Sefer HaMiddot, Conflict and Strife, Part I/ספר המדות·מריבה·חלק ראשון

1Victory in battle cannot be achieved when an oath has been broken.

2When anyone persecutes a fellow Jew, God brings evil upon him so that he forgets that other person and stops persecuting him.

3By reciting the Hallel prayer, the Holy One will save you from your enemies.

4The respect a person shows for the Torah saves him from his enemies.

5Praying to God is a necessary preparation for battle.

6Any time a person falls from faith, the opposition he brings upon himself comes from an individual of importance and wealth.

7A person who prays for help against his enemies should do so in the morning hours.

8Repeatedly gazing heavenward will nullify your enemies’ hatred.

9When a person forgets the poor, he cannot be victorious.

10You should know that when a wicked person persecutes a pauper, it is because of the pauper’s pride.

11God ignores a contentious person and hides His face from him.

12When a person suffers misfortune, his enemies are exalted.

13A contentious person experiences forgetfulness.

14A person invites conflict when he has the opportunity to perform some mitzvah, but lets it pass unfulfilled.

15One who quarrels with the Tzaddikim clearly has entertained evil thoughts.

16There are times when it is one’s location that causes him to encounter conflict and strife.

17Whoever has enemies should humble himself, and this will cause God to save him.

18A person with enemies can rid himself of them by seeking every way possible to show them affection.

19When a person does not seek revenge against his enemies, but instead focuses on rejoicing in God, the Holy One gives him the strength to avenge their wickedness.

20Immoral people tend to be in conflict with the Tzaddikim.

21A person’s humility causes him not to fear in battle, as if he was sitting inside a fortress.

22A contentious person will be afflicted with incurable diseases.

23When litigants turn to a gentile magistrate to adjudicate their dispute, the Holy One afflicts them with an incurable disease.

24There are times when the Holy One hardens the hearts of the wicked against the Tzaddikim so that the wicked suffer a downfall.

25Whoever honors an elderly sage is saved from war.

26Whoever tells God of his strife merits seeing his revenge exacted against his enemies.

27Conflict and quarrel bring poverty.

28A person who quarrels with his fellow Jews will in the end be an object of scorn for his enemies.

29One who hears himself shamed and remains silent is considered righteous, and the Holy One will protect his soul.

30When a person prays with such great fervor that it can be detected on his face, his enemies are defeated and set ablaze.

31A person who has been good and upright from his youth wins the hearts of many. They will lend him their support in any quarrel or conflict against him.

32Whoever leads a fellow Jew astray and prevents him from following the path of good will not be able to overcome his enemies in battle.

33By confessing your sins, the evil plans of your enemies will be nullified.

34A quarrelsome person clearly favors sin.

35A person who is sparing with his words cannot be overcome by anyone.

36Those who quarrel with the righteous and want to prevent them from serving God will suffer defeat and be repugnant to themselves.

37To be victorious in battle, recite Psalm 6, “upon the sheminit-instrument.”

38When a person visits the sick, God does not hand him over to his enemies.

39Whoever has enemies should spend his entire day reciting prayers and entreaties, without stopping. As a result, God will save him, and his enemies will be disgraced.

40A person who is persecuted is rewarded with children and grandchildren.

41A person with enemies should ask numerous people to pray for God to show him mercy. This will bring him peace from his enemies.

42When you have enemies below, clearly you also have enemies on high.

43The study of Torah turns away one’s enemies.

44By trusting in God, your enemies will not be able to harm you.

45By being humble, your enemies will fall into the trap that they set for you.

46When a person prays all day, disgrace will come to his enemies.

47Whoever brings harm to an enemy of a Tzaddik merits always being victorious.

48When people talk against you, study Aggadah nightly.

49Two Tzaddikim cannot live harmoniously in the same city unless they both possess truth.

50When a person trusts in God, his enemies will never rejoice in his suffering.

51When one never embarrasses a fellow Jew, his enemies will never rejoice [in victory] over him.

52The hatred of many enemies is clearly unjustified, since it is impossible for all of them to be avenged.

53When a person has enemies and then one of his friends and confidants also turns against him, it is a sign that those opposing him will fail and suffer defeat.

54Whoever has faith has no fear of enemies.

55Crying out in prayer prevents one’s enemies from rejoicing [in victory] over him.

56A person with enemies who is uncertain whether he will fall into their hands should look inward. If he has fallen from his level of serving God, he can be certain that he is destined for defeat.

57To guard against conflict, study the tractate Sukkah.

58When the wicked come together, quarrel ensues.

59When you are depressed, even your loved ones turn against you.

60Strife is not found in a person’s home until the food runs out.

61There are times when God will side with a group of Tzaddikim in their dispute against a single Tzaddik. Even if the truth is with the lone Tzaddik, the Tzaddikim draw God’s favor to them.

