Chastisement

1. One who chastises must give his reproof by connecting his speech to its root, and then his admonishment will be accepted.

2. An apostate (Jew), do not admonish him, for it will be of no avail.

3. Through not accepting chastisement, one's home is destroyed.

4. One who chastises the world, without wisdom, through this he instigates, God forbid, great exile and pressure from the nations.

5. A person should never exclude himself from the collective (group of Jews).

6. Due to punishment [for a lack] of chastisement, G-d retracts from the good He had said (He would bring).

7. When you know that people will not accept chastisement, let them be.

8. One who is fearful of people to chastise them, in the end G-d breaks him in front of them.

9. Someone who is in a position to warn and does not warn, is also held accountable for the downfall (literally – blood) of his friend.

10. Through giving charity, one merits to receive Mussar (ethical criticism).

11. One who does not accept Mussar (ethical criticism) is sentenced to death.

12. Through the chastisement you give, you merit to rest in the grave without the pains of Hell, and you will merit to the Gan Eden (Heaven).

13. It is permitted to push away with both hands, one who did not accept chastisement from you.

14. As long as there is chastisement in the world, satisfaction, good, and blessing come to the world.

15. Through chastisement, judgments are sweetened, and kindness is drawn.

1. One who has not reached a high level of righteousness, and does not have ancestral merit, yet wants to draw people to the service of G-d, should guard himself from tests, especially that the wicked should not envy him.

2. One who draws close those who are far, to the service of the Blessed L-rd, the blessings are given over to his hands (i.e. he is empowered to grant blessings).

3. One who hears chastisement and does not accept it, should know that he will need to borrow from others. A sign for this is: "A slave will not be corrected by words" (Proverbs 29:19), and "A borrower is a slave to the one who lent him" (Proverbs 22:7).

4. No one is able to throw words into the mouth of his friend from a distance. Not until he brings his friend first into the aspect of "fetus".

5. With this, that people go out to greet an important man, the ten statements with which the world was created, are aroused. This is done also through drawing the far, close [to G-d].