신명기 30:22의 Quotation
Devarim Rabbah
This is what is written: Wisdom is too lofty for a fool; He does not open his mouth in the gate (Proverbs 24:7). What "Wisdom is too lofty for a fool" mean? Rabbi Tanhuma said: This fool walks into a synagogue and sees those that are involved in Talmud[study], and he doesn't understand what they are saying. He is embarrassed, as it says: "He does not open his mouth in the gate." The gate is Sanhedrin, as it is written: "his brother’s widow shall appear before the elders in the gate" Deuteronomy 25:7 (they are studying Levirite Marriage). Another Interpretation: The rabbis tell of a fool who walks into the synagogue and sees those that are involved in Torah [study]. He says to them: "How does one learn Torah at first?" They say to him: "First you read Megillah (Esther), then the Torah, then the Prophets, then the Writings. When he completes the Written Torah, he studies the Talmud, then the laws, then the allegorical passages." When he hears this, he says in his heart, "When am I going to learn all of this?" and leaves the "gate" [i.e. the synagogue], as the verse says: "He openeth not his mouth in the gate". Rabbi Yannai said: This is comparable to a loaf suspended in the air. The fool says, "who could bring it down [to earth]?" The alert one says, "No one took it?" He gets a ladder or pole and brings it down. Similarly, all fools say, "When will I read the entire Torah?" Whereas the alert one, what does he do? - he studies one chapter each day, until he concludes the entire Torah. God says: "It is not mysterious", and if it is, it is "from you" [i.e. due to you]. This explains the verse (Deut 30:11) "This commandment[...]".
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