על שדה איש עצל עברתיThe Lazy Man's Field

'al sedeh ish 'atzel 'avartiIn Gamatria ↗

Laziness does no evil; it only lets the thorns grow.

Zeal follows watchfulness. Watchfulness guards the prohibitions; zeal does the commandments: 'Turn from evil and do good.' Human nature is heavy and shuns effort, so overpower it: 'Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, strong as a lion' (Avot 5:20). Solomon passed the field of a lazy man, covered with thorns, its stone wall broken. The Sages read it of study: he seeks a passage's meaning and cannot find it, then rules the impure pure and breaks the fences of the Sages. The harm spreads slowly, like poison. He has excuses: it is cold, it is raining, I have already taken off my coat. He quotes verses and reasons, 'wiser in his own eyes than seven who answer sensibly.' The angels run and return; come as near to them as you can.

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