We begin Sefer Mishlei. In the very first verse, Shlomo HaMelech opens a window for us into the entire book: who wrote it, from what spiritual level it was written, and for what purpose it was composed. Our approach in studying Tanach is to learn according to the wonderful commentary of the Malbim, and therefore we will briefly introduce the unique virtue of this commentary.
מִשְׁלֵי שְׁלֹמֹה בֶן־דָּוִד מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - The proverbs of Shlomo son of David, king of Israel.
In Shir HaShirim it says, 'The Song of Songs, which is Shlomo's'; here it says, 'king of Israel'; and in Kohelet it says, 'king in Jerusalem.' Chazal taught: Shlomo authored three books - Shir HaShirim in his youth, Mishlei in his prime, and Kohelet in his old age. Each book reflects a period in his life. Shir HaShirim was written when he was still a youth, which is why only his name is mentioned. Mishlei was written in his middle years, in his prime, and here he is already 'Shlomo son of David, king of Israel' - a grand kingdom. Kohelet was written toward his old age, and whoever reads it sees a book described entirely by a man who has seen everything, tasted everything, and had his fill of everything - 'I acquired male and female singers, and human luxuries' - and in the end, all is vanity. In his old age his kingship had already diminished, after he was dethroned by Ashmedai, king of the demons, which is why there he is referred to merely as 'king in Jerusalem.'
The Ibn Ezra opens and declares: 'This is the section of admonition. In it he made known the virtue of primordial wisdom, for through it something was created from nothing. He warned to cling to it and turn away from the reviled woman. And he rebuked in order to subdue the simpletons and the desires of the creature formed of the earth, and to revive the pure soul.' Let us explain: 'The section of admonition' - in Mishlei, Shlomo HaMelech warns us to distance ourselves, as we will see further on, 'My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent,' and to stay far away from an alien woman, referring to foreign philosophies and alien wisdoms that in their time attracted the heart and drew a person away from the service of Hashem. 'The virtue of primordial wisdom' - this is the holy Torah, through which the world was created ex nihilo, 'something from nothing.' And if the Torah is the primary woman, then other corrupted wisdoms are 'the reviled woman,' the foreign woman who seeks to entice man and draw him after her words. 'To subdue the simpletons and the desires of the creature formed of the earth' - Shlomo speaks often of the simple (and we will define this later), and of the desires stemming from the fact that man was formed of dust from the earth: dust is physical and material, drawn after cravings, delicacies, and pleasures. And the ultimate purpose of it all - 'to revive the pure soul,' the spiritual dimension within man.
The word 'Mishlei' begins with an enlarged letter Mem. The Midrash explains: this teaches that Shlomo fasted for forty days so that he would be granted the wisdom of the Torah like Moshe - corresponding to 'And he was there with Hashem forty days and forty nights.' Here we have a profound lesson. The holy Rashi fasted 613 fasts before composing his commentary, and it was not for naught that he merited such a wondrous explanation, one in which anyone who studies it finds flavor: a child understands what Rashi is saying, and an eminent talmid chacham discovers depth according to his grasp. Each according to his intellectual capacity, yet all study the very same commentary. This is the commentary that has found a permanent home in every Jewish household and every Chumash, and the one upon which the greatest number of supercommentaries have been written. This teaches us that through fasts, self-abnegation, and sanctification, a person merits acquiring a portion in the Torah of Hashem. For Shlomo, forty fasts sufficed; Rashi required 613.
There are two distinct virtues to the Malbim's commentary. First - the precision of Lashon HaKodesh: he defines every word with exactitude, clarifying the distinctions between chochmah (wisdom), da'at (knowledge), and binah (understanding). If Shlomo employed all three, he did not intend to repeat the same idea in different words; rather, each term carries its own distinct meaning. Second - he does not merely offer a localized explanation of a verse, but unfolds an entire cohesive theme, enabling one to comprehend the whole chapter and the author's underlying message. This was evident in Sefer Iyov, and so it is in every book the Malbim expounds: suddenly one perceives how the concepts unify into a single, complete tapestry. It is true that focusing on the precise definitions of Lashon HaKodesh can at times feel demanding, and we may occasionally linger over a single verse longer than usual - yet this is the path to truly understanding the text. One could certainly learn with simpler commentaries, without dismissing any of them, but it would be a shame to miss the Malbim's unique brilliance.
The Malbim presents a fundamental concept also mentioned in the Vilna Gaon's commentary on Mishlei: in everything in creation there are four elements: matter (chomer), form (tzurah), agent (po'el), and purpose (tachlit). Matter - the physical substance itself. If we take a cup: the raw plastic, which comes in the form of rice grains, is the matter. Form - what is fashioned from the matter for a specific use; they melted the plastic and made it into a cup, so it acquired form. Agent - who made the object, the factory that produced the cup. And purpose - for what goal was the object made: a cup for drinking, another vessel for netilat yadayim, a third vessel for another purpose. Everything in the world can be categorized according to these four.
