Mishlei Perek 8

Hi everyone, Welcome to NachDaily, covering the entire Tanach one perek at time. In today's class we’ll be discussing Mishlei, Perek 8, containing 35 pessukim. The opening words of “Halo chochma sikra, u’s’vuna titen kolah - Wisdom calls out and understanding raises her voice,” can be seen as a continuation of the previous perek. The Vilna Gaon explains that this is to contrast man's negative and positive traits. The previous perek spoke about a “woman” who tries to lure people to sin, which can be understood as the lower, darker side of the human experience. In this chapter, the “woman” raises her voice with chochma – speaking of the more positive aspects of those who work on themselves and the brighter side of the human experience. Wisdom invites everyone to learn from her honest ways. The perek continues to talk about the virtue of wisdom, assuring us that knowledge is better than gold. Shlomo reiterates that true counsel, wisdom, understanding, and strength are all creations of Hashem. Once we divorce these ideas from their Divine source, they no longer become a means by which to elevate ourselves. They become man-made ideas, not true intelligence which is rooted in the Divine. Passuk 19 says, “Tov piryee meycharutz, u’mipaz, u’s’vuasi mikesef nivchar - My fruit is better than gold or fine gold, and my produce is better than choice silver.” The Metsudos explains that My fruits are better than gold refers to the reward for learning Torah, which is certainly more valuable t