בס"ד
It says in Proverbs (20:5), "Counsel in man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out" (מַיִם עֲמֻקִּים עֵצָה (בְלֶב־אִישׁ וְאִישׁ תְּבוּנָה יִדְלֶנָּה. Rashi comments a halacha, which is in the heart of a sage, is concealed, but an understanding student will come and draw it out of his wellspring. The Ralbag comments that the counsel which is strongly in a man's heart will not be obtained easily and only after much investigation, because it is on the level of very deep water which is hard to arrive at due to its depth; but an understanding man can draw the counsel from his heart by skillfully investigating and navigating what is in it. The Ibn Ezra comments that like deep water it is cold, pure and the foot will not foul it, so too is wisdom and counsel in the heart of a man, pure and clear.
Bereishit Rabba brings this verse in the context of the confrontation between Yehuda and Yosef in Egypt. It describes a deep well filled with cold beautiful water, but no creation was able to drink from them. Then came an individual who tied one rope to another, one thread to another, and one string to another, drew the water from the well and drank it. After that everyone could drink this water. So it was with Yehuda, who did not shirk from replying to Yosef on each and every issue, until he had reached what was in his heart.
There is a story about Rabbi Nachman of Breslav that one day his principal student Rabbi Nasan came and asked for his advice about a very good job offer he had been given. He was offered a pulpit in a large prominent synagogue at a high salary. Rabbi Nachman told him to accept the position. Rabbi Nasan was uneasy about the answer and returned sometime later and pressed Rabbi Nachman to say what he really thought. Rabbi Nachman was a brilliant man with many deep insights; but he only had a small following, strong opponents, and was poor. He replied that Rabbi Nasan should stay with him because this was the place where he would have many Torah insights and would achieve true greatness.
What this verse in Proverbs is telling us is that getting to the truth of the matter is often not easy. There may be delicate sensitive issues. The right answer also may go against the conventional wisdom. Perception and conjecture may be essential. However a person with depth and understanding can access important knowledge, even though it may require some persistence. Once the counsel has been obtained, it can be shared with the world.
לע"נ האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח
העלון ניתן לקבל בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר http://dyschreiber.blogspot.
No comments:
Post a Comment