אות - פא

Other people can hold one back greatly.

If you were alone, without the negative influence of others, you would always direct yourself toward the path of life. You might be confronted by every type of confusion, worry and frustration – but still, you would eventually end up on the right path. Even if you sinned, you would regret it and find the true path in the end.

It becomes much more difficult when others confuse you. You might associate with those who think they know something about philosophy. Or you might associate with cynics who are involved in studies that ridicule everything sacred. Such people can confuse you and frustrate you more than anything else.

The world may consider this sophistication, but it can lead to great confusion. The world teaches that all values are relative and any path is permissible. This is especially true of philosophy, which can cause tremendous spiritual damage, as discussed earlier (see “ His Wisdom ” #5) .

There is also a certain sarcasm, even among those who seem religious. This is as harmful as philosophy.

This sarcasm is literally the same as philosophical skepticism. It can even be worse, since most Jews recognize the dangers of philosophy and avoid it. They know that philosophy can drag them down into the deepest pit. But people are not so careful to avoid sarcasm and sophistication, especially when it emanates from people who appear to be religious and clothe all their opinions in religious expressions to prove their veracity. People do not avoid them, thinking that they are on the right path. Yet these very people are the ones who can cause the most harm, frustrating and confusing those who truly want to serve God.

Happy is the man who walks the true path, avoiding all sophistication. He is simple and upright, fearing God and shunning evil (Job 1:1, 1:8, 2:3) .