“The deceitful man does not roast that which he has taken from the hunt, but only what has been attained by perseverance is precious to man.” (Mishlei, 12:27) This means, at the time when a deceitful man is about to cheat his fellow, his conscience does not burn and he does not prevent himself from cheating him. That is to say, he doesn’t understand that his fellow is in the right, rather he has convinced himself that he is right about everything, and does not give any merit to his fellow. Therefore he does not realize that it is his intention to cheat him. “Only what has been attained by perseverance is precious to man,” this means something valuable to a precious man is deficient in his eyes. This is because the word for perseverance, or diligent work, charutz in Hebrew, is related to the word chareetz or crack, meaning that the wealth is somehow “cracked” or deficient, even though it has been achieved in an honest way. Then when he emerges from the trial victorious over his fellow, it still does not sit well with him, and he constantly wonders that he is still somehow incomplete and perhaps harbors deceit within him.
לֹא יַחֲרֹךְ רְמִיָּה צֵידוֹ. הַיְינוּ בְּעֵת שֶׁהָרַמַּאי מְרַמֶּה אֶת חֲבֵירוֹ אֵין לוֹ שׁוּם חֲרִיכָה וְעִיכּוּב מִלְּרַמּוֹת אוֹתוֹ, הַיְינוּ שֶׁיָּבִין שֶׁהַצֶּדֶק עִם חֲבֵירוֹ, וְרַק יִדְמֶה לוֹ שֶׁהַצֶּדֶק אִתּוֹ בַּכֹּל וְאֵינוֹ נוֹתֵן שׁוּם זְכוּת לַחֲבֵירוֹ, וְלָכֵן אֵינוֹ מַכִּיר בְּעַצְמוֹ שֶׁרְצוֹנוֹ לְרַמּוֹת אוֹתוֹ. "וְהוֹן אָדָם יָקָר חָרוּץ", הַיְינוּ הַהוֹן שֶׁל אָדָם יָקָר, הוּא פָּגוּם בְּעֵינָיו כִּי חָרוּץ הוּא מִלְּשׁוֹן חָרִיץ, הַיְינוּ שֶׁהוּא פָּגוּם בְּעֵינָיו אַף שֶׁהוֹנוֹ הוּא בְּכַשְׁרוּת וְאַף כְּשֶׁיָּדִין עִם חֲבֵירוֹ יֵצֵא מִבֵּית דִּין זַכַּאי, אַף עַל פִּי כֵן אֵינוֹ בְּנַיְיחָא מִצַּד עַצְמוֹ וְחוֹשֵׁשׁ תָּמִיד שֶׁלֹּא בָּא עֲדַיִן לִשְׁלֵמוּת וּפֶן נִמְצָא בּוֹ רְמִיָּה.
“The deceitful man does not roast that which he has taken from the hunt, but only what has been attained by perseverance is precious to man.” (Mishlei, 12:27)
This means, at the time when a deceitful man is about to cheat his fellow, his conscience does not burn and he does not prevent himself from cheating him. That is to say, he doesn’t understand that his fellow is in the right, rather he has convinced himself that he is right about everything, and does not give any merit to his fellow. Therefore he does not realize that it is his intention to cheat him. “Only what has been attained by perseverance is precious to man,” this means something valuable to a precious man is deficient in his eyes. This is because the word for perseverance, or diligent work, charutz in Hebrew, is related to the word chareetz or crack, meaning that the wealth is somehow “cracked” or deficient, even though it has been achieved in an honest way. Then when he emerges from the trial victorious over his fellow, it still does not sit well with him, and he constantly wonders that he is still somehow incomplete and perhaps harbors deceit within him.