18 Adar 5783 – 11 Maart 2023
“…And in the heart of every wise man I have put wisdom” (Exodus 31:6).
We find a similar statement in Daniel 2:21, “He gives wisdom to the wise.”
There is an obvious problem here. If G-d gives wisdom only to those who are wise – how do they get their wisdom at all?
R’ Chaim Shmuelevitz suggested that what distinguishes the person to whom G-d will give wisdom is their desire and craving for wisdom. King Solomon was the wisest person who ever lived. When he was young, G-d came to him in a dream and offered to give him everything he would ask for. The only thing Solomon craved was wisdom (I Kings 3:5-12).
R’ Chaim of Volozhin offered a different approach. King David wrote: “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem.” (Psalm 111:10). (Actually, Solomon expressed the same thought in Proverbs 9:10).
By Rabbi Michael Skobac
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