שאינו נוקם ונוטר כנחש — אינו תלמיד חכם. והכתיב: ״לא תקום ולא תטור״? ההוא, בממון הוא דכתיב, דתניא: איזו היא נקימה ואיזו היא נטירה? נקימה — אמר לו: השאילני מגלך, אמר לו: לאו. למחר אמר לו הוא: השאילני קרדומך, אמר לו: איני משאילך, כדרך שלא השאלתני — זו היא נקימה.
who does not avenge himself and bear a grudge like a snake when insulted is not considered a Torah scholar at all, as it is important to uphold the honor of Torah and its students by reacting harshly to insults. The Talmud asks: But isn’t it written explicitly in the Torah: “You should not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people” (Leviticus 19:18)? The Talmud responds: That prohibition is written with regard to monetary matters and not personal insults, as it was taught in a baraita: What is revenge and what is bearing a grudge? Revenge is illustrated by the following example: One said to his fellow: Lend me your sickle, and he said: No. The next day he, the one who had refused to lend the sickle, said to the other person: Lend me your ax. If he said to him: I will not lend to you, just as you did not lend to me, that is revenge.