Pirkei Avot - Ethics of the Fathers

~Level 1~
(note: the term Derech Eretz, literally "the way of the land", is inherently ambiguous, with a wide range of meanings in torah literature. It refers to earning a livelihood, behaving appropriately, having good character traits, among others.)

~Level 1~
Bartenurah - "if there is no torah, there is no derech eretz" - if there is no torah, his business dealings with the public is not nice.

"if there is no derech eretz, there is no torah" - in the end, he will forget his torah

~Level 1~
Rabeinu Yosef ben Shushan - "if there is no torah, there is no derech eretz" - one who does not at all toil in torah, his toil in derech eretz (earning a livelihood) does not receive blessing..

~Level 1~
Rabeinu Yonah - "if there is no derech eretz, there is no torah" - one must first rectify his character traits. Through this, the torah will rest on him. For the torah will never reside in a body that does not have good character traits. But he should not earn torah and afterwards acquire good character traits. For that is impossible..

~Level 2~
Chaim Sheyesh Bahem - "if there is no derech eretz, there is no torah" - in kovetz shiurim: middot (character traits) are like the introduction of a book which reveals the content of the entire book. So too, derech eretz and middot generally. They reveal how much torah a person contains.

~Level 2~
Ruach Chaim - "if there is no torah, there is no derech eretz" - i.e. if he does not have torah, it is impossible to have derech eretz. And if there is no derech eretz, the torah will be of no avail and superfluous. So too for all of them. If there is no daat (knowledge), it is impossible to have binah (understanding), and if there is no binah, there is no daat. For since he is unable to deduce one thing from another, the daat he received from his Rabbis is superfluous since it is impossible to employ it without Binah. Likewise, without bread, man cannot survive.. But bread is superfluous without torah, for why should he be granted life?

~Level 2~
Tiferet Yisrael - "if there is no torah, there is no derech eretz" - torah refers to obligations between man and G-d. For we would not know these without the torah teaching us. Derech eretz refers to obligations between man and man. Thus, one who is a heretic, i.e. who denies torah is from Heaven, then even his guarding and his obligations to other people is not wholehearted. Likewise, one whose fear of Heaven is fake and he is not careful of his obligations towards other people, so too "his inside is not like his outside". Both of these types wil reveal their corrupt heart when a trial tests them in this or that.

~Level 2~
Chida - Petach Einayim - "if there is no torah, there is no derech eretz" - he will stumble in many light and severe sins in his business dealings, will remove G-d from his thoughts, stumble in bitul torah which is more severe than idolatry, immorality, and murder, and will die with his sins.

"if there is no derech eretz, there is no torah" - for his wife and sons will drive him crazy on food and clothing and he will quarrel with them and be idle from torah.

~Level 2~
Rabbi Avraham Azoulai - Ahava b'Taanugim - "if there is no torah, there is no derech eretz" - some explain that torah and derech eretz cannot exist without each other. Namely, if a person acquired good character traits and derech eretz (decent conduct), but he did not learn torah, all that derech eretz will disappear from him since there was no torah with it. For torah is what allows it to remain in his hand. On this, our sages said: "for the elders of the amai haaretz (torah ignorant), the older they get, the more foolish they become."

Likewise, if there is no derech eretz, there is no torah. For even if he learned torah, the torah will become forgetten by him.

Some explain "derech [eretz]" to be referring to work. Namely, one who does not toil in torah at all, but instead works all day - there is no derech eretz, i.e. he will not see a sign of blessing in that work and it is as if he did not do it.

Likewise, if day and night he does not interrupt his torah study and does not want to toil in work, this too is an evil sickness. For "torah without work will eventually disappear" (Avot 2:2). Therefore, both together are good..

Some explain, if there is no torah, there is no derech eretz, i.e. when you see a man without torah, don't ask if he has derech eretz. For certainly he does not. And likewise, if he does not have derech eretz, do not ask if he has torah, for certainly he does not have torah. Because torah and good character traits exist hand in hand and are inseparable.