And here, as Shlomo opens his book, he emphasizes these four points for us. The book's matter - "Mishlei," a collection of proverbs or parables (meshalim). A mashal helps us understand things that cannot be grasped through pure intellect alone, bringing them down to human comprehension. For when one wishes to explain something deep and abstract, there is no other way than to provide a parable, and the parable speaks in terms drawn from one's own realm of concepts, things one can comprehend. For example, in order to explain a Kabbalistic concept, a physical parable is needed: the sefirah of Malchut only receives and bestows, corresponding to the moon - the moon "has nothing of its own" (leit lah migarmei klum); and where does its light come from? From the sun shining upon it, representing the nine sefirot that emanate light to it, and it then shines downward. Here is an abstract concept clarified by means of a mashal. And the agent - "Shlomo ben David," who composed the book.
The Malbim continues: there are three attributes through which we can attain truths according to their true definitions. The first - wisdom or prophecy. In order to perceive a matter and delve deeply into it, one needs wisdom, one needs prophecy. Concerning this it says, "Mishlei Shlomo" (The proverbs of Solomon): the agent here is Shlomo, who was a sage and also possessed ruach hakodesh (and some Rishonim hold that he was a prophet; it is a dispute, for he clearly had divine revelations, and the question is whether they had the status of prophecy or ruach hakodesh). Whoever comes to teach wisdom must be an authority equipped with the proper tools.
The second way - tradition (kabbalah) passed from father to son and from teacher to student. This is why the wisdom of Kabbalah is called "Kabbalah": a person cannot study it on his own, lest he distort the concepts, but must receive it from his master, and his master from his master, back to the Arizal, who was taught by Eliyahu HaNavi. Indeed, many areas of wisdom must come from a teacher. Concerning this it is said, "ben David" (son of David): Shlomo also had an orderly tradition received from his forefathers. David was a great sage, and David had received tradition from his fathers - his father Yishai was one of the greatest of the generation; he would enter surrounded by multitudes (nichnas be'uchlosav), with ten thousand disciples coming to his shiur.
The third way - a multitude of sages. When one wishes to conduct serious research, it is not entrusted to a single individual, but to multiple scholars, so that what one did not think of, his colleague did. When there is a multitude of sages, the likelihood of arriving at the correct conclusion increases. This is why seventy-one members sat in the Great Sanhedrin, the very cream of the sages of Israel; and the Rambam writes that the greatest sage of all was appointed to the Sanhedrin. A ruling emerging from such a forum is a conclusion forged by the finest minds. This is the meaning of "melech Yisrael" (king of Israel): he was king over a wise and discerning nation, and all the sages would gather before him; thus, his wisdom was a complete, perfected wisdom. These three elements - "Shlomo" (sage and prophet), "ben David" (tradition from his ancestors), and "melech Yisrael" (a multitude of sages) - teach us that all the wisdom we will encounter from here on was formed at the pinnacle of wisdom and discernment, and with the highest level of attainment.
לָדַעַת חׇכְמָה וּמוּסָר לְהָבִין אִמְרֵי בִינָה׃ - To know wisdom and discipline, to comprehend words of understanding.
לָקַחַת מוּסַר הַשְׂכֵּל צֶדֶק וּמִשְׁפָּט וּמֵשָׁרִים׃ - To acquire the discipline of insight, righteousness, justice, and equity.
We have discussed the matter - "Mishlei"; the agent - "Shlomo ben David"; and now the purpose: to know wisdom and discipline (musar). Through this book you will know wisdom, and knowing wisdom is ultimately so that one may attain musar, that a person will straighten his ways. The Malbim does not explicitly elaborate on the form, but the Vilna Gaon - from whom this section in the Malbim is drawn - explains that "to know wisdom" is the structure, form, and subject matter of the book, meaning a book of the knowledge of wisdom, whereas "to acquire discipline" (musar) is its ultimate purpose. And if you ask: what is so bad about remaining foolish? The answer is that you will not acquire musar. For it is through wisdom that one acquires musar - that is, straightens one's ways.
