איזהו חכם. פירש הר"ב שראוי להתהלל בחכמתו. ויש להקשות ממה שאמר ירמיה [ט' כ"ב] . אל יתהלל חכם בחכמתו ואל יתהלל גבור בגבורתו ואל יתהלל עשיר בעשרו כי אם בזאת יתהלל המתהלל השכל וידוע אותי ונראה לי דלא קשיא דס"ל לתנא דידן שז"ש כי אם השכל וידוע אותי הוא עצמו בכלל החכמה והגבורה והעושר שזכר. וכך הוא אומר אל יתהלל חכם בחכמתו וגו' כי אם שהיא החכמה השכל וידוע אותי. ואל יתהלל הגבור כי אם שהיא הגבורה השכל וידוע אותי וכן העשיר לא יתהלל כי אם שהעושר הוא השכל וידוע אותי. ולכך שאל איזהו חכם וכו' וכן כולם דרך שאלה. לומר כיון שהכתוב אמר בדרך סתימה שיש חכם להתהלל וכן גבור ועשיר ויש לשאול איזהו שכיון בו הכתוב וחקר ומצא חכם שלומד מכל אדם. ופי' הר"ב שנמצא כוונתו לש"ש והיינו ממש השכל וידוע אותי. וגבור הכובש יצרו והוא גבורה לש"ש שלא יחטא לפניו. אין לך השכל וידוע אותי גדולה מזו. שתכלית הידיעה הזאת היא לירא מפניו ולשמור מצותיו. ועשיר השמח בחלקו ולא נבהל להון ונמצא פונה כל ימיו לעבודת שמים והיינו נמי השכל וידוע אותי. ולפיכך נאמר אשריך בעוה"ז וטוב לך לעוה"ב ואמרו בפ"ק דברכות [דף ח.] גדול מי שנהנה מיגיע כפו יותר מירא שמים וכו'. וזה גם כן מזה הטעם בעצמו שאם הוא ירא שמים. ואינו מסתפק ונבהל להון. לא יהיה פנוי לעבודת השי"ת: WHO IS WISE. Rav explains the question as “which wise person can take pride in his wisdom?” At first, this might seem like a contradictoin to what Jeremiah said: “Let not the wise man take pride in his wisdom, nor the strong man take pride in his strength, nor the rich man take pride in his riches—only in [Heb. ki im] this should one take pride: understanding and knowing Me” (Jeremiah 9:22). It is not, however, because our tanna understands the verse as follows. When Jeremiah says “only in this” he is speaking of the abovementioned things themselves. What he means to say is that the wise man should not take pride in his wisdom, unless [Heb. ki im]130The Hebrew can mean “only in” or “only if”, the latter rendered here as “unless”. it be to understand and know Me; the strong man should not take pride in his strength, unless it be to understand and know Me; the rich man should not take pride in his riches, unless they be to understand and know Me. Our tanna therefore asks “which is the wise person” and so on as a question in response to the verse—since the verse says that there are wise, strong, and rich people that can take pride in their accomplishments but does not specify who they are, we must now ask to whom the verse refers.
The tanna has investigated the matter and found that the wise person in question is the one who learns from every man. Rav explains that this shows that his intent in acquiring wisdom is purely for the sake of Heaven, which would be precisely in order to “understand and know Me.” The strong man is he who subdues his desires. This is strength for the sake of Heaven, i.e. in order that one not sin before G-d, and there can be no greater “understanding and knowing Me,” as the purpose of this “knowing” is to fear G-d and keep his commandments. And the rich man who is satisfied with his lot and does not chase after wealth uses his time to engage in the service of Heaven, which is also “understanding and knowing Me.” The mishna therefore says of him “you are praiseworthy in this world, and it will go well for you in the next.” And the Talmud says in Berachot 8a that “whoever eats the fruits of his labor is greater than one who fears Heaven” for the same reason: one who has fear of Heaven but is not content with what he has and chases after wealth will not have time for the service of G-d.
