משלי, פרק כ״ג, פסוק ט׳

Wisdom and moral instruction require a willing listener and a proper vessel. When offered to someone unready to receive them, these teachings are not only useless but can actually cause the wisdom itself to be degraded. The primary approach among commentators is that one should avoid trying to share meaningful statements or offer correction to a foolish person, as they will simply not grow wiser from the effort [אבן עזרא, רלב״ג, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. These spoken teachings [מצודת ציון] carry deep, sharp insights capable of penetrating areas that ordinary understanding cannot reach [מלבי״ם].

The reason a foolish person will despise such insights is a matter of perspective. One approach suggests it is a simple lack of intellect; they lack the capacity to appreciate statements spoken with profound understanding [מצודת דוד]. Conversely, another approach looks deeper into the psychological motives of the fool. In this view, the fool is not necessarily someone who fails to understand. Rather, they recognize the value of wisdom but intentionally turn away from it because they have surrendered to their physical desires. Since wisdom restricts these urges, the fool flees from it and treats it with contempt. Therefore, trying to enlighten them with logical proofs is completely pointless [מלבי״ם].

Looking beyond the general instruction, this guidance connects directly to earlier warnings about eating at the table of a stingy person. The stingy host is himself the fool. There is no reason to share words of wisdom with him, to try to logically convince him to improve his behavior, or even to bless him for his hospitality, as conversation and rebuke are entirely unnecessary [אלשיך, עמנואל הרומי, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Furthermore, such an individual often harbors a deep dislike for scholars and might misinterpret intellectual words as a personal attack driven by hatred, rather than a genuine sharing of wisdom [אלשיך].

This leads to a much broader educational principle. Just as a generous person should not scatter their wealth on dishonest people who will simply squander it, a wise person must avoid passing their knowledge to an unworthy student. Handing wisdom over to a fool compromises the wisdom, gives it a bad reputation, and can empower the unworthy student to cause destruction and corruption. Because of this danger, many wise scholars intentionally obscured deep truths within their writings. They did this to prevent people who lack understanding from mocking their words and ultimately speaking out against God [עמנואל הרומי].