~Level 3~
Siftei Daat on Avot - "if there is no torah, there is no derech eretz" - the secret of the matter is that which torah emerges out of is powers implanted in man, as we find our sages taught: "Avraham our forefather learned (deduced) torah from himself (on his own)" (Bereisheit Rabba 95:3). For the root (shoresh) of torah and its sprouting (tzemichata) is from "derech eretz". Namely, "from himself", from the powers implanted in him, and derech eretz is the foundation stone upon which the torah is built. Thus, perforce "if there is no derech eretz", then certainly, "there is no torah".

And likewise, "if there is no torah, there is no derech eretz". That is to say, if torah does not sprout from derech eretz, then certainly, even derech eretz is not there. For man and his perfection are one indivisible thing. Thus, if there is "derech eretz", then perforce torah will sprout from there.

In this way the rest of the mishna is explained.
"If there is no wisdom, there is no fear, if there is no fear, there is no wisdom" - for that which wisdom emerges out of is fear, a natural innate power implanted in man. Wisdom sprouts and grows out of fear... (see there for more).

~Level 4~
Maharal - "if there is no derech eretz.." - for derech eretz is the order of the maintenance of the world (hanhagat seder olam). It precedes the divine wisdom (torah). And if the former is not there, the higher one will also not be found. For derech eretz is completely before Torah.

We find this also in the creation of the world. Namely, for 26 generations derech eretz preceded the giving of the torah (Adam to Noach = 10 generations, another 10 until Avraham, and another 6 until Moshe, total=26)...

if there is no torah, there is no derech eretz - as our sages taught, the creation of the world was pending and awaiting until Yisrael would receive the Torah (Shab.88a). Thus, "if there is no torah, there is no derech eretz", i.e. there is no permanence to the derech eretz he already acquired. For everything becomes completely null and void, even the derech eretz he already acquired, Since without torah, the world would not have endured.

"if there is no fear, there is no wisdom" - for wisdom endures through fear of Heaven as we explained earlier. If there is no fear of Heaven which is the purpose, for the purpose of wisdom is fear of G-d. Wisdom is only in order to attain fear of Heaven and this is the primary thing, as our sages said: "the purpose of wisdom is fear of G-d, that a man should not learn wisdom (torah) and disrespect his father and superior" (Berachot 17a). Fear of Heaven is a completion of wisdom.. and wisdom is a ladder to fear of Heaven. Through wisdom, he will come to fear of Heaven, as we said on the mishna "a boor cannot fear sin". Namely, fear of a king comes when one is in close proximity to the king. But one who is far from the king does not fear him.

So too, a man who possesses wisdom is considered close to G-d and thus receives fear of him.. Thus fear of Heaven follows wisdom...

~Level 4~
Siftei Daat on Avot, (Daat Chachma U'Mussar 1:35) - "if there is no derech eretz, there is no torah" - for he is lacking the preliminary (hakdama), as our sages said: "derech eretz precedes torah" (Vayikra Rabba 9:3). This is as the Rambam wrote in Moreh Nevuchim that one of the causes which prevents the foolish from holding on to the ways of wisdom is their hatred for the preliminaries (hakdamot/preparations). And without the preliminary it is impossible to reach wisdom.
For even though derech eretz is a rousing of the intellect, implanted in man's consciousness and formed in the root of his creation and growth. And the rousing of the intellect is completely "external" relative to the torah which is completely "internal". But nevertheless, derech eretz precedes torah.

The secret of the matter is that the external is the primary and the purpose. And the more external something is, the more it is primary and purpose. Therefore, the rousing of the intellect (derech eretz) precedes. And even if a man becomes exceedingly wise without limit, nevertheless, his "dwelling place" (dirahto) is in his "first thoughts" until our sages said: "any talmid chacham (torah scholar) who lacks "daat", i.e. lacks derech eretz - a dead animal carcass is better than him" (Vayikra Rabba 1:15).

The middot are a root and foundation of the Torah. They are general principles (klalim) from which the torah emerges and they are the beginning of man's formation. Without them, man is not called Adam but rather just gross physical matter and the torah certainly does not reside by him.

The early sages already asked on why the middot (character traits) are not mentioned in the torah. According to what we said, the answer to this is that the reason the middot (character traits) are not mentioned in the torah is because they themselves are the general principles of the torah through which the torah branches out. As such they precede the torah, as our sages said: "derech eretz precedes torah" and "if there is no derech eretz, there is no torah".

Let us contemplate from this the greatness of the worth and essence of the middot. For they are a root and foundation of the torah, and the root and foundation of man.

