Halakhah for Moed Katan 9:9
אמר רב אשי מתניתין נמי דיקא דקתני עושין כל צורכי רבים כל לאתויי מאי לאו לאתויי חפירה
Explain it thus: 'Wells, [dit caverns] of a private person [may be cleaned out]' - providing he has need of them, 'and needless to say those of the public' - when the public has need of them, as then, even digging is allowed.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In agreement with R. Johanan's ruling.');"><sup>7</sup></span> 'But wells, ditches or caverns of the public are not to be dug' - when the public has no need of them, 'still less, those of a private person', as when a private person has no need of them, even cleaning out is not allowed.
Sefer HaChinukh
Its laws are also short. Its content is generally that a man choose for himself in all of his matters and in all of his actions - whether in eating, drinking, [commerce], words of Torah, prayer, conversation or in any other thing - the good and moderate path; and never to remove himself to the extremes. And about this general principal, they, may their memory be blessed, said (Sotah 5b) that a man always examine his dispositions - meaning to say that he think about his affairs, to do them in the moderate and good path. And they based this upon a verse, as it is written (Psalms 50:23), "and to him who orders his way, I will show him the salvation of God" - they expounded (Moed Katan 5a), 'Do not read it [as] "and orders (vesam)," but rather "and evaluates (vesham)."'
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