Welcome to another episode of NachDaily. Today we’re learning Mishlei Perek 16, which contains 33 pessukim.
Shlomo Hamelech opens this perek by speaking about the need for a person to set his mind, heart, and actions on serving Hashem. Not only does one need to think about God, but needs to act in accordance with Halachah and Hashem’s will. Ultimately every circumstance in which we find ourselves, and every emotion, can be used to serve God.
As it says in passuk 4: “Kol pa’al Hashem la’ma’aneihu v’gam rasha l’yom ra’a - Everything Hashem made, He made for His sake, even the evildoer for the day of retribution.”
The simple meaning is that even the people who desecrated God’s Name will ultimately bring about a glorification of it when Hashem punishes them at the end of the final redemption.
Rebbe Nachman explains in Lekutey Maharan Tinyana lesson 12 that the whole world is sustained through the asara maimaros shenivra ha’aolom, the 10 sayings with which the world was created. The most depraved, deep and dark places however, are sustained through the maimer sassum, hidden and closed meanings of the first word in the Torah, Bereishis. It goes without saying that if something didn't contain even a spark of divinity it could not exist within this world. Even the most decadent of places are sustained through the hidden maimer sassum.
Everything Hashem created was for His honor. When we start to search out “ayeh mikom k’vodo? - where is the glory of God?” – we are able to connect the hidden potent point of Kedusha within that place. And now the low place to which we have fallen can be transformed into a point of elevation. Just as every yerida is for the purpose of aliyah, every descent is for the purpose of ascent. As we find in our passuk, everything was created for the sake of God, even the reshaim, evil people.
The perek relates that fear of God moves a person away from evil. Hashem gives extra help to those who trust in Him. The King’s judgment must be completely righteous, and it is an abomination for kings to pervert justice. A king’s desire is to do what's right and love truth. Be careful of the king’s wrath, because it is akin to the Angel of Death!
In verse 16, Shlomo again speaks about the value of wisdom as it says: “K’no chochma ma tov meicharutz u’knos bina nivchar mikasef - How much better than fine gold is the acquisition of wisdom, and the acquisition of understanding is choicer than silver!”
How much do we need to value the wisdom of Chazal and our sages! We often devalue our pure Torah wisdom. We constantly need to remind ourselves, ashreinu mah tov chelkeinu - how fortunate are we to have received the Torah on Har Sinai, that Hashem chose us above all the nations on earth and selected us to be His chosen nation. This should bring us all great happiness.
The rest of the perek essentially goes on to contrast the humble with the haughty. It's better to be lowly spirited than full of arrogance. Better to go slowly and steadily than to “win the race” and accomplish a little bit at a time than to arrogantly push to make something happen. Often our egos are what cause us to push to no avail, but when humbled we catch our breath and realize how much we were full of ourselves. This causes us to slow down, refocus our attention, and let Hashem back into our lives.
We are fortunate that Hashem is slow to anger and stronger than any person. It is not in our power to make anything happen. With proper Emunah we will feel more empowered and encouraged to succeed.
Stay tuned to the next episode of NachDaily when we’ll be moving on to perek 17.
Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.
