וַיֹּ֤אמֶר ׀ לָֽאָדָ֗ם הֵ֤ן יִרְאַ֣ת אֲ֭דֹנָי הִ֣יא חָכְמָ֑ה וְס֖וּר מֵרָ֣ע בִּינָֽה׃ (ס)
און ער האָט געזאָגט צום מענטשן:זע, מורא פֿאַר גאָט דאָס איז חכמה, און זיך אָפּקערן פֿון שלעכטס איז פֿאַרשטאַנדיקײט.
Rabbeinu Bahya
A kabbalistic approach: With these words in Song of Songs Solomon the wise Rabbi Akiva alluded to wisdom, seeing that we have a statement in Job 28,28 הן יראת אד-ני היא חכמה, “behold the reverence for G’d is wisdom.” Rabbi Akiva referred to the hidden wisdom possessed only by the select few on earth. In fact, when Rabbi Akiva said that every time the word את appears in the Torah [when it is not grammatically necessary, Ed.] we must search for profound mystical meanings that the Torah alludes to by this word, he taught us a great lesson. To quote but one example: the Torah writes in Numbers 7,1 להקים את המשכן, “to erect the Tabernacle.” On the face of it the Torah only had to write להקים המשכן. The sages explain that the extra word את alludes to another (celestial) Tabernacle which was erected at the same time as Moses erected the Tabernacle in the desert.
Another example of the significance of the word את is found in Genesis 21,1 וה' פקד את שרה, “and G’d had remembered Sarah” (by making her pregnant). The word את in that verse is understood by the sages in Bereshit Rabbah 53,12 as including all the other women who had suffered from being barren at that time. There are numerous other instances where the otherwise extraneous word את affords us many insights which would have been denied us without that word.
Another example of the significance of the word את is found in Genesis 21,1 וה' פקד את שרה, “and G’d had remembered Sarah” (by making her pregnant). The word את in that verse is understood by the sages in Bereshit Rabbah 53,12 as including all the other women who had suffered from being barren at that time. There are numerous other instances where the otherwise extraneous word את affords us many insights which would have been denied us without that word.
Ramban
OH THAT THIS THEIR HEART WOULD REMAIN IN THEM, TO FEAR ME. Scripture uses this expression because man has freedom of choice to be righteous or to be wicked, and “Everything is in the power of Heaven except for fear of Heaven.”194Berachoth 33 b. All conditions of man’s existence are ordained by G-d except whether or not man will be G-d fearing. It is thus an expression of common usage.
And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the expression [before us] is similar to the verse, And unto man He said: ‘Behold, the fear of the Eternal, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’195Job 28:28. And so the Rabbis have said with regard to the reward for [performance of] the commandments:196Menachoth 29 b. There the story is told that, when Moses was in heaven to receive the Torah, he noticed the tagim, the small crown-like decorations atop many of the letters of the Torah. He asked G-d what the tagim represented. G-d answered, “Many generation from now, there will live a man named Akiba, the son of Joseph. He will explain every dot and decoration of all letters.” Moses then requested that he be permitted to listen to one of Rabbi Akiba’s lectures. After hearing it, Moses returned to G-d and said, “You have a man like Akiba and you give the Torah through me!” G-d answered, “Be silent; so I have decreed.” Moses then asked that he be shown Rabbi Akiba’s reward. G-d answered, “Turn around,” Moses then saw etc. — Rabbi Akiba was one of the Ten Martyrs from among the greatest Rabbis of the generation who were put to death by command of the Roman Emperor Hadrian for their public defiance of the Roman ban against studying the Torah and the general practice of Judaism. See Vol. II, p. 301, and Note 369. “Moses saw that they [i.e., the Romans] were cutting the flesh of [the martyr] Rabbi Akiba in meat markets. Moses said to G-d, ‘Master of the universe! Is this the reward for such [knowledge of the] Torah!’ The Holy One, blessed be He, replied, ‘Be silent, thus have I decreed.’”197In his Shaar Ha’gmul (Gate of the Reward) Ramban writes as follows in explanation of this text: “The Sages thereby wanted to say that Rabbi Akiba’s death through sufferings was not occasioned by the few wrongdoings which every person, even the most righteous, cannot escape, for he was a perfect, righteous man. But the matter is hidden, such being His decree and will” (Kithvei Haramban, Vol. II, p. 275). Ramban, however, proceeds to connect the matter with the secret of the transmigration of souls (see Vol. II, p. 300 and Note 361). You will understand this from what He has said to Moses, And as for thee, stand thou here by Me.198Verse 28.
