DEUT1560 Anger is an evil trait. Just as scurvy is a disease of the body, so anger is a disease of the soul. Our Sages have said (Nedarim 22a): "If one gets angry, all the varieties of Gehinnom rule over him, as it is written (Koheles 11:10): 'Remove anger from your heart, and remove evil from your flesh,' and evil is nothing other than Gehinnom, as it is written (Mishlei 16:4): 'Hashem made everything for His own sake, and even the wicked man for the day of evil.' What is more, he is affected by piles, as it is written [this verse]: 'And Hashem will give you there an angry heart and failing eyes and despondency of soul.' What is it that causes the eyes to fail and the soul to despond – piles." Our Sages have further said (Nedarim 22b): "If one gets angry, even the Shechinah is of no account to him as it is written (Tehillim 10:4): 'The wicked man, when his anger grows, [says that] He will not inquire [after My deeds]. All his thoughts are that there is no God.' And he also forgets his learning and growth in folly, as it is written (Koheles 7:9): 'For anger resides in the breast of fools,' and (Mishlei 13:16): 'And the fool will spread out folly.' And it is known that his sins are more than his merits, as it is written (ibid 29:22): 'And the man of anger is abundant in sin.'" And his punishment is very great, as it is written (ibid. 19:19): "He who waxes in anger bears his punishment."

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DEUT1561 R. Yonathan said: One who is quick to anger is prey to piles [hemorrhoids], as it is written: "And the Lord shall give you there a trembling heart [i.e., "trembling" with anger], and failing of eyes, and despair of soul." What is it that causes failing of eyes and despair of soul? Piles (Nedarim 22a)

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DEUT1562 R. Chanan said: "And your life shall be hanging in the balance before you" -- This refers to one who buys grain from year to year [Having no land of his own, he can never be certain of next year's bread]; "and you will fear night and day" -- This refers to one who buys grain from one Sabbath eve to another; -- "and you will not trust in your life" -- This refers to one who depends upon a baker [for his daily bread] (Menachoth 103b)

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DEUT1563 Moses our teacher intimated to Israel after forty years that they were deficient in gratitude, it being written: "and I led you forty years," and: "And the Lord did not give you a heart to know." Rava said: From here it is derived that a disciple cannot properly fathom his master's intent until the passage of forty years (Avodah Zarah 5b)

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DEUT1564 See [[DEUT406]] Deuteronomy 9:7 angered TZADIK 501-3

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DEUT1565 See [[DEUT1566]] Deuteronomy 29:4 forty SINAI3 229

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DEUT1566 [Judah b. Tema] used to say: … the man of forty [has attained] understanding; Pirkei Avot, Perek V, mishnah 24. Just as thirty finds a man at the peak of his strength, so forty finds him at the height of his powers of understanding. At the end of the Israelite wanderings, when those who left Egypt had died out, Moses told the next generation, born after the exodus, "I have led you forty years in the wilderness…" and just before this, Moses told them, "the Lord has not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this day." It took them forty years to realize the full significance of their extraordinary experience. "From this you can learn," said Rabbah, "that a man does not fully plumb the thinking of his master teacher until he is forty" (Deuteronomy 29:4,3. T.B. Abodah Zarah 5b (in place of Rabbah, M'iri and En Ya'akov have Rava). For at this age, R. Bahya observes, the physical state is definitely on the decline; and as physical ability wanes, mental powers grow stronger and clearer. The focus can be sharper, the vision brighter, to grasp wider. Experience adds perspective and depth to mature understanding.

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DEUT1567 R. Elazar said: If one teaches his neighbor's son Torah, it is as if he would have "made" words of Torah, as it is written: "And you shall heed the words of this covenant, [perpetuating them by teaching them to others], and you shall make them." Rava said: It is as if he would make himself, it being written: "And you shall make otham": Read it not "otham" ["them"], but "atem" ["you"] (Sanhedrin 99b)

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DEUT1568 R. Yehoshua b. Levi said: If one occupies himself with Torah study, his possessions prosper, as it is written: "And you shall heed the words of this covenant, and you shall do them, so that you succeed in all that you do" (Avodah Zarah 19b)

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DEUT1569 Unity gives strength. The Midrash comments on this verse, "When are the Jewish people standing? When they are together ("all of you"). Even a young child can break a single reed. But a bunch of reeds together is strong and cannot be broken. The Midrash continues: The Jewish people will not be redeemed until they are a unified group." (Yalkut Shimoni)

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