Concerning one who does not have derech eretz, our sages said: "whoever does not have scripture, mishna or derech eretz is not from civilization (Daat Chachma u'Mussar 1:29).

Another matter in this, our sages said: "the Holy One, blesed be He, did not find a vessel (kli) which can hold blessing except "peace" (Shalom), as written (Tehilim 29:11): 'the L-ord will give strength unto His people, the L-ord will bless His people with peace'" (end of Uktzin).

The secret of the matter is that there is nothing in the creation which does not require a vessel (kli). Each and every thing has a working vessel suited for it and the vessel needs to precede it. This is the secret of the formation/creation of everything (sod yetzirat hakol).

On this our sages said: "when the Holy One, blessed be He, came to give the torah to the Jewish people, He did not find a vessel which can hold blessing except peace.

For the vessel which holds torah is peace, the pinnacle of middot (good character traits). And with peace, it is proper to give the torah. For the secret of the matter is that the middot are the forming vessels of the torah (kelim hayotzrot latorah). (the word "middah" means measure, that one measures with it, i.e. a vessel).

This is what our sages said: "if he merits (zacha), the torah becomes an elixir of life, but if he does not merit, it becomes a death potion" (Yomah 72b).

The word "merit" (zacha) comes from the word "zach" (purity). For the purity of the middot is the vessel which holds torah. Thus perforce it certainly becomes an elixir of life. But if he is not of pure middot, then the torah itself becomes a death potion. Thus it is explicitly clear that the midot themselves are the vessel which holds the blessing through which it is possible for the torah to be given. (Daat Chochma u'Mussar 1:32-33).

Regarding what Rabeinu Yonah wrote: "the torah can never dwell in a body which does not possess good character traits". There is another reason for this. Namely, due to the holiness and purity of the torah, as written: "The words of the L-ord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times" (Tehilim 12;6), forged and purified to absolute purity. Thus the torah cannot bear to rest itself in a body without good character traits and whoever wishes to approach it must make himself suitable to its holiness and purity, to purify and polish himself absolutely, as we learned: "prepare yourself to learn torah" (Avot 2:2). Rabeinu Yonah explained there: "prepare yourself with good character traits in order to learn the torah". (Daat Chochma u'Mussar 2:20).

~Level 1~
Rabeinu Yonah - "if there is no wisdom, there is no fear" - fear is not whole without wisdom. For wisdom strengthens it and lights up for him the straight path.

"if there is no fear, there is no wisdom" - one must precede fear before wisdom. For fear strengthens wisdom and illuminates the straight path.

if there is no fear, there is no wisdom. For without this, his wisdom will not endure. He will be annoyed by the wisdom and will abandon it..

~Level 2~
Rabbi Avraham Azoulai - Ahava b'Taanugim - "if there is no wisdom, there is no fear" - i.e. fear of G-d's greatness (Yirah Haromemut). To attain this level of fear, one must precede to learn the divine wisdom (Kabala). For through it one will recognize His greatness.

And if there is no fear, i.e. at least fear of punishment (the lower form of fear) - there is no wisdom. For fear must precede wisdom.

~Level 2~
Tiferet Yisrael - "if there is no wisdom, there is no fear" - when he lacks wisdom to grasp the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, and to be abashed before Him, how could he possibly attain fear [of G-d] out of love? Although it is possible for him to attain fear [of G-d] as one afraid of someone stronger than him, but this is not the fear asked [of man].

"if there is no fear [of G-d], there is no wisdom" - when he does not have fear of G-d on his face, he will not be ashamed to devise cunning logic and spurious arguments against G-d's honor and will and he thinks bad of G-d and His torah. All the more so will he not have wisdom of the holy torah. For besides that his eyes are cloudy and do not want to delve deeply in it properly, but even the torah itself distances from such a filthy place in his brain.

~Level 3~
Siftei Daat on Avot - "if there is no wisdom, there is no fear" - wisdom and fear are one. This is as scripture states: "fear of G-d is wisdom" (Iyov 28:28). Only that they are aspects in the torah itself. For wisdom is the outer side of torah while fear is the inner side. But both are one thing. If there isn't one, there isn't the other. (Daat Torah chelek beit, pg.247).