And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the expression [before us] is similar to the verse, And unto man He said: ‘Behold, the fear of the Eternal, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’195Job 28:28. And so the Rabbis have said with regard to the reward for [performance of] the commandments:196Menachoth 29 b. There the story is told that, when Moses was in heaven to receive the Torah, he noticed the tagim, the small crown-like decorations atop many of the letters of the Torah. He asked G-d what the tagim represented. G-d answered, “Many generation from now, there will live a man named Akiba, the son of Joseph. He will explain every dot and decoration of all letters.” Moses then requested that he be permitted to listen to one of Rabbi Akiba’s lectures. After hearing it, Moses returned to G-d and said, “You have a man like Akiba and you give the Torah through me!” G-d answered, “Be silent; so I have decreed.” Moses then asked that he be shown Rabbi Akiba’s reward. G-d answered, “Turn around,” Moses then saw etc. — Rabbi Akiba was one of the Ten Martyrs from among the greatest Rabbis of the generation who were put to death by command of the Roman Emperor Hadrian for their public defiance of the Roman ban against studying the Torah and the general practice of Judaism. See Vol. II, p. 301, and Note 369. “Moses saw that they [i.e., the Romans] were cutting the flesh of [the martyr] Rabbi Akiba in meat markets. Moses said to G-d, ‘Master of the universe! Is this the reward for such [knowledge of the] Torah!’ The Holy One, blessed be He, replied, ‘Be silent, thus have I decreed.’”197In his Shaar Ha’gmul (Gate of the Reward) Ramban writes as follows in explanation of this text: “The Sages thereby wanted to say that Rabbi Akiba’s death through sufferings was not occasioned by the few wrongdoings which every person, even the most righteous, cannot escape, for he was a perfect, righteous man. But the matter is hidden, such being His decree and will” (Kithvei Haramban, Vol. II, p. 275). Ramban, however, proceeds to connect the matter with the secret of the transmigration of souls (see Vol. II, p. 300 and Note 361). You will understand this from what He has said to Moses, And as for thee, stand thou here by Me.198Verse 28.
Rabbeinu Bahya
A kabbalistic approach: The words מי יתן והיה לבבם זה, “these words were uttered by Hashem, meaning who would “inspire” the emanation of wisdom, the source of inspiration for reverence of the Lord, to be active in this regard on an ongoing basis!. Seeing that G’d has to wish that the emanation “wisdom” do or not do certain things is proof that G’d Himself is unable to do this. This is the true meaning of the statement by the sages we quoted that “all is in the hands of heaven except the fear of heaven.” The sages referred to the attribute known as heaven, an attribute which has great powers but whose powers do not include the ability to inculcate fear of the Lord in people. It is something “beyond” this particular attribute, emanation, as it has no control over inspiring reverence for G’d in people.
We find a dialogue between Moses and the people described in Avodah Zarah 5 where Moses is described as having harangued the Israelites for being ungrateful when they heard G’d express the wish that the people should always be on a spiritual high such as they attained at Mount Sinai. According to Moses they should immediately have asked G’d to grant that His own wish be fulfilled. Surely this dialogue described in the Talmud presupposes that G’d does have control over who would and who would not possess יראת שמים, “reverence for heaven!” Moses meant that the people should have asked G’d to address His prayer to an emanation higher than the one called שמים.
This reflects something we learned in Taanit 25 in connection with Rabbi Eleazar ben Pedot who was in very depressed economic circumstances and it bothered him so that G’d asked him if he really wished that G’d should decree destruction on earth so that possibly on his next round of life he might be born under a more propitious horoscope? Rabbi ben Pedot was amazed to learn that even if G’d were to turn the universe upside down on his account this would still not be a guarantee that his personal fortunes would improve significantly. He therefore declined the “offer.” [The author mentioned only the gist of the story, and although I added some of what is found in the Talmud I suggest to the interested reader to read the whole story in the Talmud. Ed.].
