And Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ attendant from his youth, spoke up and said, “My lord Moses, restrain them!”
כלאם — (This is taken as the equivalent of כַּלֵּם, “destroy them”, “make an end of them”; cf. Rashi on Exodus 17:9) — He meant: cast upon them the responsibility for public affairs and they will of themselves soon come to an end (through the worry and anxiety this entails). — Another explanation is: that the word means put them into prison (כלא). He said this because they were prophesying, “Moses will die and Joshua will bring Israel into the Land” (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 96; Sanhedrin 17a).
For many are those she has struck dead,And numerous are her victims.
Rabbi Abba says that Rav Huna says that Rav says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “For she has cast down [hippila] many wounded and a mighty host are all her slain” (Proverbs 7:26)? This is referring to a student who has not yet reached the level where he can render legal decisions, but nevertheless he already issues decisions. He is like a fetus that emerged from the womb before its time, as the word hippila also means to miscarry. “And a mighty host are all her slain”; this is referring to a student who has reached the level where he can render legal decisions, referred to here as “a mighty host,” but he does not issue decisions, and by refraining from teaching what he knows prevents the masses from learning Torah properly.
Rabbi Abba says: This is a student who has not yet attained the ability to issue halakhic rulings, and yet he issues rulings and is therefore compared to a prematurely born child. This is as Rabbi Abbahu says that Rav Huna says that Rav says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “For she has cast down many wounded; and a mighty host are all her slain” (Proverbs 7:26)? “For she has cast down [hippila] many wounded”; this is referring to a Torah scholar who has not yet attained the ability to issue rulings, and yet he issues rulings. “And a mighty host [ve’atzumim] are all her slain”; this is referring to a Torah scholar who has attained the ability to issue rulings, but does not issue rulings and prevents the masses from learning Torah properly.
Any student who is not worthy of rendering halachic judgments and does so is foolish, wicked, and arrogant. [Proverbs 7:26:] "She has cast down many corpses" applies to him.
[Conversely,] a sage who is worthy of rendering halachic judgments and refrains from doing so holds back [the spread of] Torah and places stumbling blocks before the blind. "How prodigious are those she slew" [ibid.] applies to him.
These underdeveloped students who have not gathered much Torah knowledge, seek to gain prestige in the eyes of the common people and the inhabitants of their city [by] jumping to sit at the head of all questions of law and halachic judgments in Israel. They spread division, destroy the world, extinguish the light of Torah, and wreak havoc in the vineyard of the God of Hosts. In his wisdom, Solomon alluded to them [as follows, (Song of Songs 2:15)]: "Take for us foxes, little foxes that spoil the vineyards, [our vineyards are blooming.]"
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This is implied in the words, “Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity” (Is. 5, 18). The word for “iniquity”, ‘Avon, being of the masculine gender, designates the Demon. In the next part of the verse, “and sin, as it were, with a cart rope”, the word for “sin”, hattaah, being of the feminine gender, signifies the female, the Harlot who rushes to execute slaughter on the sons of men. Concerning her we also read, “For she hath caused to fall many deadly wounded” (Prov. 7, 26), namely, that hattaah (sin) who slays the sons of men. And the ultimate cause is the unripe scholar who is not qualified to teach and yet does so. May God save us from him!’