משלי, פרק י״ט, פסוק כ״ז

At first glance, there appears to be a surprising contradiction, as the guidance seems to explicitly instruct a person to stop listening to moral instruction. This difficulty naturally invites various ways to resolve the meaning, built on the basic understanding that straying simply refers to making an unintentional mistake [מצודת ציון]. One approach resolves the confusion by adjusting the logical flow of the ideas: it is actually a call to stop making mistakes and deviating from knowledge, which in turn allows a person to truly hear and absorb moral lessons [רש״י, אבן עזרא]. Similarly, it can be understood as a plea to abandon bad habits and return to a path of wisdom. Alternatively, the concept serves as a strict warning of cause and effect: if a person actively avoids listening to instruction, the direct result is that they will stray from a balanced life [ביאור שטיינזלץ, עמנואל הרומי]. It can also be read as a sharp rebuke, pointing out that there is absolutely no benefit in listening to moral teachings if a person ultimately chooses not to act on them and continues to make the same mistakes [אבן עזרא, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Another perspective shifts the focus away from the instruction itself and toward the identity of the teacher. Deceivers, frauds, and individuals with corrupt beliefs often mask their true intentions by opening their speeches with messages of justice, piety, and morality. Their goal is to earn trust so they can later mislead their audience with lies. The warning here is to completely stop listening to such individuals. A person should never be tempted into thinking they can safely absorb the good while rejecting the bad, because they risk becoming trapped in deception and straying from the true knowledge of the Torah [אלשיך, מצודת דוד, עמנואל הרומי].

Danger also lies within moral rules themselves when they are taken to extremes or stripped of their proper context. A person might cling to a principle of truth so rigidly that it sparks unnecessary conflict, or they might observe rules of separation so strictly that they refuse to rescue a drowning woman. Blindly following moral guidelines without exercising practical judgment ultimately causes a person to stray from true and correct knowledge [אלשיך].

Finally, this warning extends to an excessive preoccupation with philosophy and the natural sciences. While these subjects serve as a valuable foundation, dedicating too much time to them can lead to serious errors; a person's primary focus should always remain on the love of Torah knowledge [רלב״ג]. This becomes especially critical when the study of nature attempts to deny the miracles recorded in the Torah and the Prophets, which operate above natural laws. In these cases, a person must stop listening to such theories and remember that God created the order of nature and holds the power to change it according to His will [עמנואל הרומי].