In a different context the Talmud tells the story of how G’d showed Moses all the leaders of successive generations including that of Rabbi Akiva and his death through cruel torture by the Romans. When Moses saw with his mental eye that Rabbi Akiva’s flesh was being offered for sale in the store, he exclaimed: “is this the reward you receive for excelling in Torah?” G’d told Moses to keep silent, that He had seen fit to allow things to happen this way. (Compare Menachot 29 and Nachmanides’ comment).
The meaning of this comment by G’d (speaking as the essence) there is that the emanation “wisdom” decreed to delay punishment for the crime of the sale of Joseph by his brothers until over 1200 years later for the sake of the Jewish people as a whole. You find a comment in Midrash Rabbah on the first half of Proverbs 8,30 ואהיה אצלו אמון, “I was like an artisan with Him,” explaining these words as meaning that the Torah says about G’d that it was G’d’s artisan, i.e. He used it to fashion the world. Just as the King when he builds a palace does not do so with his own hands but employs the services of an architect, but the architect works according to plans provided by the king, not making his own designs, so G’d “looked” into the Torah to consult how best to implement His own plans for the universe. Thus far the Midrash.
The meaning of all this is that the author of the Midrash compared the Shechinah to a king of flesh and blood and His great name to the “artisan” who carries out the various tasks assigned to him by G’d’s essence The חכמה, the emanation wisdom, is perceived as the textbook which serves the artisans as a standby for consultation to perform their work in the most efficient manner. This is why Moses of whom the Torah wrote in Deut 33,21 וירא ראשית לו כי שם חלקת מחוקק ספון, ”he chose the first portion for himself for that is where the lawgiver’s plot is hidden,” was called מחוקק. [The reason this needs explaining is that this term normally translated as “lawgiver” suggests that the law is initiated by such a מחוקק. This would mean that Moses acted independently of G’d, an intolerable thought. The Midrash therefore introduces these parables to define Moses’ role within the hierarchy commencing at the top with G’d the essence, the emanation wisdom, the Torah as the textbook of wisdom, etc. Ed.] The Talmud elsewhere defines this word as similar to parchment which has been salted and treated with flour in order to make it ready for the writing on it to endure.
We encounter such Midrashim (Tanchuma Va'eyra 5) in connection with Pharaoh, who, when told by Moses that he was sent by Hashem, is reported to have asked his magicians to take out all the books containing the names of any past and present deities to search for the name Hashem. The Midrash refers to these “books” also as דפתרא, the kind of parchment we just described. All of this merely proves that the king does not proceed to implement his plans without going “through channels.” When we keep this in mind we do not find some of our sages’ statements as so difficult to comprehend. Seeing that an artisan is not a robot and does not perform his work mechanically without employing his mental faculties it becomes clear that חכמה, the emanation wisdom, is pivotal to all of G’d’s activities. This then is the mystical dimension of Job 28,28: “See, fear of the Lord is wisdom,” i.e. ”wisdom, i.e. pure intelligence, pure thought equates with reverence of the Lord the Creator, the master of the universe.” This is also the mystical dimension of Isaiah 30,18: ולכן יחכה ה’ לחננכם ולכן ירום לרחמכם, “truly, the Lord is waiting to show you grace, truly, He will arise to pardon you.” Why does the prophet switch from the verb חכה in the first half of the verse to רום in the second half of the same verse? The first half of the verse describing G’d as waiting is similar to the wish expressed by G’d in our verse here where G’d waits for the Jewish people to maintain their spiritual high. The second part, i.e. the word ירום describes the result of such waiting at the end of which time G’d can endow the people with His חכמה. חכמה and אמונה, “wisdom and faith” are so closely interwoven as to make them almost inseparabable.
We find a dialogue between Moses and the people described in Avodah Zarah 5 where Moses is described as having harangued the Israelites for being ungrateful when they heard G’d express the wish that the people should always be on a spiritual high such as they attained at Mount Sinai. According to Moses they should immediately have asked G’d to grant that His own wish be fulfilled. Surely this dialogue described in the Talmud presupposes that G’d does have control over who would and who would not possess יראת שמים, “reverence for heaven!” Moses meant that the people should have asked G’d to address His prayer to an emanation higher than the one called שמים.