Another aspect: wisdom and fear are one. Only that when wisdom is separated and outside man, before it has entered his inner being, it is called by the name "wisdom". But after the wisdom has penetrated man's limbs and entered in his body, then it is called by the name "fear". (Daat Chochma u'Mussar chelek aleph 23-24).

~Level 3~
Daat Chachma U'Mussar 2:176 - in truth the thinking and understanding person can recognize and tangibly feel this secret. For when a man enters in his heart (mind) some words of Torah, he immediately feels inside himself a certain heaviness (kevedut), seriousness (koved rosh), maturity (enoshiut), he becomes a "man"... One can tangibly recognize that the words of Torah have a secret. For when words of Torah enter inside him, there also immediately enters "fear of Heaven".

This is a true explanation of what our sages said: "if there is no Torah there is no fear, and if there is no fear, there is no Torah" (Avot 3). People wonder on this "where does it start?", but according to our words it is very wondrous. For in truth, Torah and fear are one thing, literally (mamash) without any difference between them... Torah is fear and fear is Torah. Every thing of Torah, even a minor thing in it contains within it fear [of G-d]. It has the fire of Torah...

~Level 3~
Daat Torah chelek beit, pg.231 - another aspect: the root of the word "fear" (Yirah) is from the word "seeing" (re'eh, same letters). For the entire matter of fear comes from one seeing G-d, blessed be He. For when one sees the Creator, blessed be He, automatically, he fears before Him. The secret of the whole torah is that through it the Holy One, blessed be He, immediately appears before Him. For the torah is called the "garment" (levusho) of the Holy One, blessed be He. In every letter and every tiny crown of the torah, G-d's existence is interwoven - "the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are one" (oreita v'kudsha berich Hu chad hu) - inseparably. Thus, perforce "if there is no wisdom, there is no fear".

That is to say, if the wisdom does not bring to knowledge and seeing of G-d, from which stems fear of G-d, if so, certainly his wisdom is not wisdom. For torah and knowledge of G-d are inseparable. If one learns torah without knowing G-d, blessed be He, certainly he does not have torah either. Rather, he will remain an am haaretz and a complete boor (empty person).

~Level 3~
Baal Shem Tov on the Torah, Eikev - "if there is no wisdom, there is no fear" - the purpose of everything is fear (yirah). For if there is no fear, wisdom is not absorbed and is not at all important. The purpose of wisdom is fear. Although one needs to serve G-d out of fear and love, but nevertheless one needs to hold on only to fear and then love will come automatically. For "it is the way of man to wage war" (Kidushin 2b).

Through this one can test himself and examine if he has whole fear. We may understand this through an analogy. If a minister stands before his king and he comes across something which for him is the greatest lust. Namely, if he were not standing before the king, he would desire this lust. But nevertheless, when he stands before the king, the lust for that thing distances from him. The reason is because he feels so awed and abashed before the king that he does not appear in his usual [bad] character traits. All of them are annulled from existence against his fear of the king.

This is what our sages said: to what is a tzadik similar before G-d? As a candle before the sun. Just like a candle in broad daylight is useless and does not do its job at all, so too, their traits do not do their job in the lusts of the world. For they are always annulled from existence out of fear of the Holy One, blessed be He.

~Level 4~
Daat Zekenim - Rabeinu Yerucham wrote in his letters on the verse: "And G-d took us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm and great fear (morah gadol)" (Devarim 26:8). On this our sages taught:

"Great fear (morah gadol)" - this refers to the revelation of the Shechinah (Gilui Shechinah)" (Hagadah of Pesach).

We learn from here a great principle. Namely, the foundation of "fear [of G-d]" is "revelation of the Shechinah (Gilui Shechinah)". For fear is [only] of one who is present before him. And even the tiniest spark of fear begins only from "gilui Shechina".

For even if a man were to recognize G-d's greatness and exaltedness, even so, if G-d is not before his eyes, the man will not attain even the beginning of fear. This is because fear is only from what is present.

And when it was said in the Exodus from Egypt "with great fear" (morah gadol). Namely, because there was absolute "gilui Shechina", through the Holy One, blessed be He, in His glory, completely nullifying the laws of nature.

