Hear, children, the discipline of a father. That is, I shall relate to you a father’s discipline—the discipline I received from my father, as he explains in verse 3. And attend, so as to know understanding. Besides relating the discipline my father gave me, listen also to what I discerned about it through my own understanding, so that through this you will know these matters with clear knowledge. This is the meaning of “so as to know understanding.”

For. Regarding the tradition of discipline that he received from his father, he says, For I have given you a good teaching: what I received through tradition is intrinsically good, and I have given and transmitted it to you. Regarding what he discerned through his own understanding, which is attributed to him, he says, Do not forsake my Torah either.

For I was a son. He explains that the discipline he received from his father was exceptionally choice and precious. A father bequeaths good discipline to all his sons, and certainly to the son chosen above all his other sons, to whom he transmits special and exalted matters. I was chosen above all his sons for two reasons. First, I was a son to my father: although I was not my father’s only son, I was his principal son, who would build his father’s house and sit upon his throne after him. Second, I was tender and an only child when I was before my mother. To her I was an only son, and because of her, and his love for her, I was regarded in his eyes as an only son as well.

He instructed me and said to me. Instruction means showing someone the path through action. Thus, he showed me the ways of wisdom by my seeing his deeds and conduct in practice, as our Sages said: serving Torah scholars is greater than studying Torah. And he said to me refers to what he told me orally: Let your heart uphold my words. The heart—the governing power of the soul—is restless and does not remain in one state for even a moment, because desire and the inclination of the heart constantly entice it to depart from the laws of wisdom. Therefore, my words will support your heart so that it remains in the state of wisdom and does not move from its place. Furthermore, keep my commandments and live: keep them because they are God’s command, even when no reason for them is apparent, and through this you will live.

Acquire wisdom; acquire understanding. He cautioned him that both wisdom and understanding should become possessions attached to his soul. I have already explained the distinction between wisdom and understanding. He told him that in his words he would find both wisdom, which teaches the proper modes of conduct in matters described as good or evil, and understanding, which distinguishes truth from falsehood in beliefs and opinions. Do not forget, and do not turn away from the sayings of my mouth: do not depart from my sayings either through forgetfulness or through being turned away from the proper path by the inclination of desire.

Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; love her, and she will preserve you. Love is a higher level than merely not forsaking her, for a person may refrain from abandoning something he does not love when he derives benefit from it. He therefore adds that you should love her and cleave to her with your soul, because of the goodness within her, which is greater than what is merely pleasant or useful. Through this, she will preserve you. Preservation is greater than guarding: as you increase your love, she will increasingly preserve you with extraordinary care.

The beginning of wisdom is: acquire wisdom. It has already been explained that wisdom has no prior principles or foundations upon which it is based. It is unlike understanding, which has a beginning and starting point: a person contemplates words of wisdom or knowledge that he has already acquired, derives one thing from another, and compares one thing with another. Thus the beginning and starting point of understanding lies outside understanding itself. Wisdom, however, has no separate beginning, for the beginning and foundations of wisdom are wisdom itself—that is, the laws of wisdom received from God are wisdom’s foundation, not anything else. This is the meaning of “The beginning of wisdom is: acquire wisdom.” But the beginning of understanding is not understanding itself; rather, it consists of other acquisitions that one has gathered in the soul from wisdom or every kind of knowledge. Through these acquisitions within the soul, one understands, derives one thing from another, and acquires understanding. Thus, with all your acquisitions, acquire understanding. For example, one who possesses the elementary foundations of geometry or natural science contemplates them and derives matters of understanding; likewise, with every acquisition from any field of knowledge gathered in his soul, he will understand and acquire understanding.

Exalt her, and she will elevate you. First, one forms in his heart an appreciation of wisdom’s importance and exaltedness; correspondingly, wisdom will elevate him. Then, she will honor you when you embrace her: if you join yourself to her lovingly, cleave to her, and embrace her as your intimate wife, always enraptured by love of her, she will additionally bequeath to you the spiritual honor of the soul.

She will give. She will then increase love and kindness toward you until she places a wreath of grace upon your head, so that you find favor in the eyes of God and man. The head signifies the faculties of intellect, so that you will find favor and sound understanding. Then she will bestow upon you a crown of glory. A crown is worn by a person of distinction as a sign of his rank; you will wear a crown of glory that will remain your glory for generations. This is greater than honor and favor.

Hear, my son, and also take and accept my sayings; then the years of your life will be increased, as stated above in 3:2.

