The pasuk in Kohelet (4,13) tells us:
ט֛וֹב יֶ֥לֶד מִסְכֵּ֖ן וְחָכָ֑ם מִמֶּ֤לֶךְ זָקֵן֙ וּכְסִ֔יל
It’s better to have a young, poor wise one than an old but foolish king
Rashi explains, based on Hazal that the poor, young wise one is the Yetzer hatov/ good inclination. He’s called young because he’s 13 (or 12 for a woman) years younger than the Yetzer Hara, which is present from birth.
He’s poor because no one listens to him. He’s wise because he gives man wisdom.
On the other hand the Yetzer Hara is called a king because he controls everyone. He’s old because he is older than the Yetzer Hatov.
But why is the Yetzer Hara called a fool?
He is seemingly quite smart; he’s been capturing people for years. Nobody gets away without sinning. He seems to be quite cunning and conniving.
The Chafetz Chaim explains, based on the following:
In Hebrew, a shoemaker is called a Sandlar, because he sells sandals or shoes. So too, he says, the Yetzer Hara is called a K’sil, or fool, because that’s what he does- He sells foolishness; he makes people into fools.
What exactly is the foolishness that the Yetzer Hara is involved in?
In another pasuk in Kohelet ( 10,12) it says,
לֵ֤ב חָכָם֙ לִֽימִינ֔וֹ וְלֵ֥ב כְּסִ֖יל לִשְׂמֹאלֽוֹ׃
A wise man’s heart is on his right side , and the heart of the fool is on his left.
This is obviously a problem, because in human anatomy, everyone’s heart is on the left.
What is the meaning of saying that a wise man’s heart is on the right?
(A cute anecdote: When Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky once went to his cardiologist, as the doctor searched for a heartbeat on the left side, the Rav quipped in jest, “You won’t find it, Lev hacham L’mino/The wise man’s heart is on the right side.”)
I was told an explanation of this pasuk in the name of the Chafetz Chaim ( which I didn’t see inside) that says,
When two people face one another, when one person picks up their hand to point at the other’s heart, it will be with their right hand. Therefore, Lev Hacham L’Mino/a wise man’s heart is not for himself. It’s for others. Therefore his heart on on the right side. He doesn’t have his heart in a selfish way. His heart is there to give others. And therefore, from the perspective of the other, the heart is on the right. Whereas the Lev K’sil/the heart of the fool is for himself, so his heart is on the left side.
We see from this that this is the foolishness that the Yetzer Hara tries to sell us. It’s the foolishness of having the wrong perspective on our heart, and thinking that our heart is for ourselves and not there from the perspective of giving to others.
Why exactly is that foolish? What is the foolishness of a person thinking that his heart is for himself? The answer is that a person that lives life for himself isn’t really a happy individual. He thinks that he’s doing well for himself by being selfish, but the selfish person is ultimately miserable. That is why the Yetzer Hara is selling him on foolishness. Because it is really foolish to think that your taking is going to make you happy.
The National Academy of Sciences shared the following studies:
One found that those who volunteered to give blood after an earthquake experienced less pain than those who did a routine test, despite the use of a larger needle. A second discovered people who freely gave their time to revise a handbook for the children of migrant workers experienced less pain when exposed to cold temperatures than people who did not volunteer.
In the most interesting study, researchers asked participants to consider donating money to help orphans; if they chose to do so they were asked to rate how helpful they believed their donation would be. The brains of those participants were then scanned via MRI while they received a nasty electric shock to their hands.
Results showed the pain-control centers in the brains of those who donated reacted less to the painful sensation than those who did not give money. Not only that, but the more people believed their altruistic actions were helpful, the less their brain responded to the pain.
This is extremely interesting. Giving to other people is actually beneficial.
Brain studies show that regions of the brain that react to painful stimuli appear to be instantly deactivated by the experience of giving.
We don’t need studies to prove things to us, because we have our Torah to teach it to us. But it’s interesting that even scientists are beginning to realize that volunteering and other good deeds reduce physical pain. Therefore the wise man is the one who gives to others. The wise man realizes that his heart is on the right side, whereas the fool doesn’t realize that taking for yourself is counterproductive-His heart is on the left. Have a wonderful day.