משלי כא:ח
הֲפַכְפַּךְ
דֶּרֶךְ אִישׁ וָזָר וְזַךְ יָשָׁר:
Mishlei 21:8
A man's path may be inconsistent and strange, but his action pure and upright.
Notes on Translation
Most of the commentaries attempt to translate this pasuk in accordance with the typical Mishleic structure of "Bad person + bad quality/consequence, and good person + good quality/effect." Here are some examples of alternative translations which follow this approach:
The difficulty with these translations is that they require quite a bit of shoehorning, as is evident in the number of bracketed words and phrases.
In order to avoid this, I sought to read the pasuk in the most literal and straightforward manner possible. This necessitated deviating from the typical Mishleic structure. If you take the pasuk at face value, it is making a general statement about man: "A man's derech is inconsistent and strange, and/but his action is pure and upright." That is what led me to my final translation. Subsequently I saw that Rabbeinu Yonah translates the pasuk in a similarly generalized manner, though he takes a different approach in his interpretation.
Major Questions / Difficulties
Most of the commentaries attempt to translate this pasuk in accordance with the typical Mishleic structure of "Bad person + bad quality/consequence, and good person + good quality/effect." Here are some examples of alternative translations which follow this approach:
- Rashi: "A man who is strange [in that he turns away from mitzvos] - his path is changeable; but a man who is pure [and follows mitzvos] is upright [in his path]."
- Saadia Gaon: "[You might encounter] a man whose path is inconsistent, and [consequently it will become] strange to him; but the pure one - his action is upright."
- Metzudas David: "[If] a person is inconsistent [in his actions, sometimes] the human path [will be with him] and [sometimes he will be] estranged [from the human path], but the [path of the] pure man [will always be] upright."
The difficulty with these translations is that they require quite a bit of shoehorning, as is evident in the number of bracketed words and phrases.
In order to avoid this, I sought to read the pasuk in the most literal and straightforward manner possible. This necessitated deviating from the typical Mishleic structure. If you take the pasuk at face value, it is making a general statement about man: "A man's derech is inconsistent and strange, and/but his action is pure and upright." That is what led me to my final translation. Subsequently I saw that Rabbeinu Yonah translates the pasuk in a similarly generalized manner, though he takes a different approach in his interpretation.
Major Questions / Difficulties
- What does the pasuk mean by the terms "inconsistent," "strange," "pure," and "upright"?
- What is the meaning of "derech" ("way" or "path") in this context?
- How can a person's actions be pure and upright if his path is inconsistent and strange?
- Why do we need to know this? What point is Shlomo ha'Melech trying to get across?
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| Artwork: Edgewalker, by Ben Thompson |
Four Sentence Summary of the Main Idea
This pasuk comes to refute
two common misconceptions: (1) that if a person’s derech (i.e.
personality, philosophy, way of living, etc.) is inconsistent and strange, then
his actions cannot be pure and upright, and (2) that, conversely, if a
person’s actions are pure and upright, then his derech cannot possibly
be inconsistent and strange. In other words, we are psychologically prone to feeling
that good actions are somehow “tainted” if they come from an individual whose derech
we consider to be inconsistent, strange, or otherwise defective. From the
standpoint of a person’s overall perfection and personal development, this may
be true, in a certain sense – but in the cause-and-effect, Mishleic framework
of actions and consequences, it is false: a person’s actions will produce its
effects on the world, regardless of the derech from which it came. Likewise,
we must guard against the corresponding pair of misconceptions which are
implied by the pasuk: (3) that if a person’s derech is pure and
upright, then his actions cannot be inconsistent and strange, and (4)
that if a person’s actions are inconsistent and strange, then his derech
cannot be pure and upright.
I like the explanation. I think that people generally act with a certain purity and uprightness, even if it isn't the method, act, or belief of a perfected person. People aren't even always consistent in how they apply things. A person may say a certain act should be treated one way in one circumstance but differently in a more generalized form of the same circumstance. If you push them to explain the discrepancy, they'll differentiate on a non-essential item. That doesn't mean they are acting out of malice or evil. It just means they can't come up with a single rule to apply to all actions. It seems, then, that we shouldn't judge a person's motivations when their life takes them in an inconsistent path. Conversely, we shouldn't judge their actions as being evil or inconsistent based on the path we observe them taking.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I think you're taking a slightly different approach than I did. You seem to be saying that people are driven to act in accordance with a certain derech which aims (if unsuccessfully) for a general sense of consistency. I, on the other hand, am saying that Mishlei wants us to recognize that we must be able to assess a person's actions in their own right, without ANY regard for their derech.
DeleteFor example, I have certain students who like to project a rebellious or disinterested "punk" sort of image - and yet, these students will often ask amazing questions, or contribute insightful comments to the class discussion. Unfortunately, some teachers are incapable of responding to these "pure and upright" actions of truth-seeking simply because they come from a person whose derech is "strange and inconsistent." Consequently, these students are ignored, or their questions are dismissed, or worse.
This pasuk aims at correcting this notion. Yes, it is true that the student's derech might be "inconsistent and strange," but one must be able to look at the action in a vacuum, and in some cases - such as in a classroom setting - to respond to the action in the same way as one would respond if that action were done by someone whose derech is pure and upright.
I hear what you're saying. I wonder, though, if the student's question stems from an attempt to refute or breakdown Torah by asking what they see as a strong question, how does Mishlei judge that? The particular question may be an excellent question and may provide a good teaching moment. But, if the derech was from attempting to destroy Torah, shouldn't the judgement include the motivation (i.e. derech).
DeleteIf a person has a philosophy that they're going to hit every third person with a bat, at some point they're going to hit a rasha who deserves it or hit a person committing a crime and be a hero. That doesn't mean the action was just or right, it just meant they were sticking with their derech.
That's why I think we must take into account the person's derech to judge an action.
I find it interesting that when I answer my students' questions, I naturally factor in everything I know about the student and tailor my answer to that student as best as I can. In contrast, my Mishlei rebbi would rarely do that. Whereas I'd give two different answers to the same question asked by two different students, my Mishlei rebbi would almost always give the same answer, no matter who asked the question. It seems to me that both approaches have their shortcomings, but both are successful. The trick is: we must be able to do both.
DeleteMishlei is like a tool-box of ideas and strategies for decision-making. Each pasuk teaches us one idea, and our job is to focus on understanding that one idea clearly. It would be a mistake to treat any single pasuk in Mishlei as a complete guide to decision-making in that area. Rather, by learning many pesukim about that topic, one will become equipped with ALL of the tools that one needs to make the proper decision when the time comes.
This pasuk is teaching us the idea of looking at the action in a vacuum, without considering the derech. Other pesukim teach us NOT to look at the action in a vacuum without taking the derech into consideration. Mishlei as a whole helps us to develop the wisdom to know which strategy to implement in each scenario.
I like this idea. I think it also stands as a good reminder not to judge people based on what their derech appears to us. We just do not know enough to judge.
ReplyDeleteNot in a "we don't know anything" way, but in that people can and do change, and just because a person has strange derech does not mean they are not moving towards a life of/are not capable of performing pure and upright actions.
DeleteAgreed. Good point!
Delete