff attached only as a neighbor and it is easily removed, whereas the husk of wheat or barley, when one wishes to make groats from it, must be pounded in a mortar because it is intrinsically attached. Yet even if the fool is pounded in a mortar, his husk will not be removed, for it has become mingled with his inward being: the root of folly lies in his intellect, unlike the dullard, whose defect is rooted in desire. Even when the fool is pounded, he doubts both the pounding and its purpose. Though he is pounded among the crushed grain and sees that all the groats have lost their husks, recognizes that this is the purpose of the pounding, and identifies the pestle as the instrument made for that purpose, he nevertheless remains in doubt and persists in his folly. That is, even when he sees general sufferings and many wicked people repenting, he remains with his doubts and folly.

Know well the condition of your flocks—This teaches you not to leave your affairs in the hands of others, but to supervise them yourself until you know your sheep face to face; and endeavor that they be fruitful and multiply until they become flocks upon flocks.

For wealth is not forever—Even if you possess strength and vast wealth, do not rely upon it, for it does not last forever and you may become impoverished. Even if you possess a crown that endures throughout your lifetime, it does not endure from generation to generation, and your children may not inherit it.

The hay is removed—When summer arrives and the hay appears, which is food for cattle kept at home, as it says, “Who causes grass to grow for the cattle,” and the fresh grass is seen clothing the ground for pasture in the field, then the vegetation of the mountains, to which the sheep cannot climb, is gathered into the house and prepared for a time of need. Then:

Lambs will provide your clothing—The lambs, whose wool is suitable for clothing—as the Sages explained regarding why they are called kevasim—will supply your clothing; the goats you will sell, and with their price purchase a field.

And there will be enough goats’ milk for your food—The goats, whose milk is beneficial to health, will provide food for you and your household. Even the maidservants, though they do not consume the milk regularly as their staple food, will derive life and health from it.