Likewise, at the splitting of the sea, it is written: "and the people feared G-d" (Shemot 14:31). For He revealed Himself to them in His glory and they would point their fingers saying: "this is my G-d" (Shemot 15:2, and in Rashi), and "even a maidservant saw things on the red sea that Yechezkel and the other prophets did not see" (Mechilta Beshalach).

Behold, the way to acquire fear is to contemplate always with one's pure mind's eye on the greatness of G-d and on fear of Him. Namely, in the way Rabeinu Yonah wrote on the teaching: "whoever blesses on the new moon in its time is as one who receives (greets) the face of the Shechina" (Berachot end of ch.4).

On this Rabeinu Yonah wrote: "for even though the Holy One, blessed be He, is invisible to the eye, nevertheless, He is visible through His mighty deeds and wonders (gevurotav veniflaotav).

This is as written: "You are G-d Who conceals Himself, the G-d of Israel who saves" (Isaiah 45:11).

That is to say, even though you are concealed, you are the G-d of Israel. For You performed many wonders (miracles) for them, and You save them all the time, every hour. And through Your salvation, people see You and You reveal Yourself and they perceive You.

So too here, through renewing the months, G-d reveals Himself to human beings and it is as if they receive (greet) His face.

Thus, it is clear that through contemplation and proper recognition of His deeds, His mighty acts and wonders, one comes to seeing Him, blessed be He.

For it is through this that the Holy One, blessed be He, reveals Himself to human beings and from this is the secret of fear. Understand this... For lack of fear stems from being distant. Namely, in that which the Holy One, blessed be He, is not close and present before his eyes, for the foundation of fear is gilui Shechina (revelation of the Shechina).

~Level 3~
Yalkut Hagershoni - "if there is no wisdom, there is no fear" - in the end of Tamid (32b): "who is wise? He who sees what is born (the future)".

If a man has wisdom to see what will happen to him in the future, that his end is but worms and maggots. Due to this, he comes to fear. But if there is no wisdom, there is no fear [of the future].

He also said the opposite. Namely, "if there is no fear, there is no wisdom", i.e. it is as if there is no wisdom. For the wicked who do not have fear are not at all moved by the end of man. On the contrary, they say: "let us slay cattle and slaughter sheep, eating and drinking, for tomorrow we will die".

~Level 3~
Michtav M'Eliyahu part 3 - there is a fundamental matter which many people err on. Namely, that growing in torah and growing in fear of Heaven are two separate things. This is a mistake. Some even say they contradict each other and it is impossible to delve into both simutaneously without ruining both.

But our sages taught us the opposite (Shabbat 31a).

Namely, they said it is possible for one to learn the entire torah and even so, without a "kav chomtin" (measure) of fear of sin, better had you not carried it up, i.e. better had you not studied torah at all.

For in truth, wisdom and fear are one thing. One without the other is nothing.

We learned in Avot: "if there is no wisdom, there is no fear [and the opposite]" This needs explanation. How is it possible to ascend if acquiring one is a condition for acquiring the other? Where should we start?

But one who truly seeks both of them will find that they are really one thing and not two separate things.

One who learns with full energy slays himself over it. His full service will be in torah, mussar, and prayer all together. For without the rousing of mussar and without true prayer for divine help, how can he possibly merit to learn with full energy? Is the yetzer harah (evil inclination) annulled? Rather one who truly aspires to learn torah will also love to learn mussar. For he knows that only this is the source of his will. And the more he rouses himself in fear, the more he will cling with the torah. And through his prayer, G-d will help him. Through this he will reach the feeling of "for the torah is our life" (ki hem chayeinu)

~Level 1~
Bartenurah - "If there is no binah (understanding), there is no daat (knowledge)" - daat (knowledge) is finding the reason for a thing while binah is understanding (deducing) one thing from another.

And if there is no daat (knowledge), to give a reason for something, then there is no understanding. Thus, since he does not know the reason for the matter, it is as if he does not know it. But nevertheless, Binah comes first. Therefore, if there is no binah, there is no daat.

~Level 2~
Rabeinu Yonah - "if there is no daat (knowledge), there is no binah (understanding)" - there are 3 matters (mochot):
chachma - what one learned from others.
tevuna (binah) - deducing one thing from another
daat - that which one grasps from his knowledge.

