Proverbs: In every thing there is substance, form, actor and purpose. Correspondingly, the verse says that the substance of the book is proverbs, which means a grouping of parables; for in order to teach unknown, obscure and profound things, [the author] will create a proverb based on known things. In this way, the hidden, unknown analogue may be glimpsed through the clothing of the parable. The actor is Solomon, son of David, who is given three descriptions. For the truths become known:

1. Through wisdom or prophecy, and to convey this it calls him Solomon, who was wise and upon whom the spirit of God rested;
2. Through tradition, and to convey this it calls him "son of David," who had a tradition from his forefathers;
3. Through discernment and experience, which is perfected by being in the company of many sages, and to convey this it calls him "king of Israel." Since he was king over "this wise and understanding nation," all the sages gathered with him and he had the ability to examine all topics, as it says, "All this I have tried with wisdom."

“To know wisdom”—the purpose of the book is to know wisdom, etc.

The definition of wisdom is to know, regarding all traits, ways, and modes of conduct, that each of them has two paths opposed to one another, such as cruelty and compassion, pride and humility, boldness and shame, eating and fasting, holiness and impurity. Conduct in accordance with one path is wisdom, while its opposite is folly. For example, to conduct oneself with humility is wisdom, whereas to conduct oneself with pride is folly. At times, however, pride is wisdom and humility is folly, as when dealing with the wicked and the insolent. Likewise, regarding everything to which the terms good and evil, proper and improper, may be applied, wisdom teaches which path one should follow, and how, when, and to what extent one should employ each trait.

The general principle is that a person cannot understand the ways of wisdom on his own, nor can they be established by demonstration. They are received from God alone, Who ordained the laws of wisdom and taught them to mankind through the two Torahs—the Written Torah and the Oral Torah—in which He prescribed for man all the specific actions determined according to the ways of wisdom. Accordingly, however, it is impossible “to know wisdom,” for knowledge applies only to something that a person knows with certainty, namely, something known through the senses or through self-evident principles. This is impossible with wisdom, which is apprehended neither through the senses nor through rational demonstration, but only through tradition.

However, through his proverbs, Solomon taught man to know wisdom, for he explained things that are unknown by means of things that are known, so that through the proverbs a person may apprehend the principles of wisdom with clear knowledge.

He accomplished this by teaching through his proverbs to know wisdom and discipline. That is, since the laws of wisdom are opposed to the natural inclination of the human heart—for the heart naturally conceives images contrary to those of wisdom, as it is said (Genesis 8:21), for the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth—the heart conceives thoughts of pride, jealousy, vengeance, cruelty, and the like. These evil thoughts arise in the heart on their own, and through them the appetitive and emotional faculties wage war against wisdom, while man naturally inclines after them. Since the laws of wisdom cannot be established by rational demonstrations, a person cannot withstand these forces through the power of reason. Nor will the nature of his soul contend against them; on the contrary, the laws of wisdom conflict with the soul’s natural inclinations. He therefore requires discipline: he must chastise and restrain the powers of his soul so that they do not deviate from the laws of wisdom—neither by choosing the path of folly nor by allowing those powers of his soul that incline toward the good to extend and spread beyond the limits that wisdom has prescribed for them.

And what is this discipline? This will be explained below (Proverbs 15:33): The fear of the Lord is the discipline of wisdom. From the faculty of fear implanted in the soul there emerges a particular branch—fear of the Lord—which binds the powers of his soul with cords so that they do not transgress the law. For since he believes in God and knows that the laws of wisdom were given by God, he fears God because of His glory and greatness, His judgment and punishment, and he is afraid to depart from the laws of wisdom commanded and enjoined by the supreme King, exalted and sublime. We have already said that knowledge applies only to something known with certainty through sensory perception, a self-evident principle, or demonstration. Nevertheless, a person may also attain certain knowledge of something that he has not learned through the senses or through demonstration, but has received from a trustworthy person in whom he firmly believes, so that the matter becomes engraved in his mind without any doubt, as though he had seen it with his own eyes or apprehended it with his intellect. Thus, through discipline—that is, fear of God, Who made known and taught the laws of wisdom—when his heart believes in Him and in His words and he observes them resolutely out of fear of Him, wisdom becomes established in people’s hearts as something certain. Through discipline, therefore, they come to know wisdom and discipline with clear and certain knowledge.

To understand—Understanding differs from wisdom, for it is the ability by which a person understands one thing from another. It also applies to matters that may be described as true or false, as well as to understanding the difficult expressions and obscure riddles spoken by men of understanding.

Whereas wisdom is gathered into the soul from without, understanding proceeds outward from the human soul, passing among matters and investigating them, penetrating to know their depths, and uncovering hidden things through the deductions of understanding. This, too, will be taught in this book: to understand words of understanding—to comprehend the obscure sayings of understanding and to understand one thing from another.

To receive the discipline of enlightenment. There is discipline, and there is the discipline of enlightenment. The intellect differs from understanding, for it is a penetrating faculty within man that enters into matters beyond the reach of understanding, such as comprehending matters of wisdom that cannot be clarified through rational demonstrations, and likewise comprehending the truth of the sublime Being and the mysteries of the Account of Creation and the Account of the Chariot, in order to apprehend the greatness of the Creator of the universe. All these are functions of the intellect. The discipline arising from fear of the Lord because one fears His punishment is called simply “discipline.” But the discipline arising from awe of His exaltedness—when one apprehends the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He, and, in awe of His exaltedness, fears to act contrary to the laws of wisdom that he comprehends through sound intellect—is called “the discipline of enlightenment,” for it is attained through the faculty of the intellect. At times, the Holy Spirit accompanies it, and it is then called “sound intellect.” All this one will receive from the proverbs and figurative expressions of this book. Through these proverbs, he will likewise acquire righteousness and justice, meaning how he should conduct himself in matters between man and his fellow and in civil governance. Justice is what one does according to the law, whereas righteousness goes beyond the letter of the law, taking into consideration the place, time, and circumstances, in accordance with which one will sometimes deviate from the strict line of the law and act according to righteousness. Likewise, he will practice equity. This term applies both to uprightness in one’s opinions regarding theoretical matters and to uprightness in one’s actions regarding practical matters—whether in matters belonging to the category of wisdom or to that of understanding—when one’s thought and actions follow the laws of uprightness. All this will be learned from these proverbs.

To give. He now explains for which classes of people he composed this book, saying that it will benefit every class. To give prudence to the simple—prudence is the opposite of simplicity, for the simple person believes everything, whereas the prudent person understands a matter properly. Through prudence, his heart will not be enticed by everything, and he will examine each matter with his intellect. Therefore, “the prudent” is always presented as the opposite of “the simple.” He thus says that these proverbs will help instill prudence in the heart of the simple person, so that he will examine his ways and conduct and not be like a gullible dove. He adds that the youth, though he is not simple and possesses prudence, nevertheless, because he is young in years, lacks knowledge and discretion. Knowledge is acquired through extensive examination by means of the senses or through the application of intellectual principles; but one who is young in years has not yet examined matters and has not acquired clear knowledge. Likewise, he lacks discretion, which is defined as profound thoughts, for these are not yet present in the heart of a youth. These proverbs will give him both knowledge, enabling him to examine and know each matter, and discretion.

Let the wise man hear. These proverbs will also benefit the wise and the understanding. The wise man—defined as one who has received the laws of wisdom from his teachers or through the study of the Torah—will increase his learning, for wisdom is exceedingly broad and has no end. Through these proverbs, he will increase his learning, and his ear will receive many details that were not explained in the Torah or in the tradition of the Sages. And the understanding man—one who understands one thing from another and derives one intellectual conclusion from another by means of deductions—will acquire strategies. The term “strategies” denotes deriving intellectual conclusions through numerous deductions linked together in a chain. Through this book, he will acquire many premises and learn to construct and derive numerous deductions by means of his understanding, one from another and the next from that one, thereby expanding the scope of his understanding.

To understand a parable and its meaning. He now explains the form of the book, which contains both parable and figurative meaning. The figurative meaning is the intended lesson of the parable. From it, they will also learn to understand the parables of the Written Torah and their figurative meaning—that is, the inner intellectual concept beneath the outer garment, which is the parable. Thus, in accounts such as those of the Tree of Knowledge and the serpent, and the like, one will understand both the parable and its intended meaning. Likewise, in the Oral Torah, one will understand the words of the Sages and their riddles: the teachings through which the Sages explained the commandments of the Torah, the ethical instructions they gave, and the like, as well as the aggadic and esoteric teachings that they expressed in the form of riddles. Only the wise of heart can understand these, and they will find their interpretation through the proverbs of this book.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Every branch of wisdom has a starting point through which that wisdom becomes known, and these are its foundations. Thus, geometry builds its foundations upon sensory perception and self-evident principles, while natural science is founded upon observation and experience.

However, the wisdom of the Torah and the wisdom of moral conduct—referred to in this book simply as “wisdom”—have foundations that cannot be known through rational demonstration, as explained above. Rather, this wisdom is received from God, Who established it and also investigated it. Therefore, one cannot attain the status of knowledge regarding it—that is, know it with certainty—except through discipline and fear of the Lord. As stated in verse 1, through the faculty of fear implanted within the soul, a person fears the Lord and is afraid to transgress His will. He prepares his heart to observe the laws of wisdom given by God, and they become established in his heart as trustworthy and true. In this way, he attains knowledge of them, for through his faith in God, the Lawgiver of the laws of wisdom, they become as certain to him as something apprehended through the senses or through self-evident principles. This applies only to one who believes in God and His commandments without doubt.

However, the fools—the definition of a fool being one who doubts and does not believe—raise doubts both about wisdom and about the fear of the Lord, which is the discipline that constitutes the beginning and foundation of the knowledge of wisdom. They therefore despise both wisdom and discipline.

This is what he meant by saying that fools despise wisdom and discipline: because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. That is, wisdom has no other starting point through which it can be known and apprehended with certainty except the fear of the Lord, which is founded upon faith in God and in the laws of wisdom that came from Him. Fools doubt all these things and therefore despise discipline and the fear of the Lord, together with the wisdom that rests upon them.

Hear. To this he responds to them and demonstrates that the laws of wisdom do have foundations and self-evident principles that every human intellect must necessarily accept. He says: My son, hear the discipline of your father, which he proceeds to explain. The first moral instruction with which a man disciplines his son is something about which no doubt whatsoever can be raised; it is as certain as something apprehended by the senses. From this he establishes that discipline in general is something founded upon and apprehended by the human intellect, and constitutes clear knowledge in which there is no doubt. Therefore, do not forsake the teaching that your mother teaches you. Alternatively, “your mother” refers to the teaching of the community as a whole, which is the universal mother. Do not forsake it, for it has a foundation in discipline and knowledge.

For they are a graceful wreath upon your head—like an ornament of grace fastened upon your head—and necklaces for your throat, ornaments worn around your neck. The head signifies thought and intellect, whose dwelling place is in the head, while the throat, from which speech emerges, signifies the adornment of speech. This means that these moral teachings will impart grace to your thoughts and your speech. The term “wreath” denotes something attached to a person externally, for wisdom does not arise from within the soul, as understanding does, but is received from an external source.

“My son, if sinners entice you”—this is the moral instruction that the father gives his son.

For when he wishes to instruct him in wise conduct, he begins with a simple matter whose reason is evident, clear, and apprehensible with certainty even to a young child: that he should not join a band of murderers to kill people and commit robbery. This is known to everyone, both because of the gravity of murder, which is contrary to human nature, and because of the danger involved, since he places his own life at risk.

Therefore, a father begins with this when teaching discipline to his young son, explaining to him the nature of the path of folly and its wickedness. For a teacher begins with something simple and clear, and from this gradually elevates him in his instruction, teaching him not to heed the enticement of sinners in any matter.

Therefore, he first states, If sinners entice you, do not consent, a general warning not to listen to them, for their enticements are contrary to the laws of wisdom. He then illustrates this for him with an example drawn from enticement to murder:

If they say, “Come with us; let us lie in wait for blood.” This refers to a band of murderers enticing him. Such a situation may occur in two ways. Sometimes the intended victims resist them and fight for their lives. The murderers then proceed by ambush, plotting through strategies of warfare how to overpower and capture them, and bloodshed ensues between them. Concerning this, it says, Let us lie in wait for blood. At other times, the intended victims are weak or fainthearted people who will not fight against them. Concerning this, it says, Let us secretly ambush the innocent without cause. In that case, the victims are innocent and do not deserve death even according to the murderers’ own judgment, for they did not fight against them. Any harm inflicted upon them is entirely without cause, since the murderers cannot claim that the victims fought against them and killed some of their men. Therefore, the verse uses the expression “let us secretly ambush,” for they do not approach by means of ambush and open combat, but conceal themselves along the road in order to fall upon the victims as they pass and rob them.

Let us swallow them. Regarding the case described as Let us secretly ambush the innocent without cause, they will not kill the victims, since they did not fight against them. Rather, Let us swallow them alive, like Sheol—that is, we will swallow them and their property, while they remain alive as perpetual slaves, just as the earth opens its mouth and a person descends alive into Sheol together with all that belongs to him, as occurred with Korah. Regarding the case in which they lie in wait for blood and kill their victims, Let us swallow them whole, like those who descend into the pit, for one who descends into the pit is dead. Nevertheless, although they are no longer alive, they are “whole”; that is, we will take all their wealth and possessions, like one who descends into the pit and leaves everything he owns to his heirs.

All. First, we shall find all kinds of precious wealth, such as silver and gold. Second, we shall fill our houses with spoil: the objects they find and take as spoil will be divided so that each person may bring his share home for use among his household possessions. The gold and wealth, however, they will not take to their individual homes, but will place in the band’s common treasury, as he proceeds to explain:

Your lot. As for the spoils consisting of objects and utensils, they will divide these among themselves by lot, with each person taking his portion home. Cast your lot among us—take your share by lot as one of us. But the wealth and money will be placed in the common purse of the band’s treasury: we shall all have one purse, and you will have a share in it.

My son, do not walk on the road with them. A “road” is a broad route established for the public, whereas “paths” are used by individuals. He adds that not only should you refrain from walking with them on their broad road, which is established for them all, but do not walk in their path—the path taken by even one of them. He further adds that not only should you refrain from walking together with them, but even when they are not present there, withhold your foot from walking on a path taken by one of them, for they will murder you as well.

For their feet run toward evil. The father informs his young son that everything toward which they run is evil, for robbery is an evil thing. In this way, the father begins teaching his son with something that his intellect can easily understand. He then adds that, beyond its being evil, they will also murder you, for they hasten to shed blood. Nor should you think that you will meanwhile escape from their hands, for they will act swiftly.

“Editing.”

For the net is spread freely in the sight of every winged creature. When a bird sees a net with various kinds of food scattered upon it, it imagines that the food is being given to it freely and that nothing will be demanded from it in return.

But they—the hunters—lie in wait for their blood; that is, either they lie in wait to kill them, or they secretly ambush their lives, intending to capture them alive.

So are the ways of everyone who pursues unjust gain. Every person who pursues unjust gain follows this path: he spreads a net to catch the unsuspecting person, who, like a gullible dove, is enticed into his net. It appears to him that he is being given money and precious wealth for nothing, but in truth, the unjust gain takes the life of its owner. When they see that you possess wealth, they will take your life and rob it from you, as it says, “They hasten to shed blood.” In this way, the father also makes clear to his son the danger involved. From what is known, he thus teaches him what is unknown: to guard himself against the enticement of sinners in every form.

Wisdoms. After mentioning how a father begins teaching the laws of wisdom to his young son, he says that wisdom reveals herself gradually, becoming increasingly manifest from one level to the next. He enumerates four ascending stages. At first, she sings aloud outside. “Outside” is the place behind the houses, where only the small children and the residents of the courtyard are found. Afterward, in the streets she raises her voice. The street is the broad area before the houses, where the adults who live in that alley are found. Raising one’s voice is more than singing aloud, for one who sings does so to himself, whereas one who raises his voice intends another person to hear him. Thus, wisdom first begins to reveal herself privately to the youths behind the houses. Afterward, she becomes more manifest, until the preacher stands and raises his voice in the street before the adults. And afterward—

At the head of the bustling places she calls out. She reveals herself in the marketplace, where all the inhabitants of the city gather for commerce. There she “calls out,” for calling out is more than raising one’s voice: one who calls directs his call toward particular people, whereas one who merely raises his voice addresses everyone generally. That is, the prophet or preacher will then stand before great multitudes. Afterward, at the entrances of the gates in the city, she speaks her words. The judges and elders sit there, and there she speaks her words and reveals her wisdom to the elders of the gate, until the light of wisdom breaks forth like a radiant light that grows increasingly bright until the day is fully established. And she says:

How long, simple ones, will you love simplicity? The simple person is enticed toward the path of folly without knowledge. Therefore, it says: How long will you love being enticed without knowledge? For wisdom gives prudence to the simple. And how long will scorners desire scorning for themselves? The scorner mocks wisdom because it has no rational demonstrations. He does not hate wisdom because it cannot be known with certainty; rather, scorners refuse to accept it through tradition, by means of discipline and fear of the Lord, because they delight in mocking matters of faith for which there is no demonstration. The fool, however, knows the laws of wisdom but turns away from them because of his desire, since the laws of wisdom oppose the inclinations of his evil heart. In this respect, he is worse than the scorner, for the scorner does not hate knowledge and mocks only something that he cannot know with certainty. But the fool, although he knows the laws of wisdom with certainty, turns away from them because fools hate knowledge, since the knowledge of wisdom places a bridle upon the desires of the heart.

Return at my rebuke. Wisdom tells them to turn back from their evil way: 1) because of the rebuke through which she reasons with them and teaches them the ways of wisdom and its truth; 2) I shall pour forth my spirit to you—the spirit of wisdom will be like a flowing spring within their hearts and will teach them its laws and truths; 3) I shall make my words known to you—this refers to the punishment destined for one who abandons wisdom, as he proceeds to explain.

Because. Corresponding to what was stated, “Return at my rebuke,” it says, because I called and you refused. Wisdom calls to people and reasons with them. She also calls within their hearts and pours her spirit upon them, as stated, “I shall pour forth my spirit to you,” for the faculties of the human soul were prepared to receive the laws of wisdom, and the heart senses the spirit of wisdom filling all the chambers of the soul and whispering to it to heed her voice. Nevertheless, you refused to heed this call. Corresponding to I shall make my words known to you—the words concerning the punishment destined for one who transgresses the laws of wisdom—it says, I extended my hand. Extending the hand signifies striking, as in, “I shall stretch out My hand against you and destroy you.” I wanted you to return to the ways of wisdom out of fear of punishment, but no one listened.

And you rejected. Corresponding to the statement “Because I called,” which refers to the counsel that wisdom places within a person’s heart, as though advising him concerning the good path on which he should walk, it says, you rejected all my counsel. Corresponding to “I extended my hand,” which refers to her rebuking him through fear of punishment, it says, you did not desire my rebuke—you did not desire to heed the rebuke, as stated, “but no one listened.”

I, too, shall laugh at your calamity. Calamity is the trouble itself, whereas fear precedes the trouble, for fear is defined as apprehension of something when one does not know what one fears. It adds, I shall mock when your fear comes, which occurs before the trouble, and then explains:

When your fear comes like devastation. Fear will come like devastation and darkness, for fear intensifies in the gloom, when one cannot see the nature of the thing one fears.

And your calamity shall arrive swiftly like a whirlwind. Immediately after the devastation and fear, calamity will follow. There is a distinction between “coming” and “arriving”: “arriving” denotes a definite and complete arrival. He therefore adds that it has already begun to arrive, and its coming is recognizable by its signs.

When distress and anguish come upon you. “Distress” is the external trouble, whereas “anguish” is the soul’s inner torment (Verzweiflung, despair). When inner anguish accompanies external trouble, it is exceedingly bitter and painful, for then all hope is lost, and a person trembles and falls into utter despair.

Then they will call me, but I shall not answer. He depicts wisdom as initially still close to them, so that they can call her, but she will not answer them. Afterward, she will distance herself from them until they seek me early but will not find me. The first situation applies to fools who know the laws of wisdom but do not observe them because of their desires. Afterward, they descend to the condition of those who doubt the laws of wisdom, or to the level of the simple, who do not know the laws of wisdom at all.

Because they hated knowledge. This is the level of fools, as it is written, “Fools hate knowledge,” for because of their desires, they do not desire knowledge at all. We have already explained (in verse 2) that although the laws of wisdom cannot be established through rational demonstration, one can nevertheless attain knowledge of them through discipline and fear of the Lord. Through fear of the Lord, the laws of wisdom become firmly established in one’s heart and become as clear to him as something he has perceived through the senses or apprehended through self-evident principles. But they did not choose the fear of the Lord, for because they follow their desires, they do not desire the fear of the Lord that would bring them to knowledge. As it is written, “Desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but departing from evil is an abomination to fools.” Consequently—

They did not desire my counsel. They did not wish to accept the laws of wisdom, whether through the counsel that wisdom gives them by means of reason or through fear of punishment, for they despised all my rebuke, as it says, “You rejected all my counsel and did not desire my rebuke.”

And they shall eat. Therefore, they will receive punishment both for the fruit of their way—their actions in following their corrupt paths—and for their counsel, through which they denied the laws of wisdom and faith. Concerning this, it says, they shall be sated with their own counsels. Satiety is greater than eating; because they committed evil deliberately, their punishment will be correspondingly greater.

For the waywardness of the simple will kill them. The simple do not know the laws of wisdom at all. They possess waywardness, for their intellect is wayward, and this will kill them. Fools, however, know the laws of wisdom and are not wayward in intellect; they merely turn away from the ways of wisdom because of their desires. Since they seek tranquility and the pleasures of this world, the tranquility of fools will destroy them. This tranquility will destroy them both in this world and in the World to Come. Destruction is worse than being killed, which affects only this world, for the simple sin unintentionally and have a share in the World to Come, unlike fools, who act willfully.

But one who listens to me will dwell securely, for his heart trusts in his wisdom, and will be tranquil, without fear of evil, for wisdom will protect him from every external danger, so that no evil will befall him.