In this verse four concepts are mentioned: da'at (knowledge), chochmah (wisdom), musar (discipline), and binah (understanding), each expressing a distinct essence. What is wisdom? The Malbim explains: whenever there are two opposing extremes and one must decide between them - that requires wisdom. Cruelty versus mercy, pride versus humility, brazenness versus shame, eating versus fasting, holiness versus impurity. Acting in one way is wisdom, and acting in the other is folly. Later he will explain that a fool (sachal) is not someone lacking intelligence, but rather someone who does not choose correctly in the paths of wisdom: two paths lie before him, and instead of choosing the proper one, he chooses the corrupt one. And the wise person (chacham) - is the one who chooses the correct path.
Moreover, the character traits themselves are not absolute. When a person acts with humility, we say he acts with wisdom, and that pride is folly. But is humility always wisdom? "The humility of Rabbi Zecharyah ben Avkulas destroyed our House and burned our Sanctuary." They brought an animal before him and said: Here is a sacrifice to offer. He replied: An animal with a blemish is forbidden, for people will say that blemished animals may be offered on the Altar - and an argument ensued, they did not offer it, and the Emperor marched up and destroyed the Temple. Thus, there is a time when humility is improper, and there is a time when one must summon a spirit of pride: not to be ashamed before those who mock him regarding Torah and mitzvot. A person stands up to pray and people stare at him; if he calculates what they will say, tomorrow he will not pray at all, because at work they mocked him yesterday, or in the army they laughed at him for standing to pray or making a berachah. But if he possesses pride in the service of holiness - "And his heart was lifted up in the ways of Hashem" - he will say: I am doing the right thing; he does not understand yet, but he will learn; I have already attained what he has not yet attained; I have a closeness to God that he does not yet grasp. That is positive pride. And so it is with every single trait: "Be bold as a leopard," yet on the other hand, "the brazen-faced is destined for Gehinnom" - taught in the very same passage! Is this a contradiction? Rather, "bold as a leopard" applies when holy boldness is required of you, whereas the ordinary use of audacity, such as answering one's fellow insolently, makes one "brazen-faced to Gehinnom." And where is the boundary? That is wisdom: it is the guide, determining where a trait is praiseworthy and where it is reprehensible.
Here the Malbim adds a fundamental principle: this wisdom cannot be understood by man on his own, nor can it be known through logical proof - that is, through intellectual demonstrations and rational evidence. There is no way to prove rationally what is right and what is wrong. How, then, can we know? Only through what has been received from Hashem, may He be blessed. Hashem gave us the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, and it is the Torah that teaches man wisdom; there He engraved and established which deeds are worthy and which are negative.
To sharpen this point: Hitler, may his name be erased, and all those who resolved to annihilate the Jewish people, based their decisions on "moral" arguments. They argued: in nature, as Darwin taught, the strong prevails over the weak. Which deer will the lion seize from the herd? The disabled, the weak, the one unable to run. This is natural selection - nature selects the strong and leaves the unfit behind, thereby improving itself. And Goebbels argued: there is one insolent nation that seeks to act against nature; it is weak and base, yet it insists on surviving. Whereas we - this is how nature ought to work, the strong persists, and through this human nature is refined. For the same reason, they sent Roma to the gas chambers as well - "to improve the race." Now, who can prove to him by reason alone that he is wrong? Can moral values ever be proven through intellectual proofs?
Take the most extreme right-winger on the political spectrum: sit with him for two hours, and he will prove to you that his position is absolute truth, that there is no point in pursuing peace and that peace is only harmful - all with rational arguments and logical demonstrations. Then sit with a left-winger, and he will prove with a thousand proofs that blood must not be shed, that one cannot rule over another people, that ultimately the nations will condemn us and leave us isolated, and that compromises and an agreement are essential. And who is right? We have no way to decide except according to the holy Torah, for each side is persuasive in its own way. Realize that in almost every issue there are two outlooks, two opinions, two philosophies - so how can one know which is the proper path? For that, one must have the Torah. One person says: This enemy must be eliminated while still small. Another says: Do you have no compassion in your heart? After all, he too wants to live, and the Torah even has mercy on animals - and he already brings a proof from the Torah! And who argued in this manner? King Shaul. Not you or me - Shaul. And Shaul erred in this: he was told that there is Divine wisdom, and what human logic grasps is merely worldly wisdom. One cannot grasp true wisdom through human intellect, and there are no conclusive rational proofs to show that one is right. Rather, what do we have? We have the One Who is wisest of all, and the Holy One, blessed be He, imparted of His wisdom to flesh and blood and gave us the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. This is the definition of wisdom: when to employ pride and when humility, when frugality and when generosity, when to display anger - outward anger without inner anger - and when to act as though one feels nothing, and so with every single trait.