This reflects something we learned in Taanit 25 in connection with Rabbi Eleazar ben Pedot who was in very depressed economic circumstances and it bothered him so that G’d asked him if he really wished that G’d should decree destruction on earth so that possibly on his next round of life he might be born under a more propitious horoscope? Rabbi ben Pedot was amazed to learn that even if G’d were to turn the universe upside down on his account this would still not be a guarantee that his personal fortunes would improve significantly. He therefore declined the “offer.” [The author mentioned only the gist of the story, and although I added some of what is found in the Talmud I suggest to the interested reader to read the whole story in the Talmud. Ed.].
In a different context the Talmud tells the story of how G’d showed Moses all the leaders of successive generations including that of Rabbi Akiva and his death through cruel torture by the Romans. When Moses saw with his mental eye that Rabbi Akiva’s flesh was being offered for sale in the store, he exclaimed: “is this the reward you receive for excelling in Torah?” G’d told Moses to keep silent, that He had seen fit to allow things to happen this way. (Compare Menachot 29 and Nachmanides’ comment).
The meaning of this comment by G’d (speaking as the essence) there is that the emanation “wisdom” decreed to delay punishment for the crime of the sale of Joseph by his brothers until over 1200 years later for the sake of the Jewish people as a whole. You find a comment in Midrash Rabbah on the first half of Proverbs 8,30 ואהיה אצלו אמון, “I was like an artisan with Him,” explaining these words as meaning that the Torah says about G’d that it was G’d’s artisan, i.e. He used it to fashion the world. Just as the King when he builds a palace does not do so with his own hands but employs the services of an architect, but the architect works according to plans provided by the king, not making his own designs, so G’d “looked” into the Torah to consult how best to implement His own plans for the universe. Thus far the Midrash.
The meaning of all this is that the author of the Midrash compared the Shechinah to a king of flesh and blood and His great name to the “artisan” who carries out the various tasks assigned to him by G’d’s essence The חכמה, the emanation wisdom, is perceived as the textbook which serves the artisans as a standby for consultation to perform their work in the most efficient manner. This is why Moses of whom the Torah wrote in Deut 33,21 וירא ראשית לו כי שם חלקת מחוקק ספון, ”he chose the first portion for himself for that is where the lawgiver’s plot is hidden,” was called מחוקק. [The reason this needs explaining is that this term normally translated as “lawgiver” suggests that the law is initiated by such a מחוקק. This would mean that Moses acted independently of G’d, an intolerable thought. The Midrash therefore introduces these parables to define Moses’ role within the hierarchy commencing at the top with G’d the essence, the emanation wisdom, the Torah as the textbook of wisdom, etc. Ed.] The Talmud elsewhere defines this word as similar to parchment which has been salted and treated with flour in order to make it ready for the writing on it to endure.
We encounter such Midrashim (Tanchuma Va'eyra 5) in connection with Pharaoh, who, when told by Moses that he was sent by Hashem, is reported to have asked his magicians to take out all the books containing the names of any past and present deities to search for the name Hashem. The Midrash refers to these “books” also as דפתרא, the kind of parchment we just described. All of this merely proves that the king does not proceed to implement his plans without going “through channels.” When we keep this in mind we do not find some of our sages’ statements as so difficult to comprehend. Seeing that an artisan is not a robot and does not perform his work mechanically without employing his mental faculties it becomes clear that חכמה, the emanation wisdom, is pivotal to all of G’d’s activities. This then is the mystical dimension of Job 28,28: “See, fear of the Lord is wisdom,” i.e. ”wisdom, i.e. pure intelligence, pure thought equates with reverence of the Lord the Creator, the master of the universe.” This is also the mystical dimension of Isaiah 30,18: ולכן יחכה ה’ לחננכם ולכן ירום לרחמכם, “truly, the Lord is waiting to show you grace, truly, He will arise to pardon you.” Why does the prophet switch from the verb חכה in the first half of the verse to רום in the second half of the same verse? The first half of the verse describing G’d as waiting is similar to the wish expressed by G’d in our verse here where G’d waits for the Jewish people to maintain their spiritual high. The second part, i.e. the word ירום describes the result of such waiting at the end of which time G’d can endow the people with His חכמה. חכמה and אמונה, “wisdom and faith” are so closely interwoven as to make them almost inseparabable.