"if there is no daat, there is no binah" - for since he is unable to grasp and know the essence of the matter from his knowledge, how could he deduce one thing from another? For daat precedes binah and without daat it is impossible to have binah.

"if there is no binah, there is no daat" - if he does not have the power to understand a thing from what is similar to it, this is due to his daat not being whole (clear) to grasp the essence of the matter.

~Level 3~
Siftei Daat on Avot - in the Amidah prayer we say: "who graces man with daat and teaches him binah" (atah chonen l'adam daat umelamed l'enosh binah). The sages of the great assembly instituted the term "graced" (chonen) regarding daat and the term "taught" (melamed) regarding binah.

For "daat' refers to "self evident knowledge" (muskalot rishonim) innately implanted in man's mind with his creation. It is given to man and implanted in his powers.

Binah, on the other hand, is above and external to man's innate powers. Thus, "if there is no daat, there is no binah". For daat is a power implanted in man. It is the foundation from which binah sprouts and grows out of.

With this, we will understand what our sages said: "any torah scholar who does not have daat - the carcass of a dead animal is better than him" (Vayikra Rabbah 1:15).

Go and learn from Moshe, the father of wise men, the father of the prophets. He took the Jewish people out of Egypt. He performed miracles in Egypt and at the Red Sea, etc. etc. and even so he did not enter inside the inner chambers until G-d called to him to enter, as written: "And G-d called to Moshe saying.."

The matter is awesome! Despite all his greatness that he took the Jews out of Egypt, etc., nevertheless he did not enter without being called. For that would be a lacking in daat, and then all his greatness and levels would become null and void until an animal carcass would be better than him. Is this not a wonder?

But according to what we explained, the words of our sages are well explained. For the secret of the matter is that "daat" which is implanted in the mind of man is the foundation of the building of man. For all levels of wisdom and understanding are but branches of daat. Thus, if there is lacking in the foundation and base of the building which is daat, then without a doubt the entire building will collapse and demolish. For without a foundation there can be no building. This is what our sages taught: "if you acquired daat, what are you lacking? And if you lack daat, what did you acquire?" (Nedarim 41a).
(Daat Chachma u'Mussar chelek aleph 24)

~Level 3~
Yachel Yisrael - binah is the stage after acquiring chachma. Through binah, a man develops the wisdom he acquired and builds on it additional buildings. Binah comes from the word "Binyan" (building). It refers to the man who understands one thing from another. Thus scripture says: "the wisdom of the wise will be lost and the binah of the understanding will be demolished" (Isaiah 29:14) - when wisdom is lost, which is the foundation and base of everything, automatically binah, which is built upon wisdom, will be demolished.

Deah is the "personal wisdom" of a man, his ability to absorb wisdom, to connect it to the things he heard, to propose reasons and to "feel" them..

~Level 2~
Rabeinu Yonah - "if there is no flour, there is no torah" - for one must make efforts to obtain his livelihood and thus he cannot toil in torah.

~Level 1~
Bartenurah - "if there is no flour, there is no torah" - he who does not have what to eat, how can he toil in torah?

"if there is no torah, there is no flour" - what will the flour in his hand avail him? For since he has no torah, better had he not have any flour and that he died of starvation. (i.e. since he lives a life without purpose)

~Level 2~
Chaim Sheyesh Bahem - in knesset yisrael: a person should not seek the superfluous. For then he will not have enough time to learn torah. "if there is no flour" - if he is not satisfied with flour only and instead seeks the superfluous, "there is no torah" - he will not merit the crown of torah. For only one who is satisfied with little merits torah.

~Level 2~
Rabbi Avraham Azoulai - Ahava b'Taanugim - "if there is no flour, there is no torah" - for he needs to pursue his livelihood.

"if there is no torah, there is no flour" - this is to remove from people's heart [a mistaken claim]. For if asked "why don't you toil in torah?" They counter: "because we are busy pursuing flour and needs for our households and we don't have free time to toil in torah". This is the meaning of "if there is no flour, there is no torah", i.e. the whole world claims "if there is no flour, there is no torah", and think this excuse is justified. But the truth is the opposite. For bitul torah (lack of torah) is the cause for lack of flour.

This is the meaning of "if there is no torah, there is no flour". For bitul torah is the reason there is no flour.

