Commentary for Proverbs 1:34

The proverbs of All his words are illustrations and allegories. He compared the Torah to a good woman, and he compared idolatry to a harlot.

Proverbs: In every thing there is substance, form, actor and purpose. Correspondingly, the verse says that the substance of the book is proverbs, which means a grouping of parables; for in order to teach unknown, obscure and profound things, [the author] will create a proverb based on known things. In this way, the hidden, unknown analogue may be glimpsed through the clothing of the parable.
The actor is Solomon, son of David, who is given three descriptions. For the truths become known:
1. Through wisdom or prophecy, and to convey this it calls him Solomon, who was wise and upon whom the spirit of God rested;
2. Through tradition, and to convey this it calls him "son of David," who had a tradition from his forefathers;
3. Through discernment and experience, which is perfected by being in the company of many sages, and to convey this it calls him "king of Israel." Since he was king over "this wise and understanding nation," all the sages gathered with him and he had the ability to examine all topics, as it says, "All this I have tried with wisdom."

To know wisdom and discipline He stated these proverbs to make known to the people [wisdom and discipline], that they toil in the Torah, which is wisdom, discipline and understanding.

righteousness, justice, and equity “Righteousness” denotes charity from his money; “justice” means to judge honestly, and “equity” denotes compromise—the smooth and straight road, equal to this one and to that one.

To give prudence to the simple Koheleth stated these proverbs so that the simple should gain prudence. knowledge...to the youth And also to the youth, who is devoid of all [knowledge], who has not yet learned anything.

and discretion Thoughts of counsel.

Let the wise man hear these proverbs.

and increase to his wisdom.

learning Heb. לקח, learning.

the wise man This is the one who has heard wisdom.

The understanding man who has knowledge superior to the knowledge of the wise man, for he knows how to derive one idea from another, and he adds to what he [has] heard.

to understand an allegory and a figure That they should direct their attention to understand the verses through two methods: the allegory and the figure. They should understand what he compares to the figure, but they should not neglect the figure itself, for that, too, requires understanding. When he states, “To save you from a strange woman and a foreign one” (2:16), idolatry is meant; this is the allegory, and also the figure—for he expressed his allegory in terms of a woman—should be understood by it, [meaning that] you shall beware of a strange woman (other editions: a harlot).

the words of the wise and their riddles Those who interpret the Torah metaphorically, full verses and elliptical ones, allusions, comparisons and riddles.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge Until here, he explained for what purpose Solomon composed this book, and now the book commences.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge This is the separation of the fundamentals of knowledge, and what shall be for you first, preceding knowledge: Before your wisdom, first fear your Creator, and that will give your heart the desire to engage in wisdom and in knowledge, for the fools, who do not fear the Lord, despise wisdom and discipline.

Hearken, my son, to the discipline of your father What the Holy One, blessed be He, gave Moses in writing and orally.

your mother Heb. אמך [like אמתך], your nation, the nation of Israel, as in (Ezek. 19:2): “What a lioness was your mother [meaning your nation]!” These are the words of the Scribes, which they innovated and added and made safeguards for the Torah.

a wreath of grace They are a wreath of grace for your head; i.e., the instruction and the discipline will be a wreath of grace for your head, and they shall be like the rings of a golden ornament.

for your neck Heb. לגרגרתיך. Since the trachea is composed of many rings, he refers to the neck in the plural form.

sinners Heb. חטאים, sinners.

do not consent Heb. אל תבא, do not consent to them.

let us lie in wait for blood to shed blood.

let us hide Heb. נצפנה, an expression of ambush.

let us hide for the innocent, without cause Scripture states that their hiding for the innocent is without cause.

let us swallow them up The innocent when they are alive.

like the grave which swallows up the entire body.

and the whole ones Heb. ותמימים. This is not an expression of righteous men, but an expression of whole ones. Let us swallow them up when they are whole, like a man who descends into a pit when he is whole; i.e., when they are still wealthy, let us slay them and inherit their property.

Cast your lot among us If you wish, you may share; if you wish, it will be common property.

we will all have one purse together.

run to evil They run to their own harm, and they do not know to pay heed to the matter.

For the net is scattered without cause For the fowl that see wheat and legumes spread out upon the net—it appears to them that it is without cause; they do not realize for what reason they are spread, and they go down into it and eat.

but they lie in wait for their blood But the hunters lie in wait for the blood of the birds.

So are the ways of everyone who commits robbery Heb. בצע בצע, who commits robbery. It is beautiful and precious to him, and it is free to him. But his end will be that... it will take away the life of its owner His own life, for he has now become the owner of the money that he stole from his neighbor.

Wisdoms shout in the street Behold, the wisdoms of the Torah cry out in her streets to admonish [the people] to turn to them [the streets]. Now what are her streets? The study halls.

in the squares Heb. ברחבות, in the place where it is broadened [in the place where Torah is studied intensively and elaborated upon]. In this manner, Rabbi Tanhuma expounded [upon this verse].

She calls at the head of the noisy streets In the place where she is heard and called [and proclaimed Vilna, Warsaw ed.] there she calls out and makes the following statement. “How long will you naive ones, etc?”

at the entrances of the gates They are the place where the elders sit.

you naive ones Heb. פתים. Those who are enticed by enticers and sectarians.

naivete Heb. פתי, enticement, the noun for simplicity; like כלי, a vessel, קרי, a happening, שפי, silence.

I stretched out my hand to beckon to you to turn to me, like a man who beckons to his friend with his hand, stretching out his hand to him to turn to him.

and you have made nothing Heb. ותפרעו, and you nullified.

all my advice that I advised, in order to aggrandize you in the world.

when your fear comes like a storm Like a cloud that comes up suddenly.

like a whirlwind Tourbillon in Old French, in German wirbelwind (Cf. Rashi, Jer. 4:13, Ps. 83:16).

comes Heb. יאתה, it comes.

they shall seek me Heb. ישחרנני, they shall look for me.

of the fruit of their way The fruit of the troubles that befall them they eat in their lifetime, and the principal is preserved for them in Gehinnom.

for the backsliding of the naive Heb. משובת פתים. Insofar as their heart backslides.

and the tranquility of the fools shall cause them to perish Since they see the wicked who prosper, they adhere to their evil and do not repent.

shall dwell confidently in this world.

and shall be tranquil in the world to come.

from the fear of harm From the punishment of Gehinnom.

and shall be tranquil Heb. ושאנן and shall be tranquil and at rest. The word ושאנן is in the future tense; therefore, [the “nun”] is vowelized with a “pattah.”