Therefore the verse states, "To know wisdom" - with clear knowledge. For how could you know otherwise? Through your senses? Through scientific testing? To which laboratory could you submit the moral question you are weighing? Once, during a lecture in Be'er Sheva, an intelligent young man, seemingly an academic, approached: "I accept the Ten Commandments; beyond that, I accept nothing." He was asked: "Do you observe Shabbat?" He replied: "No." He was told: "Then let me tell you something new: that is written right in the Ten Commandments" - and it was indeed news to him. The question was posed to him: "Even assuming you reject the rest of the Torah, how do you determine how to act?" He replied: "I am intelligent and wise enough to know what is good for me and what is not." He was then asked: "What would you do if your girlfriend came and said she was pregnant?" He replied: "If it is an unwanted pregnancy..." "In other words, you would murder the child because someone came along who is inconvenient for you?" He protested: "But..." "Then you would keep it? Do you realize how that makes her and the child miserable? A seventeen-year-old girl giving birth in six months, her entire life derailed, knowing all along that her child is in some institution? Or is she to raise a child from age seventeen? It is an impossible tangle. Do you have a solution?" Here, wisdom is needed - Divine wisdom. And this is just a simple example; one could present a thousand and one dilemmas where human intellect cannot determine the right course.
This is why we consult a Torah sage: wisdom requires Divine knowledge. The sage has studied much Torah, and through the power of the Torah he knows how to render a decision. Someone once posed a question to Rav Moshe Feinstein, and he replied that the Torah perspective (Da'at Torah) is such-and-such. They said to him: Forgive us, honored Rav, but how does the Rav know that his opinion is Da'at Torah? It was a somewhat brazen question, but consider his answer. He told them: I am certain that what I say is Da'at Torah, because I have never read any other opinions. I never studied secular books, I never read newspapers, and I never read opinion columns anywhere. All the knowledge I possess comes solely from the holy Torah. Thus, when one asks him, the answer emerges directly from the Torah. We see, then, that wisdom comes through tradition: a student receives from his rebbe, and the rebbe from his rebbe, all the way back to Moshe Rabbeinu, and Moshe received the Torah at Sinai - that is where one can truly know wisdom.
And so King Shlomo comes and says: I will teach you to know wisdom. How? Through the proverbs of Shlomo. I will take those matters that cannot be proven through logical demonstration, and explain them to you by means of a parable, and the parable will bring them close to human understanding. Once they are brought close to your understanding, you will grasp wisdom with clear knowledge - that is, you will be intellectually convinced that it is proper to act in this way and not that. This is the purpose of "The Proverbs of Shlomo," and through them, "To know wisdom and discipline."
And why is general knowledge not sufficient? The Malbim explains: the laws of wisdom run counter to the nature of the human heart, for "the inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth." Wisdom requires a person to choose the proper path between two alternatives, whereas naturally one is drawn toward the easy, corrupt path. Consider this: take children, and within a single week you could corrupt them entirely; yet to raise them into tzaddikim - how much labor and exertion is required! Look at a nation like Germany: in a relatively brief period, ordinary, respectable people, possessing etiquette and refined manners, were transformed into beasts of prey capable of tearing a human being to pieces; an entire nation, with no one crying out against the injustice, no one saying "Stop!" How is this accomplished? A well-oiled propaganda machine, and everything proceeds smoothly - because the nature of man is evil from his youth.
In addition to the nature of the heart, man also possesses desires, and these are the greatest adversaries to all matters of wisdom. In the nature of the heart - it is easier to be cruel than to show mercy, easier to turn a blind eye when someone asks for charity than to take a single coin or a hundred out of one's pocket and give it to him. And in matters of desire - a person must act against his lusts, creating an inner war: wisdom on one side and desire on the other. Therefore, a person must receive wisdom with absolute clarity, supported by proofs - 'to know wisdom' - so that he can overcome the evil inclination of the heart and the desires ingrained within him, leaving desire unable to say to him: It is true that you claim this, but there is no decisive proof that one must act this way. This was Shlomo's great achievement: divine wisdom, which ordinarily should be accepted solely on faith and tradition, he succeeded in bringing close to human understanding and explaining - and by being able to know wisdom, one can overcome his inclinations and desires.
The opening verses of Mishlei present the book in its entirety: its material - parables that bring the concealed close to human understanding; its author - Shlomo, who was wise and possessed Ruach HaKodesh, the son of David who received the tradition from his forebears, and the king of Israel to whom all the sages of the generation gathered; its form - the knowledge of wisdom; and its purpose - to acquire moral discipline and rectify one's ways. Wisdom consists of the correct resolution between two opposites, and it cannot be proven through human intellect alone, but is received from the Almighty through the Written and Oral Torah. Shlomo's innovation was to bring this wisdom close to human understanding by means of the parable, until it is established within a person as clear knowledge - and only such knowledge has the power to stand against the inclination of man's heart and his desires.