Mei HaShiloach · Volume I, Writings, Proverbs, Chapter 11
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גומל נפשו איש חסד. היינו לגמול חסד ולעשות מה שטוב לגופו כמאמר הלל (ויקרא רבה פרשה ל"ד,ג') כשנכנס למרחץ ניזיל ונגמול חסד להדא עלובתא והוא מדת חסידות, אך כל זה הוא אחר שזיכך את עצמו שלא לטעום למר מתוק, ואז אם נמצא מונע טובה מגופו בהיות לאל ידו ע"ז נאמר (משלי י"א,י"ז) עוכר שארו אכזרי, אבל אם אינו מבורר עדיין בזה וחשקו לעדן גופו, ע"ז נאמר רשע עושה פעולות שקר, היינו לא די שאינו נקרא גומל חסד עם גופו, אלא אדרבה נהפוך הוא שמשחית את גופו בתפנוקי מעדניו, וזהו פעולות שקר וזהו שמרמז בזוה"ק (שמות ר.) תלת נקודין לאורייתא, היינו בכל דבר קטן וגדול ישקול האדם בפלס למצא במעשה הזה ג' דברים שיהיה טוב לגופו כמחז"ל (פסחים ס"ח:) מעיקרא כי עביד איניש לגרמיה הוא עביד, ושיהיה טוב וישר בדרכי ה', ושלא יצמח מזה שום ריעותא לאחרים, ואז כשיהיה לו חשבון הזה יכול לעשות המעשה, ויקרא גומל נפשו וכו'.
“A man of kindness is good to his soul, but the cruel troubles his own flesh.” (Mishlei, 11:17) This means to do acts of kindness and to do good things to his body. This is like the saying of Hillel (Vayikra Rabba, 34:3), “After Hillel had concluded his studies, he went walking, accompanied by his students. His students asked him, ‘where are you going?’ He said, ‘to do a mitzvah.’ ‘What mitzvah is that?’ they asked. ‘To go wash myself in the bathhouse,’ he answered. They asked how this was a mitzvah. He said, ‘look at the one who is appointed to wash and maintain the statues of kings they display in theaters and stadiums. The one who does this is not only paid, but is exalted in the company of the powerful. How much more so with me, created in the image of God. Furthermore, it is written, ‘the man of kindness is good to his soul.’” All this is after he has refined himself, so as not to taste the bitter (of wordly desire) as sweet. Then if he finds that it is in his power to be good to his body and he prevents it (see Mishlei, 3:27), on this it is said, “the cruel one troubles his own flesh.” However, if he is not yet refined and he finds that he desires to cause his body delight, on this it says, “evil ones do acts of falsehood” (Mishlei, 11:18). In other words, it is not enough that what he is doing is not called bestowing kindness on his body, but the opposite; he turns it around and destroys his body by spoiling it with delights. This is, “acts of falsehood.” This is hinted at in the holy Zohar, which says (Shemot, 200a), “there are three points to the Torah.” This means that with every action, great or small, one must weight it on a kind of spiritual scale to see that it fits three criteria. First of all, it must be good for his body. This is as our sages said (Pesachim, 68b), “at the outset, when someone does something, he does it for himself.” Furthermore it should be good and honest in the ways of God. Also it must not cause harm to anyone else. After he sees that the action fits these three categories, he can do it, and it is called “a man of kindness is good to his soul.”
גומל נפשו איש חסד. היינו לגמול חסד ולעשות מה שטוב לגופו כמאמר הלל (ויקרא רבה פרשה ל"ד,ג') כשנכנס למרחץ ניזיל ונגמול חסד להדא עלובתא והוא מדת חסידות, אך כל זה הוא אחר שזיכך את עצמו שלא לטעום למר מתוק, ואז אם נמצא מונע טובה מגופו בהיות לאל ידו ע"ז נאמר (משלי י"א,י"ז) עוכר שארו אכזרי, אבל אם אינו מבורר עדיין בזה וחשקו לעדן גופו, ע"ז נאמר רשע עושה פעולות שקר, היינו לא די שאינו נקרא גומל חסד עם גופו, אלא אדרבה נהפוך הוא שמשחית את גופו בתפנוקי מעדניו, וזהו פעולות שקר וזהו שמרמז בזוה"ק (שמות ר.) תלת נקודין לאורייתא, היינו בכל דבר קטן וגדול ישקול האדם בפלס למצא במעשה הזה ג' דברים שיהיה טוב לגופו כמחז"ל (פסחים ס"ח:) מעיקרא כי עביד איניש לגרמיה הוא עביד, ושיהיה טוב וישר בדרכי ה', ושלא יצמח מזה שום ריעותא לאחרים, ואז כשיהיה לו חשבון הזה יכול לעשות המעשה, ויקרא גומל נפשו וכו'.
“A man of kindness is good to his soul, but the cruel troubles his own flesh.” (Mishlei, 11:17)
This means to do acts of kindness and to do good things to his body. This is like the saying of Hillel (Vayikra Rabba, 34:3), “After Hillel had concluded his studies, he went walking, accompanied by his students. His students asked him, ‘where are you going?’ He said, ‘to do a mitzvah.’ ‘What mitzvah is that?’ they asked. ‘To go wash myself in the bathhouse,’ he answered. They asked how this was a mitzvah. He said, ‘look at the one who is appointed to wash and maintain the statues of kings they display in theaters and stadiums. The one who does this is not only paid, but is exalted in the company of the powerful. How much more so with me, created in the image of God. Furthermore, it is written, ‘the man of kindness is good to his soul.’” All this is after he has refined himself, so as not to taste the bitter (of wordly desire) as sweet. Then if he finds that it is in his power to be good to his body and he prevents it (see Mishlei, 3:27), on this it is said, “the cruel one troubles his own flesh.” However, if he is not yet refined and he finds that he desires to cause his body delight, on this it says, “evil ones do acts of falsehood” (Mishlei, 11:18). In other words, it is not enough that what he is doing is not called bestowing kindness on his body, but the opposite; he turns it around and destroys his body by spoiling it with delights. This is, “acts of falsehood.” This is hinted at in the holy Zohar, which says (Shemot, 200a), “there are three points to the Torah.” This means that with every action, great or small, one must weight it on a kind of spiritual scale to see that it fits three criteria. First of all, it must be good for his body. This is as our sages said (Pesachim, 68b), “at the outset, when someone does something, he does it for himself.” Furthermore it should be good and honest in the ways of God. Also it must not cause harm to anyone else. After he sees that the action fits these three categories, he can do it, and it is called “a man of kindness is good to his soul.”