Nedarim 22B

לא עברינן ירדנא.

we had not yet crossed the Jordan River, and we were still outside of Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, the curse of a heart of anger was relevant.

אמר רבה בר רב הונא: כל הכועס, אפילו שכינה אינה חשובה כנגדו, שנאמר: ״רשע כגבה אפו בל ידרש אין אלהים כל מזמותיו״. רבי ירמיה מדיפתי אמר: משכח תלמודו ומוסיף טיפשות, שנאמר: ״כי כעס בחיק כסילים ינוח״, וכתיב: ״וכסיל יפרש אולת״. רב נחמן בר יצחק אמר: בידוע שעונותיו מרובין מזכיותיו, שנאמר: ״ובעל חמה רב פשע״.

Rabba bar Rav Huna said: Anyone who gets angry, at that moment even the Shekhina is not important to him, as it is stated: “The wicked, in the height of his anger says: He will not require; all his thoughts are: There is no God” (Psalms 10:4). R' Yirmeya of Difti said: Anyone who gets angry forgets his learning and increases foolishness, as it is stated: “For anger rests in the bosom of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:9), and it is written: “But a fool unfolds folly” (Proverbs 13:16). Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: With regard to one who gets angry, it is acknowledged that his sins are more numerous than his merits, as it is stated: “And a wrathful man abounds in transgression” (Proverbs 29:22).

אמר רב אדא ברבי חנינא: אלמלא (לא) חטאו ישראל לא ניתן להם אלא חמשה חומשי תורה וספר יהושע בלבד, שערכה של ארץ ישראל הוא. מאי טעמא: ״כי ברב חכמה רב כעס״.

Rav Adda, son of R' Ḥanina, said: Had Israel not sinned in earlier times they would have been given the 5 books of the Torah and the book of Joshua alone. They needed the book of Joshua because it includes the arrangement of Eretz Yisrael. Since it contains the division of Eretz Yisrael among the tribes, it was required for all generations, but the other books of the prophets primarily detail the history of how Israel angered God and He sent prophets to admonish them. What is the reason, i.e., what is the allusion to this idea? It is stated: “For in much wisdom is much vexation” (Ecclesiastes 1:18). All the wisdom that the Jews possess from the books of the Bible is the result of their angering God.