Hi everyone, welcome to NachDaily covering the entire Tanach one perek at a time. Today we’re going to be discussing Mishlei, perek 7.
In this perek, Shlomo Hamelech again urges us to keep the mitzvos and follow wisdom by keeping the Torah, engraving its words on the “luach libecha - tablets of our hearts.”
As passuk 4 says, “Emor l’chochma achosi at, u’moda l’bina tikra - Say to wisdom, ‘You’re my sister,’ and call understanding a friend.”
The Metsudos explains that you should be as familiar with wisdom as you are with your sister, while the Ralbag adds that you should love wisdom.
Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch has an amazing insight on this: wisdom is considered like our sister because she is the daughter of our Father, Hashem. God gives us wisdom to help us as Moshe’s sister Miriam protected him by suggesting his mother, Yocheved, to take care of him. So too, Hashem sends us insights and wisdom to protect us throughout life.
What strikes me about this is that most people don't truly understand that Hashem sends these insights to help us navigate our way during our lives. The Sod Yesharim points out that in Parshas Lech L’cha, Avraham told Sorah to say “Emor na achosi at - Say you’re my sister,” a very similar wording to our passuk. Unlike a husband and wife, the bond of a sibling is something that can never be broken.
Therefore, the relationship we have with wisdom, which is called
“aschosi, my sister,” is an unbreakable fact of life. We are connected to the Source of Intelligence, Who sends us wisdom, insight and understanding to steer our way through this world.
The rest of the perek turns its attention to the seductive manner of a prostitute who tries to tempt a young man to sin. She scouts out who she wants, then goes out at night dressed inappropriately. She begins to speak more provocatively and attempts to seduce him.
In passuk 14 she says: “Zivchei sh’lamim a’lai hayom, shilamity n’darai - I pledged a peace offering today and fulfilled my vow.” In this way she entices the young man to come back to her home.
Rashi adds that the zona lures him by offering him part of the korban.
The Ramad Walli asks why anyone would believe such a woman. Did she actually bring a korban sh’lamim to the Beis Hamikdash? Can’t this man see what she is?
Both the Ramad Walli and the Gr’a essentially explain that the way the Yetzer Hara works is not by getting us to sin immediately. It cloaks its true intentions by making it appear as if there's a mitzva entailed. After all, this woman does have a special korban to eat. Then, slowly but surely, the Yetzer Harah uses sensual pleasures to draw us in until we find ourselves sinning.
Sometimes I wonder, with so many mitzvos to do, could this be the Yetzer Hara distracting us from what we’re really supposed to be accomplishing? You can run all day doing mitzvos but still miss the boat. Like Shlomo Hamelech, the Vilna Gaon is explaining that the Yetzer Harah can be mislabesh itself, clothe itself in the form of mitzvos to entrap us, to take us away from our own personal missions in this world by distracting us with another “mitzva.”
I hope that you enjoyed this class. I’m having a great time learning Mishlei with you.
Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.