I have instructed you in the way of wisdom. A “way” is a straight road, while a “course” is a circuitous road. A person must ordinarily follow the intermediate path, the established straight road, which is the way of wisdom—for example, the way of compassion, modesty, humility, and the like. Therefore he says, “I have instructed you in the way of wisdom.” Sometimes, however, one must turn from the straight road and travel a circuitous course if the desired destination cannot be reached directly—for example, when the direct road is obstructed by mountains and ridges. Similarly, one whose nature inclines toward miserliness cannot immediately follow the intermediate path of generosity; he must first incline toward the opposite extreme, prodigality, which is the circuitous course, through which he will become accustomed to reaching the straight, intermediate path of generosity. In this situation one must know how the circuitous course will bring him around to the straight road. Thus, I have guided you in courses of uprightness: he must know the upright measure of the circuitous course so that he does not deviate to the other side, like those described as perverse in their courses (above, 2:15). Here mere instruction—simply showing him the road, as in “I have instructed you in the way of wisdom”—is insufficient. He needs guidance, to be led by the hand through the circuitous course so that he does not err. Therefore he says, “I have guided you.”

When you walk, your step will not be constrained. Sometimes a person proceeds on the way of the Torah at an ordinary walking pace, fulfilling the commandments according to law and obligation. This is “when you walk.” Then his steps must not be constrained—that is, he must not be sluggish in performing the commandments, but must fulfill them properly and follow the regular road. At other times a person proceeds on the way of the Torah at a run: he acts with piety and runs with great fervor to add safeguards, boundaries, holiness, and abstinence. He must then beware of stumbling, like the four who entered the Pardes, of whom Aḥer cut down the shoots. Thus, if you run, you will not stumble.

Hold fast to discipline; do not let go. Since the inclinations of the heart oppose the laws of wisdom—because the heart’s images incline toward evil and are contrary to the way of wisdom—a person needs discipline, by which he binds the powers of his soul so that they do not depart from wisdom’s ways. I explained at the beginning of the book that this discipline is fear of the Lord, as it says, “Fear of the Lord is the discipline of wisdom.” Through fear of the Lord, one fears violating the laws of wisdom that He gave. Yet even this discipline and fear of the Lord do not awaken spontaneously in the human soul; one must grasp them with all his strength so that fear of the Lord does not leave his memory for even a moment. He therefore says, Hold fast to discipline—like one forcibly holding something—and do not let go, for if you release it for a moment, it will leave your memory. Through this, guard her—you will preserve wisdom, because holding fast to discipline keeps wisdom’s laws within the heart—for she is your life. Wisdom is the life of the soul, as stated above (3:22), “They will be life to your soul.” Without wisdom, one does not live a spiritual life, but only an animal life, which is not “your life,” that is, the life proper to a human being.

Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not advance on the way of evil men. There is a distinction between a “way” and a “path”: a way is the great road leading from city to city, whereas a path is one of the many smaller roads branching from the great road toward small towns and villages. There is also a distinction between the wicked and evil men. The wicked are so called because of their deeds, for they commit wicked acts; “evil” includes one whose very character is evil even if he does not act wickedly, such as a sectarian or heretic whose evil lies in thoughts of heresy and denial. Every wicked person has a particular path along which he practices his wickedness: one follows a path of murder, another of adultery or theft, and so forth. Thus, Do not enter the path of the wicked. Evil men, however, have a general way—the general way of denying Providence, reward, and punishment. Thus, Do not advance on the way of evil men. The verb translated “advance” is always associated with spiritual happiness. That is, do not imagine that their philosophy contains a path to happiness, or that their syllogisms and investigations will lead you to the way of faith. Do not attempt to learn their general method of inquiry and employ their premises in studying Torah and faith in the hope of thereby reaching spiritual happiness. Do not expect to find any happiness there.

Disrupt it. You must spoil this way and know what to answer a heretic. If you cannot disrupt it, at least do not pass through it. If you have already encountered this way—that is, if you have studied their investigations and opinions—turn away from it and pass on along the way of Torah and faith.

For they cannot sleep unless they do evil. If they have not themselves done evil, they cannot sleep at all. Their sleep is robbed unless they cause someone to stumble. If they do not cause others to stumble, then although they sleep after having done evil themselves, it seems to them that their sleep has been stolen, for they think they should not have slept before causing others to stumble as well. Here he describes the evil men—the sectarians and heretics. He will now explain the wicked mentioned in “Do not enter the path of the wicked.”

For they eat the bread of wickedness: the bread they eat was obtained through wickedness, and the wine they drink was obtained through violence.

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn. There is a distinction between a “way” and a “path”: a way is the broad road, while a path is smaller and branches from the broad road toward villages and side destinations. Although it may appear to you that the righteous do not walk upon a broad road, because the beginning of their path is thorny and difficult to traverse, nevertheless, though its beginning is thorny, its end is level. The narrow path upon which they walk initially resembles the light of dawn—the light that first begins to break at sunrise. It is not direct light from the sun, but reflected light produced as the sun’s rays penetrate the vapors. Afterward, however, it shines increasingly: it becomes direct light and continually grows brighter, until the day is established at noon. So too the soul’s light, although at first covered by the clouds and vapors of the body, and although the sunlight is concealed, penetrates the body’s mists and matter’s darkness until it becomes brilliant light in the soul’s radiance. But—

The way of the wicked, although it may appear that the wicked walk upon a broad road whose beginning is level, is nevertheless like deep darkness, which is darker than ordinary darkness, so that they do not know what makes them stumble. He also adds a greater point: even the path of the righteous—their particular deeds—is filled with light and radiance, whereas even the broad way of the wicked—their general conduct—is filled with gloom, and all the more so their particular deeds.

