Mishlei 17:8 - Blinded by Bribes
Click here for a printer-friendly version of this blog post.
Mishlei 17:8 - Blinded by Bribes
משלי יז:ח
אֶבֶן חֵן הַשֹּׁחַד בְּעֵינֵי בְעָלָיו אֶל כָּל אֲשֶׁר יִפְנֶה יַשְׂכִּיל:
Mishlei 17:8
A bribe is a charming gem in the eyes of its owner;
wherever he turns he will succeed.
The major questions on this pasuk are:
(1) In what sense is a bribe considered to be "a charming gem in the eyes of its owner? This is clearly a mashal (metaphor). What is the nimshal (i.e. what does the metaphor represent)? And why does the pasuk specify "in the eyes of its owner"? Why not just say"a bribe is a charming gem"?
(2) Who is "its owner"? The term "owner" can refer either to the giver of the bribe or to the recipient of the bribe.
(3) How can Shlomo ha'Melech say "wherever he turns he will succeed"? Regardless of whether this is referring to the giver or receiver of the bribe, the statement is patently false. Just do a search on Google news for the term "bribery" and you'll see countless examples of individuals whose success was cut short because of their involvement in bribery. Moreover, even if Shlomo's statement were true, is he advocating bribery? Doesn't the Torah prohibit and condemn bribery, saying: "you shall not accept a bribe, for the bribe will blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt principles of justice" (Devarim 16:19)?
[Time to think! You'll get way more out of this blog post if you work on the pasuk yourself before reading what I have to say. Read on when ready.]
Here's my four-sentence summary of the main idea:
When a bribe is effective, it allows a person to sidestep or shortcut the system in order to obtain a benefit or avoid a consequence or cost. Ironically, the bribe-giver can easily become charmed and blinded by his ownbribe – charmed into thinking he can succeed wherever he turns, and blinded to the true probabilities of success and failure. The more he relies on bribes to fuel his rise to “success,” the more reckless he will be in using them. Ultimately, the habitual bribe-giver will fall prey to the very types of systemic consequences he seeks to avoid.
This pasuk utilizes a stylistic maneuver which Shlomo ha'Melech utilzes from time to time, namely, stating the fool's perspective as if it is reality. It is as if our pasuk says: "A bribe is a charming gem in the eyes of its owner [in that it causes him to believe that] wherever he turns he will succeed." I'd quote more examples of this from elsewhere in Mishlei, but I don't want to spoil future Mishlei posts.
The last time I taught this pasuk in class, a student of mine came up with another way to read this pasuk which leads to the same idea. She moved the asnachta (i.e. the semi-colon) so that the pasuk reads: "A bribe is a charming gem; in the eyes of its owner, wherever he turns he will succeed." I thought this was an elegant interpretive solution.
Let me know what you think!
Like what you read? Give this article a “like” and share it with someone who might appreciate it!
Want access to my paid content without actually paying? If you successfully refer enough friends, you can get access to the paid tier for free!
Interested in reading more? Become a free subscriber, or upgrade to a paid subscription for the upcoming exclusive content!
If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.
If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.
-----
Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/
Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Instagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
Old Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0H
Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel