{"id":91976,"date":"2018-07-09T17:53:55","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1144\/"},"modified":"2022-02-02T19:44:11","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T17:44:11","slug":"wall-1144","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1144\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20241103-to-20241109"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1144","date_from":"20241103","date_to":"20241109","book":"Proverbs","books_group":"Writings","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"92190","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"2","name":"Tazria-Metzora: Seedtime ","post_title":"Tazria-Metzora: Seedtime","slug":"tazria-metzora-seedtime","old_id":"92190","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":92188,"post_title":"Sue Salinger","slug":"sue-salinger","old_id":"92188","first_name":"Sue ","last_name":"Salinger ","description":"Sue Salinger is committed to building community resilience and food equity by connecting people to each other and to the earth at Ekar Farm, a 2 acre non-profit educational growing space. \r\n","short_description":"Sue Salinger is committed to building community resilience and food equity by connecting people to each other and to the earth at Ekar Farm, a 2 acre non-profit educational growing space. \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92189,"alt":"","title":"sue salinger","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/sue-salinger.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/sue-salinger.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/sue-salinger.jpg","medium-width":150,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/sue-salinger.jpg","medium_large-width":150,"medium_large-height":150,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/sue-salinger.jpg","large-width":150,"large-height":150,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/sue-salinger.jpg","1536x1536-width":150,"1536x1536-height":150,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/sue-salinger.jpg","2048x2048-width":150,"2048x2048-height":150,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/sue-salinger.jpg","post_full_size-width":150,"post_full_size-height":150,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/sue-salinger.jpg","home_baner-width":150,"home_baner-height":150}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1144","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Our words, our children, our fertility or creative power are all\u00a0seeds: our creations have consequences to our relationship to the whole","post_main_content_content":"
<\/header>\r\n
\r\n

Let\u2019s locate ourselves in space and time to enter this poetic, symbolic story for personally reconnecting with the divine and repairing breaches to the god-field. Tazria-Metzora is the instruction manual for holy personal, communal, and sacred repair \u2014 for restoring wholeness and balance.<\/p>\r\n

It\u2019s no surprise that we read this in week three of Counting the Omer.\u00a0\u201cOmer\u201d<\/em>\u00a0is a measurement, the size of a sheaf of wheat.\u00a0 It is also emmer,\u00a0<\/em>ancient farmed wheat that is bread, food, and culture itself.\u00a0Its harvest \u2014 abundant or scant \u2014 is what we\u2019re counting our way to. Omer is also\u00a0Amar\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 speaking \u2014 the creative act that calls all into be-ing. The\u00a0sephirah\u00a0<\/em>is\u00a0Tiferet<\/em>,\u00a0beautiful balance.<\/p>\r\n

Tazria-Metzora offers the cure for when we\u2019ve become out of balance,\u00a0broken the container, and the holy has \u2018broken out\u2019 all over us,\u00a0as \u2018leprosy\u2019 \u2014 an outbreak of unbalanced holy power.<\/p>\r\n

So what IS Tazria-Metzora?\u00a0When looking for a key to open a constellation of meaning, Reb Zalman z\u201dl used to suggest going to the\u00a0shoresh<\/em>, the two- or three-letter root.\u00a0The three letter root for Tazria is Zayin-Resh-Ayin (<\/strong>\u05d6-\u05e8-\u05e2<\/strong>), which means \u2018seed,\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0and is related to terms like seed-time, a strong outstretched arm (zero'a<\/em>) scattering seed, that which springs from the seed \u2014 either descendants, kin, or vegetables, and semen. The two-letter root, according to Fabre d\u2019Olivet\u2019s work from the 1800s on the Hebrew language, is Zayin-Resh (\u05d6-\u05e8), \u201cthe symbol of the straight line, the idea of that which goes from the center, spreads, disperses in every sense.\u201d\u00a0A seed contains a possible future, disperses perhaps infinitely through space and time, without end.<\/p>\r\n

Now we have a way to think about Tazria.\u00a0We are being asked to consider our actions as seeds, as something\u00a0being dispersed from us. Specifically,\u00a0what\u2019s going out of the body \u2014 babies, blood, semen, and words. The parsha articulates\u00a0in these multiple \u2018rhyming\u2019 concepts that our words, our children, our fertility or creative power are all\u00a0seeds, and the relationship between us and the divine can be broken as the dispersing occurs. Our creations have consequences to our relationship to the whole.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cImpurity\u201d is a matter between us and the divine, and results in a visual mark on the body or house.\u00a0Once visible, the necessary holy repair begins. A learning here is that a personal relationship to the divine is assumed \u2014 and it\u2019s a relationship we need to maintain to keep everything, from the most personal\u00a0to the most public and out into the cosmos, in beautiful balance. The learning is that a beautiful balance is within our capacity to obtain, and is our obligation to maintain.<\/p>\r\n

May we be able to \u2018see\u2019 and repair what we break, and may our seeds flourish!<\/p>\r\n

The next shmita year begins next Rosh Hashanah 2021, almost a year from now. We have time to prepare. As we move through 5781 we invite you to join us in preparation for the upcoming shmita year \u2013 a sabbatical year for the Earth but also for ourselves, our communities, and our world. Each week we will share thoughts on how the weekly parsha can help guide our thinking around shmita themes of work and rest, wealth and debt, responsible land use, fair labor practices, private and public property ownership, and physical and spiritual revitalization.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

Join us for the journey.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

See here for more information on the Hazon Shmita project, and its blogs.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/section>","post_main_content_image":{"id":81608,"alt":"","title":"shmita","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","width":711,"height":708,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","medium_large-width":711,"medium_large-height":708,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","large-width":711,"large-height":708,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","1536x1536-width":711,"1536x1536-height":708,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","2048x2048-width":711,"2048x2048-height":708,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","post_full_size-width":711,"post_full_size-height":708,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-422x420.jpg","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"A 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Beginning of 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Riddles And Flourishes Of Solomon The Wise ","post_title":"The Riddles And Flourishes Of Solomon The Wise","slug":"the-riddles-and-flourishes-of-solomon-the-wise","old_id":"92100","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37128,"post_title":"Anne Gordon","slug":"anne-gordon","old_id":"37128","first_name":"Anne","last_name":"Gordon","description":"Anne Gordon is the deputy Ops & Blogs editor at The Times of Israel, and a co-founder of Chochmat Nashim. She holds a BA in History & Philosophy and an MA in Judaic Studies from Harvard University, and after nearly a decade of beit midrash study in Israel and the US, she is a graduate of the Drisha Scholars Circle. Anne began teaching in 1991, and has taught widely since then, in the US and Israel.","short_description":"Anne Gordon is the deputy Ops & Blogs editor at The Times of Israel, and a co-founder of Chochmat Nashim.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37129,"alt":"","title":"Anne Gordon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Anne-Gordon.jpg","width":873,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Anne-Gordon-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Anne-Gordon-300x247.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":247,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Anne-Gordon-768x633.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":633,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Anne-Gordon.jpg","large-width":873,"large-height":720,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Anne-Gordon.jpg","1536x1536-width":873,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Anne-Gordon.jpg","2048x2048-width":873,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Anne-Gordon.jpg","post_full_size-width":873,"post_full_size-height":720,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Anne-Gordon-509x420.jpg","home_baner-width":509,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"718","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"An invitation, a challenge and an opportunity\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The Book of Proverbs is a challenge. Its language is straightforward, its messages reasonably accessible. Yet, to sit and study aphorisms, no matter how good the advice, can be a drag at best, and beating yourself over the head, at worst. This collection of smart, pithy statements may not be a self-help book (it\u2019s not that direct), but its premise is that one who abides by its wisdom will succeed.<\/p>\r\n

Proverbs is the purported handicraft of the prolific King Solomon, though the text intimates that he was not yet king when he wrote it. Its purpose is indeed a matter of self-improvement, namely: \u201cto know wisdom and ethics, to understand statements of understanding; to take practical, moral lesson, justice and law, and uprightness\u201d (1:2-3, translation mine). Solomon seemingly repeats himself in asserting the value of this text, but it is in those nuanced differences that the riches of his text are first found.<\/p>\r\n

The degree of one\u2019s involvement increases with each of the verbs - \"to know\" (lada'at<\/em>), \"to understand\" (lehavin<\/em>), \"to take\" (lakachat<\/em>) - from passive knowledge to the delving required for understanding to the active engagement that enables internalizing morals.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

His nouns - \"wisdom,\" \"ethics,\" \"statements of understanding;\" \"moral lessons,\" \"justice,\" \"law,\" and \"uprightness\" - are all traits available for those who learn and internalize Proverbs.<\/p>\r\n

Who's the target audience? Really, everyone. Each person will achieve a higher level of wisdom than that which preceded the encounter with Solomon\u2019s words.<\/p>\r\n

It will give the fools cunning, and the lad knowledge and foresight, the ability to plan that comes with maturation. Solomon assures us that also the wise will also benefit -- they will accrue additional wisdom. And the discerning will acquire the capacity to strategize. These four stages of acquiring wisdom may be indications of growth that we all traverse, or simply from which we each can progress.<\/p>\r\n

Verse 6 defines wisdom, writ large: understanding parables and flourishes, the words of the wise and their riddles. The Vilna Gaon explains this discernment to be grasping both literal and figurative meanings. He notes that the Written Torah and the Oral Torah include both ideas that are easily accessible, and those that are cloaked in metaphor, requiring \u201cunpacking\u201d (and which may be counterintuitive). The verses of Proverbs are used throughout rabbinic literature as triggers for sharp explication of other passages of biblical text, and as springboards to rabbinic homiletics.<\/p>\r\n

To round out his introduction to what might otherwise appear to be a secular endeavor of intellectual pursuit, Solomon the Wise brings in the Divine. He asserts that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Is that a prerequisite or does it take precedent? Perhaps both. And then Solomon, pulling no punches, calls those who deride wisdom and ethics (or discipline) imbeciles.<\/p>\r\n

It\u2019s an invitation to probe this work. Nay, a demand. To examine its place in the literature of the sages, and to develop our powers of discernment through its study.<\/p>\r\n

image: King Solomon (stained glass), produced by Tiffany Studios, c.1900,\u00a0Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows, The Navy Pier, Chicago, IL.\u00a0 Photo by A Duarte \/ flickr<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":92101,"alt":"","title":"pro1-solomon stained glass","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass.jpg","width":784,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass-218x300.jpg","medium-width":218,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass-743x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":743,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass-743x1024.jpg","large-width":743,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass.jpg","1536x1536-width":784,"1536x1536-height":1080,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass.jpg","2048x2048-width":784,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass.jpg","post_full_size-width":784,"post_full_size-height":1080,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass-305x420.jpg","home_baner-width":305,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Riddles And Flourishes Of Solomon The Wise","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"An invitation, a challenge and an opportunity","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":92101,"alt":"","title":"pro1-solomon stained glass","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass.jpg","width":784,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass-218x300.jpg","medium-width":218,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass-743x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":743,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass-743x1024.jpg","large-width":743,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass.jpg","1536x1536-width":784,"1536x1536-height":1080,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass.jpg","2048x2048-width":784,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass.jpg","post_full_size-width":784,"post_full_size-height":1080,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-solomon-stained-glass-305x420.jpg","home_baner-width":305,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Proverbs","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"718","date":"20280530","wall_id":"718"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"92084","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"Solomon\u2019s Wisdom ","post_title":"Solomon\u2019s Wisdom","slug":"solomons-wisdom","old_id":"92084","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"718","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"He composed three thousand proverbs, about trees, beasts, birds, creeping things, and fishes\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Our<\/span> chapter<\/span><\/a> begins with the superscription: \u201cThe proverbs (<\/span>mishle<\/span><\/em>) of Solomon son of David, king of Israel\u201d. Similar superscriptions at the beginnings of<\/span> Song of Songs<\/span><\/a> and<\/span> Ecclesiastes<\/span><\/a> (\u201cThe words of Koheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem\u201d) also ascribe these biblical books to Solomon. These Writings (<\/span>Ketuvim<\/span><\/em>) are regarded as Biblical representatives of a large group of ancient Near Eastern texts known collectively as Wisdom Literature. Indeed, the Book of Proverbs deals largely with the praise of \u201cWisdom \u2013 <\/span>Hokhmah<\/span><\/em>\u201d and its acquisition.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For example<\/span> Proverbs 1:2-7<\/span><\/a> indicate that the purpose of the Proverbs of Solomon is: \u201cFor understanding proverb (<\/span>mashal<\/span><\/em>)\u2026the words of the wise and their riddles (<\/span>ve-hidotam<\/span><\/em>)\u201d. In the Hebrew Bible, \u201cproverbs\u201d (<\/span>meshalim<\/span><\/em>) and \u201criddles\u201d (<\/span>hidot<\/span><\/em>) are sometimes mentioned in parallel, \u201criddle\u201d referring to a more obscure \u201cproverb\u201d for whose comprehension particular knowledge and ability are required.\u00a0 According to<\/span> I Kings 5:9-14<\/span><\/a>: \u201cGod endowed Solomon with wisdom\u2026He was the wisest of all men\u2026His fame spread among all the surrounding nations. He composed three thousand proverbs (<\/span>mashal<\/span><\/em>)\u2026He discoursed about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; and he discoursed about beasts, birds, creeping things, and fishes. Men of all peoples came to hear Solomon\u2019s wisdom, [sent] by all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The extensive narrative of the royal visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon (<\/span>I Kings Chapter 10<\/span><\/a>) serves to illustrate the attraction of Solomon\u2019s wisdom to foreign monarchs. We are told that the Queen asked Solomon questions, all of which Solomon was able to answer, leaving her breathless at the demonstrations of the king\u2019s wisdom. At the opening of this story, the Queen of Sheba \u201ctests Solomon with riddles \u2013 le-<\/em><\/span>nassoto be-hidot<\/span><\/em>\u201d, but none of these riddles or their resolutions by Solomon are specifically recorded in the Biblical text.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Midrashic imagination supplies the missing riddles and Solomon\u2019s wise answers to the Queen of Sheba, detailed in<\/span> Legends of the Jews, \"The Queen of Sheba\"<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Midrash Mishle<\/span><\/a> opens with the question: \u201cBut where can wisdom be found? Where is the source of understanding?\u201d(<\/span>Job 28:12<\/span><\/a>). In the extended answer to this question, the Midrash elaborates how the Queen of Sheba tested Solomon\u2019s wisdom. In this text, the Queen presents King Solomon with four riddles. In the last of these, she challenges Solomon to distinguish between identically looking Jews and non-Jews. Solomon had the high priest open the doors of the Ark of the Covenant. The Jews bowed from the waist (see<\/span> Shulchan Arukh<\/span><\/a>) and their faces were filled with the radiance of the <\/span>Shekhinah<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>while the non-Jews fell on their faces in fear from exposure to the power radiating from the Ark.<\/span> The Queen of Sheba was much amazed at this demonstration of Solomon's wisdom<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62123,"alt":"","title":"1kings10-solomon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","width":300,"height":400,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon-225x300.png","medium-width":225,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":400,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","large-width":300,"large-height":400,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":400,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":400,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":400,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":400}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Solomon\u2019s Wisdom","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"He composed three thousand proverbs, about trees, beasts, birds, creeping things, and fishes","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":62123,"alt":"","title":"1kings10-solomon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","width":300,"height":400,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon-225x300.png","medium-width":225,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":400,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","large-width":300,"large-height":400,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":400,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":400,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":400,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-solomon.png","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":400}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Proverbs","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"718","date":"20280530","wall_id":"718"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"92081","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"Ready To Teach ","post_title":"Ready To Teach","slug":"ready-to-teach","old_id":"92081","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46959,"post_title":"Rachel Kohl Finegold","slug":"rachel-kohl-finegold","old_id":"46959","first_name":"Rachel Kohl","last_name":"Finegold","description":"Rachel Kohl Finegold is the Rabba at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal. She is a graduate of the Drisha Scholars Circle, and was ordained in the inaugural class of Yeshivat Maharat. Rachel lives in Montreal with her husband, Rabbi Avi Finegold, and their three daughters.","short_description":"Rachel Kohl Finegold is the Rabba at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92184,"alt":"","title":"Rachel K Finegold","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Rachel-K-Finegold.jpg","width":1002,"height":1017,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Rachel-K-Finegold-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Rachel-K-Finegold-296x300.jpg","medium-width":296,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Rachel-K-Finegold-768x779.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":779,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Rachel-K-Finegold.jpg","large-width":1002,"large-height":1017,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Rachel-K-Finegold.jpg","1536x1536-width":1002,"1536x1536-height":1017,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Rachel-K-Finegold.jpg","2048x2048-width":1002,"2048x2048-height":1017,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Rachel-K-Finegold.jpg","post_full_size-width":1002,"post_full_size-height":1017,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Rachel-K-Finegold-414x420.jpg","home_baner-width":414,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"718","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"No longer naive, not yet disillusioned","post_main_content_content":"

According to the midrash, Shir Hashirim Rabba (1:10), King Solomon wrote Song of Songs in his youth. It is a book of optimism, sensuality and love.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At the end of his life, having pursued every pleasure and discipline the world could offer, he wrote Ecclesiastes, expressing disillusionment with all he had worked hard to achieve. In his early years, King Solomon celebrates what is possible; in old age, he faces the limitations of his wisdom, asking humanity\u2019s toughest questions.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The book of Proverbs lies in between. It is the voice of middle age - someone who is not naive, but also not yet disillusioned. It is a book that insists on the importance of wisdom and knowledge. It is the voice of someone who acknowledges that they are now old enough to begin to teach to the next generation (Proverbs 1:8).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This year, I turned 40; I also watched friends and colleagues meet this milestone birthday. As we enter middle age, we are ready to own our wisdom, confident that we now have what to teach. We seek opportunities to mentor others, to guide those who are coming after us. We want to impart what we\u2019ve learned, whether to our own children or to the next generation of leaders in our fields. From boardrooms to bimahs, in clinics and co-working spaces, we are ready to be the adults in the room. And ideally, we see the older generation is making space for us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

According to psychologists, one begins to achieve <\/span>a new sort of intelligence in middle age<\/span><\/a>. As a younger person, we have what is called fluid intelligence, basic reasoning and problem solving that does not depend on any prior learning. Around middle age, we begin to grow what is called crystallized intelligence. These are mental abilities that depend on experience, the ability to deduce something based on prior knowledge. While psychologists do not agree on an exact age for these different intelligences, the common assumption is that <\/span>by age 40<\/span><\/a>, one\u2019s fluid intelligence has peaked, while one\u2019s crystallized intelligence has just begun to grow. Perhaps it is not so different from the assertion in Pirkei Avot (5:21): \u201c<\/span>Ben arba\u2019im l\u2019binah<\/span><\/em> - At forty, [one acquires] understanding,\u201d <\/span>Binah<\/span><\/em> is the kind of wisdom or understanding that comes with the ability to \u201c<\/span>mevin davar mitoch davar<\/span><\/em>\u201d, to deduce something new based on previous knowledge or experience (Rashi on Deut. 1:13).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So at 40, our experience has made us a little bit smarter, and we are ready to teach.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Later in life, when King Solomon pens the book of Ecclesiastes, he will voice his disappointment with wisdom. This, too, is vanity, he will say. Even wisdom could not save him from despair and death.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But at 40, we are still enamored with what we know. As we continue to grow older, we will get more comfortable with all we do <\/span>not<\/span> know. The Book of Proverbs eases us one step closer to the book of Ecclesiastes, which will allow questions to stand unanswered, and will recognize the limits of wisdom.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We are not there yet.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":92082,"alt":"","title":"pro1-bible with heart","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart.jpg","width":1920,"height":1254,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart-300x196.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":196,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart-768x502.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":502,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart-1024x669.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":669,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1003,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1254,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart-1200x784.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":784,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart-643x420.jpg","home_baner-width":643,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Ready To Teach","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"No longer naive, not yet disillusioned","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":92082,"alt":"","title":"pro1-bible with heart","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart.jpg","width":1920,"height":1254,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart-300x196.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":196,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart-768x502.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":502,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart-1024x669.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":669,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1003,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1254,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart-1200x784.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":784,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro1-bible-with-heart-643x420.jpg","home_baner-width":643,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Proverbs","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"718","date":"20280530","wall_id":"718"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"92078","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Proverbs: A Prologue To The Book ","post_title":"Proverbs: A Prologue To The Book","slug":"proverbs-a-prologue-to-the-book","old_id":"92078","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"718","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A practical approach\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Describing King Solomon\u2019s wisdom, the Tanakh says: \u201cHe composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered one thousand and five\u201d (1 Kings 5:12). While it is not possible to determine whether these numbers are exact or exaggerated, the proverbs are traditionally assumed to include those collected in the Book of Proverbs (<\/span>Mishlei<\/span><\/em>) and the Book of Ecclesiastes (<\/span>Kohelet<\/span><\/em>), and the songs are identified with the Song of Songs (<\/span>Shir Ha-shirim<\/span><\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The various titles or attributions appearing in some chapters divide the Book of Proverbs into several parts:<\/span><\/p>\r\n