Hi everyone, Welcome to NachDaily, covering the entire Tanach
one perek at time. In today's class we’ll be discussing Mishlei, Perek 8, containing 35 pessukim.
The opening words of “Halo chochma sikra, u’s’vuna titen kolah - Wisdom calls out and understanding raises her voice,” can be seen as a continuation of the previous perek. The Vilna Gaon explains that this is to contrast man's negative and positive traits. The previous perek spoke about a “woman” who tries to lure people to sin, which can be understood as the lower, darker side of the human experience. In this chapter, the “woman” raises her voice with chochma – speaking of the more positive aspects of those who work on themselves and the brighter side of the human experience.
Wisdom invites everyone to learn from her honest ways. The perek continues to talk about the virtue of wisdom, assuring us that knowledge is better than gold.
Shlomo reiterates that true counsel, wisdom, understanding, and strength are all creations of Hashem. Once we divorce these ideas from their Divine source, they no longer become a means by which to elevate ourselves. They become man-made ideas, not true intelligence which is rooted in the Divine.
Passuk 19 says, “Tov piryee meycharutz, u’mipaz, u’s’vuasi mikesef nivchar - My fruit is better than gold or fine gold, and my produce is better than choice silver.”
The Metsudos explains that My fruits are better than gold refers to the reward for learning Torah, which is certainly more valuable than gold.
We often wonder why honest, sincere, and righteous people don't receive their reward here, but must wait to receive it in the next world. The Vilna Goan explains this with the following parable: A traveler once came to a land where gold was cheaper than iron. He traded iron for gold, scrimping on his personal needs to buy as much as possible. After some time, he returned home. Despite the hardship that he had endured while living away, he was now very wealthy due to all of the gold that he had saved.
So too, people who serve Hashem with sincerity and pure intentions understand the value of obtaining the true fruits of their labor in the World to Come. The pleasure that they receive in Olam Haba will be pure bliss in comparison to the earthly pleasures of this world.
Shlomo Hamelech describes how wisdom predated the creation of earth and all of the worlds before God created them.
Wisdon is quoted in passuk 23: “Me’olam nisachti merosh mikadmey aretz - In the distant past I was chosen, I was the first who preceded the earth.”
This and several following pessukim are amazing, informing us that wisdom came before everything.
Although we don’t always realize it, logic itself is a form of wisdom, and is sourced in the Divine. Our ability to possess logic and reason is straight from Hashem. Our experience of life is not random, as Hashem actually created spiritual and psychological principles that are immutable laws which create the human experience.
Shlomo Hamelech goes into great length about this. It’s important to understand that wisdom preceded the earth because it is imprinted into the very fiber of the world and into all of us as God's creations.
The perek ends by relating that a person who seeks wisdom will find favor in God’s eyes, as opposed to one who sins, harming his own soul.
In the next episode of NachDaily we’ll be moving on to Perek 9.
Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.