62[Charging usury for lending money to a fellow Jew is considered wicked.] The borrower may then call him wicked, and is permitted to cut into his means of income, diminishing it by up to a third.

63A person would rather die than have no friends and loved ones.

64All things are created male and female, even kings. There are kings who embody the male aspect, and kings who embody the female aspect. They Holy One distances one from the other so that they do not [come together and] destroy the world.

65Do not honor a contentious person, even if he is an accomplished Torah scholar.

66Satan is found wherever there is conflict and dispute.

67A person who fulfills the obligation to recite Shema Yisrael morning and evening will not be handed over to his enemies.

68When a person studies Torah and performs acts of kindness, his enemies suffer defeat at his hands.

69The persecution that a person suffers transforms him into a fitting sacrifice for God.

70Always side with the oppressed and help them.

71The world exists only in the merit of a person who seals his mouth in a time of dispute.

72When a person forgets a single detail of his studies, opposition rises up against him.

73Quarreling with a Tzaddik leads to an outbreak of war.

74When people talk against a person, the evil inclination is able to overpower him. He must ask for God’s compassion regarding this.

75A person who is difficult to appease is from the Feminine World.

76When confronted by conflict, you should arrive early to the study hall and stay late in order to study Torah. If this is not possible, then through prayer you can bring judgment upon your oppressors and God will see to their downfall. You must never hand them over to a government official.

77When a person has the right to take revenge against a fellow Jew but instead remains silent, the Holy One makes certain that he sees justice.

78Don’t argue with someone stronger than yourself, even if he forces you to do something improper. If, however, that person is afraid of a government official, report him to that official rather than doing that which is improper.

79Slander causes a person to fall in battle.

80Whoever refrains from speaking slander will be victorious.

81Studying Torah and then stopping causes one’s enemies to persecute him.

82When one’s wife experiences a show of blood outside her menstrual period, clearly some animosity has been aroused against him.

83Wherever possible, the Tzaddik should use money rather than his righteousness as a means for overcoming his enemies.

84All participants in a quarrel have in them sparks from the souls of Datan and Aviram, [the two men who repeatedly sought to foment strife against Moses].

85When two Tzaddikim are at odds over an issue concerning the good of the Jewish people, you should know that there are two corresponding angels in heaven that also dispute the matter. It takes God Himself to arbitrate between them.

86Whoever hears himself shamed and remains silent eliminates many of the evils that were meant for him.

87God consistently sides with the majority opinion. But if the majority is comprised of wicked individuals, His opinion does not follow theirs.

88We do not seek merit in one who turns others astray.

89When two people disagree, each is often supported by others who side with his point of view. Should there then be a decree in heaven that one of those involved in the dispute must die, the judgment begins with the least of them and not with one of the original disputants.

90There are times when being handed over to one’s enemies saves a person from a decree that would have destroyed all his offspring.

91When one person causes another to distance himself from serving God, his offspring will suffer at the hands of the other’s descendants.

92When a person is in a position to protest against the actions of the wicked but does not, it is as if he himself was guilty of their evil deeds.

93Whoever takes part in a quarrel transgresses a prohibitive commandment of the Torah and deserves to be punished with leprosy.

94Whoever disputes the royal lineage of the house of David deserves to be bitten by a snake.

95Torah study enables one to remain firm in combat.

96A person should take courage against his enemies and use cunning in battling them. God will then do as He sees fit.

97A segulah when encountering conflict is to recite the verse: “And Asa cried out to God, his Lord, and said ‘It is nothing for You to help, whether the many or those who have no power. O God, our Lord, help us for we rely on You and in Your Name we go against the multitude’” (2 Chronicles 14:10).

98A person who does not trust in his God invites battles and conflicts.

99Studying Torah instills fear into the nations so that they refrain from waging war against the Jews.

100When encountering conflict, recite the words of Yehoshafat, “And he said, ‘God, Lord of my fathers...for our eyes are turned to You’” (2 Chronicles 20:6-12).

101In a time of war one must prepare arms, as is common practice, and not rely on a miracle. The Holy One will then do as He pleases.

102When a person chooses a fixed place for prayer, he defeats his enemies.

103Never pray that a person die, even an apostate. It is better that he be killed by the hand of man than through Heaven’s intervention.

104Never provoke a wicked person, especially one upon whom fortune smiles.

105It is permitted to disavow the truth and even dispute it in order to keep the world from being led astray by a wicked person.

106Unwarranted hatred brings great strife and conflict into a person’s home.

107The postponement, distortion or corruption of justice bring to destruction and much pillaging, as does neglecting the study of Torah.

108When a woman at the end of her menstruation period passes in between two men, it causes them to quarrel.

109Pacifying one’s persecutor arouses harsh judgment against him.

110Giving one’s enemies food to eat causes them to be sentenced to punishment by fire.