~Level 3~
Yachel Yisrael - "if there is no flour, there is no torah" - the Alshich explains in his book "Yarim Moshe" that it is the way of those who are immersed all their days in making money, not spending any time in torah study, to rationalize themselves "if there is no flour, there is no torah! A person cannot learn torah before all his physical needs are prepared"

They claim that if G-d were to provide all their needs quickly and abundantly, they would designate all their time to torah study. "But what can I do? My livelihood is tight and I don't have flour? Is it my fault that I don't have any time left to learn?"

Against this claim the Tanna (sage) writes: "you say: 'if there is no flour there is no torah - first give us flour and afterwards we will learn torah'.

But the truth is "this has come from your own hand" (Malachi 1:9). Bitul torah is what brings to lack of parnassa (livelihood), not the opposite".

The Ohr Hachaim writes similarly on the verse "Let my teaching fall like rain" (Devarim 32:1):

"teaching (lekach)" refers to torah, as written: "for a good teaching (lekach)..my torah.."

Says the Holy One, blessed be He, to Yisrael: "the rain, i.e. the shefah and parnassa (livelihood) comes according to the lekach (torah)"

If Yisrael chooses torah, the Holy One, blessed be He, immediately prepares the rain, as if it is written: "Let my teaching fall like rain". For the Holy One, blessed be He, does not ask a man to learn torah until he prepares his livelihood. Rather, if he merely wants to learn - immediately G-d rains down upon him shefa and blessings. The amount of rain will be according to the amount of torah.

But if a man does not choose the "good teaching (lekach tov)", the Holy One, bessed be He, does not give the rain in its time. Therefore, "if there is no flour", then it is known that "there is no torah".

~Level 2~
Tiferet Yisrael - "One whose wisdom exceeds his deeds, to what may he be compared? To a tree with many branches and few roots" - in Tanach, man is compared to a tree. Wisdom is his splendor just like the branches are the splendor of a tree. Guarding the mitzvot of the torah is the roots of this tree of knowledge. But if he attains too much wisdom, it is like a tree which squandered all its powers in the branches. Through this, its roots lose their strength. As known the nature of every tree is that when it spreads out its power above too much (building branches), so too its expenditure below to build [insufficient] roots is for nothing. And both will be the cause for the easy uprooting of the tree due to insufficient roots and the heavy inclining weight of the branches. So too for this man. Through the many branches of wisdom in the concealed ways of G-d, so too there will diminish and weaken the roots of fear of heaven from his heart. And both will cause his downfall when the wind of heresy will seize him in the end and uproot him completely from the field of his eternal success.

~Level 3~
Daat Torah, chelek beit, pg.343-4 - "a tree with many roots.. even if all the winds of the world come and blow upon it, they cannot move it out of its place" - in this analogy he called deeds "roots". For deeds are the roots of man; they are his rectification and perfection (tikuno v'hashlamato).

Wisdom, on the other hand, is only on the level of "branches". For wisdom by itself is not the purpose. The purpose of wisdom is only in that it brings to deed (Berachot 17a).

How great is the distinction between branches and roots. This is the secret of the continuance (kiyum) of the Jewish people (knesset yisrael). For they are firmly rooted with strong roots. They are strongly established from the beginning like boulders and valleys through the deeds of their forefathers and foremothers (Rashi on Bamidbar 23:9).

And even if all the winds of the world blow on them, it will not move them from their place and they will not stop to produce fruit. Fortunate are we and how good is our portion!

But for the nations, even though they also had some exceedingly wise men, as known. But their wisdom was greater than their deeds. Thus, these sages did not merit to be called "roots". Winds came which uprooted them from the world. Their wisdom was lost and they did not grow to produce fruit (Daat Chachma u'Mussar chelek gimel, 53-54, 189).

More on this, for anyone whose wisdom exceeds his deeds, when a wind comes, it uproots him and turns him over on his face. Because since wisdom alone is on the level of "lachim hayu (wet)" (terms used by Rashi on Gen.1:6).

But for one whose deeds exceeds his wisdom, even if all the winds of the world blow on him, they do not move him from his place.

For might and strength (gevurah v'chizuk) spring specifically from deeds of the body, specifically from the darkness and black of night. Namely, this world which is compared to night (Bava Metziah 83b), the world of trials. From this world one reaches the secret of Gevurah (might).