שנאמר מכל מלמדי השכלתי. פירש הר"ב וסיפא דקרא כי עדותיך שיחה לי. כלומר הייתי למד תורה מכל מלמדי. דאין לפרש שר"ל שנעשה משכיל יותר מן מלמדיו שאין זה חדוש שלאחר שלמד האדם מלומדו הוא מתחכם ומשכיל בלמודיו ואין חדוש שישכיל יותר ממה שהשכילו מלמדיו. דרך חיים. ומ"ש הר"ב כי עדותיך שיחה לי שכל כוונתי לשם שמים כיון שכל שיחתי היה בתורה: AS THE VERSE SAYS, “I HAVE GROWN WISE FROM ALL MY TEACHERS”. Rav: and the end of the verse says, “for your laws are all my speech.” Which shows that the beginning of the verse means “I learned Torah from all of my teachers.”131That being the meaning of “growing wise”. The second half of the verse provides a reason for the first. If the reason is “for your laws are all my speech”, i.e. they are what I speak of all the time, the first half of the verse must mean “I have grown wise from all my teachers,” i.e. I have eagerly absorbed their instruction because all my desire was to know your laws. This is contra the following interpretation mentioned and dismissed by Maharal. And we should not read the first half of the verse as “I have grown wiser than all of my teachers,”132The Hebrew supports both readings, because the prefixed mi- in mi-kol melamdai hiskalti can mean either “from” or “more than”. for it is not unexpected that after one learns from a teacher he becomes sharp and understanding in the subject, and it is no surprise if he gets to understand more than what his teachers taught him133Precisely this rejected interpretation is offered by Ibn Ezra ad loc.—Maharal in Derech Chaim.
Rav: “for your laws are all my speech”, my intent is entirely for the sake of Heaven. I.e., since all my speech is of Torah, it is clear that my intent is entirely for the sake of Heaven.134The reasoning is: I have learned Torah from all my teachers because my study was for the sake of Heaven, and it is evident that my study was for the sake of Heaven because it was the subject of all my speech. The middle premise, that my study was for the sake of Heaven, is implied by the two extremal premises. Rav assumes it and Tosafot Yom Tov clarifies the syllogism, which, written in syllogistic form, would go: 1. If Torah is all my speech, my study is for the sake of Heaven. 2. If my study is for the sake of Heaven, I learn from all my teachers. Therefore, since Torah is all my speech, I learn from all my teachers.
הכובש את יצרו. יצר הרע נקרא יצר סתם לפי שקדם ושליט בגוף הוא לבדו. מד"ש בשם הר"ר יוסף קארו. ועוד פירש שהוא יצרו המיוחד לו ונתעצם בו יותר ממה שיתעצם ויתיחד ביצר הטוב כי טבע האדם נוטה יותר אל יצר רע ועמ"ש משנה ט' על שיראת חטאו [כו']: ONE WHO SUBDUES HIS INCLINATION. The inclination to evil [Heb. yetzer hara] is called “inclination” [Heb. yetzer] without qualification, as it precedes the desire for good, at which point it rules over the body alone—Midrash Shmuel in the name of R. Yosef Karo. He also writes that this inclination is more particular to a person and a more basic part of his essence than the inclination to good, as the nature of man is to incline to evil. Cf. what I wrote on 3:9 on “anyone whose fear of sin etc.”
שנאמר טוב ארך אפים מגבור. כתב הר"ב הכי הוי פירושא דקרא טוב ארך אפים הבא מצד הגבורה וכו' דאל"כ אלא פירוש דקרא טוב ארך אפים יותר מגבור הוה קשיא למה שאם הוא ארך אפים מצד רכות טבע אין זה טוב נ"ל. AS THE VERSE SAYS, “BEING SLOW TO ANGER IS BETTER THAN BEING STRONG.” Rav: the meaning of the verse is that it is better to be slow to anger as a function of the strength involved in subduing one's inclination, not because of a lack of appetite. For if the verse means simply that being slow to anger is better than being strong, we would wonder why that is, as being slow to anger because of lack of appetite is not better.135It is just not comparable—one is an act of strength, and the other a lack of a quality.
אשריך בעולם הזה. שלא תצטרך לבריות. ולעולם הבא. דמתוך שהוא נהנה מיגיעו לא בא לידי גזל ונוחל שני עולמות. רש"י. YOU ARE PRAISEWORTHY IN THIS WORLD. Rashi: for he will not need to take from others. And in the next world because he enjoys the fruits of his labor and does not end up stealing, and will inherit both worlds.