ייִדישער מחשבֿה אויף משלי 30:1

In particular, all his intellectual faculties, though G-d given, do not necessarily lead him to the right conclusions. In order to progress from ignorance toward understanding the works of G-d, one must understand the laws of nature as manifest in our universe; subsequently, one may acquire some insights into the workings of the Divine. Chapter thirty in Proverbs illustrates that man without the assistance of G-d is naught. "Agur" describes himself as ignorant, possessing neither knowledge of the natural sciences nor knowledge of the metaphysical. His very name indicates that he is desirous of amassing knowledge. The same applies to his partner "Ittiel," who desires close communion with G-d. The thrust of the message is that as long as no one has offered prophetic insight, "Who ascended to heaven?" "What is my name or the name of my son?" i.e. I amount to nothing as long as I am not in possession of inside knowledge of our tradition. The entire chapter outlines the handicaps someone like Abraham labors under when he endeavors to discover truth, not having the revealed word of G-d to assist him in his quest. The only path which is guaranteed to lead to success is "the word of the Lord is refined, pure" (Proverbs 30,5). If our faculties are inadequate to reveal to us the truths about the workings of the physical universe, how much less adequate are they to make us privy to the workings of the spiritual spheres (Isaiah 44,24)? The prophet, in describing G-d’s exclusive involvement in developing the physical universe and asking "Who is with Me?" i.e. "Who helped Me?", makes it clear that man's insight into the heavenly part of the universe is even less imaginable.