Do Not Be Like the Horse That Repays Neither Good Nor Evil

Rabbi Yudah in the name of Rabbi Aibu opened: "Do not be like the horse or the mule, without understanding" (Psalms 32:9). Six things are said of the horse: it eats much and produces little; it loves harlotry; it loves war; it spurns sleep; and its spirit is haughty. And some say: it even kills its master in war. "Do not be like the horse or the mule" (Psalms 32:9) — this horse, you bridle it and it resists, you rub it down and it resists, you adorn it and it resists, you feed it barley and it resists, you draw near to it and it resists. You, do not be so. Rather, be careful to repay good to the good one and to repay evil to the evil one. To repay good to the good one: "You shall not abhor an Edomite" (Deuteronomy 23:8). To repay evil to the evil one: "Remember what Amalek did to you" (Deuteronomy 25:17).