Hebrew · Midrash Rabbah (Hebrew, Torat Emet)
טוֹב מַרְאֵה עֵינַיִם מֵהֲלָךְ נָפֶשׁ, טוֹב מִי שֶׁהוּא מְבָאֵר מִשְׁנָתוֹ שֶׁשּׁוֹנֶה וְרָגִיל בְּהֶרְגֵּל לָשׁוֹן וְהוֹלֵךְ.
English · The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah (2022)
“Better is the sight of the eyes than the pursuit of the desire; this, too, is vanity and herding wind” (Ecclesiastes 6:9). “Better is the sight of the eyes than the pursuit of the desire” – better is one who explicates his learning than one who studies and gradually becomes accustomed to rote learning.