My son, attend to my words. “Words” refers to extended discourse, in the manner of one who expounds at length and explains the reasons for matters, while “sayings” refers to the precise language in which those words are clothed. That is, attend to the reasoning of the extended discourse, and also incline your ear to the exact form of the sayings, preserving their wording. For example, the language in which the Written Torah was given constitutes the “sayings,” while the laws transmitted orally at length constitute the “words.” You must pay attention to both.

Let them not depart from your eyes. In every action you perform, keep the words of the Torah before your eyes so that you act according to its commandments. Also, keep them within your heart, so that the meditation of your heart always follows the ways of wisdom. This is the same as what was stated in 3:21: “Let them not depart from your eyes; preserve sound wisdom and discretion.”

For they are life to those who find them. To the person who finds them—that is, the person for whom the words of Torah and wisdom have become a personal possession—they are life, namely the life of the soul. They are also healing to all his flesh, namely the body. Thus they are life to both soul and body; and even for one whose bodily order has been impaired and who becomes ill, they provide healing. They are unlike medicinal drugs, for which each organ requires a distinct remedy; the medicine of Torah benefits every organ and every type of illness.

Above every object of guarding, guard your heart. This follows what is stated: “Do good, Lord, to the good and to those upright in their hearts; but as for those who turn aside to crooked ways, the Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity.” I explained there that the essential thing is for a person to be upright in his heart and conscience, even when his outward deeds sometimes appear not to be upright. This is the definition of something curved: it is straight on the inside but appears bent externally. The Lord will deal well with all who are upright and good in their hearts; He will even punish one who judges them unfavorably because of an outward irregularity, for the Merciful One desires the heart. Thus, of everything from which one must guard and protect himself, the principal matter is to guard the heart so that it is protected from evil, for from it are the sources of life. The heart is the principal source from which life proceeds; the body is secondary to it, and an outward act is not evil when the conscience is upright, as the Sages said, “Great is a transgression performed for the sake of Heaven.” Nevertheless, I caution you—

Remove from yourself crookedness of mouth. Ensure that your outward conduct also gives people no opportunity to malign you and causes no desecration of God’s Name, even when your intention is pure and acceptable. The lips are more external than the mouth, and speech of the mouth is more substantial than speech of the lips. He warns you not to perform an act that would create grave suspicion, to the point that the mouth would distort your actions and say that you followed a crooked way and departed from uprightness. He adds, distance perversity of lips from yourself: even if the act would not generate such “crookedness of mouth” as to distort your conduct, but could produce only slight criticism upon external lips, you must avoid even that. “Perversity” is lighter than “crookedness,” for perversity is only a slight deviation. Do not merely remove perversity of lips from yourself; distance it, so that there is a great distance between you and even such speech. Correct your outward conduct so thoroughly that no one can speak even a slight word against you, even remotely.

Let your eyes look directly ahead. The eyes signify the open eyes, while the eyelids signify closing the eyes by means of the lids that cover them. A person must open his eyes in matters of the soul, looking toward God and His works, seeing His deeds and mighty acts, and walking in His ways. Thus, Let your eyes look directly ahead. “Directly ahead” indicates straight alignment with a particular point, and it is often used of alignment toward God; from this comes the expression “uprightness cannot enter” (Isaiah 59:14–15). Your eyes must look directly toward the ways of the Lord, as it says, “My eyes are always toward the Lord,” as I explained there. And let your eyelids direct themselves before you. In matters of the body and its desires, however, one must close his eyes and not stray after what his eyes see, so that through your eyelids your path will be made straight before you in matters concerning yourself—your body and its desires. This also means that in doing so they will go against what is “before you”: against the inclination of the heart, its desires, and the wishes of the body and matter.

Weigh the course of your foot. There is a distinction between a “way” and a “course”: a course is circuitous. When one must turn from the direct road and travel a circuitous route until it returns him to the road leading to the desired destination, the measure by which that circuitous route is calculated so as to reach the straight road is called a “balance.” A person should always follow the intermediate path, the good path in every trait. If at times he must turn from the intermediate path and follow a circuitous route—as when he has departed from the mean toward one extreme and must grasp the opposite extreme in order to return to the straight line—this requires a measured balance. For example, one who has adopted excessive pride must grasp the opposite extreme, extreme lowliness, and accustom himself to it until he returns to the midpoint, humility. This measure is called the balance. Thus, Weigh the course of your foot, and through this all your ways will be established: you will return to the straight road, which is the intermediate line. Yet with all this, I command you:

Do not turn to the right or to the left. Initially, one must take care not to depart from the intermediate line, neither to the right nor to the left, neither toward excess nor toward deficiency. In this way, remove your foot from evil.