Mishlei Perek 18

Welcome to another episode of NachDaily. Today we’re studying Mishlei Perek 18, which contains 24 pessukim. In this perek, Shlomo continues to point a person in the direction of goodness and warns of the perils of cynicism and negativity. A person who detaches himself from God has a deeper motive: to pursue his own desires. A smart person will be able to see right through the “intellectual arguments” of the non-believer and understand that the entire reason for denying God is so that he can live life in the way of his desires. Verse 4 says: “Mayim amukim divrei fi ish, nachal novea m’kor Chochma - The words of man are deep waters: his fountain of wisdom is a flowing stream.” The Ralbag explains that there is infinite depth to the words of a true chocham because they are like a brook constantly flowing and being rejuvenated with fresh new water. So too, the words of the wise emanate from the Source of chochma, so new things can constantly be found in them. The Ramad Walli notes that this doesn’t refer to just anyone with wisdom. The passuk is only referring to those with great chochma, on the level of nachal novea, like a flowing brook, constantly renewing themselves and the Torah they've learned. The Vilna Gaon notes that this can only apply to someone who learns Torah l’shma, for its own sake. Moving on, the perek speaks about the power of speech and using words properly. A fool becomes entangled in his own words, which eventually become his downfall. Verse 10 says, “Migdal