Hi everybody, welcome to NachDaily, covering the entire Tanach one perek at a time. Baruch Hashem, we have finished the entire Neviim and Tehilim, and will now begin Mishlei. I am excited to be starting this fascinating Sefer with you. Whether you’re a usual listener or reader, or you just joined, I’m so happy that you are part of this amazing limud. As little by little we chip away at finishing Tanach, connecting with the greatest of Tzaddikim of all time, please bear in mind that all archives and previous classes can be found on Soundcloud.com. Just type in ‘NachDaily’ and you’ll have full access to all our archives.

Shir Hashirim Rabba tells us that Shlomo authored Sefer Mishlei when he was young. He therefore mentions his father’s name, Dovid, in the opening words, “Mishlei Shlomo ben Dovid.” Shlomo had only been known until now because of his father’s greatness. By authoring Mishlei, Shlomo revealed his wisdom and ability to lead the generation.

The Gemarah in Brachos 57b actually says that a person who sees Shlomo in a dream should expect wisdom to follow.

Mishlei is the product of what it says in Melachim Aleph, perek gimmel. Hashem had come to Shlomo in a dream, promising anything he wanted. Shlomo asked for a pure heart with a proper mind to be able to rule over the Jewish people. Hashem was pleased with Shlomo because he didn’t ask for long life or to be wealthy. The passuk testifies:

הִנֵּ֣ה ׀ נָתַ֣תִּי לְךָ֗ לֵ֚ב חָכָ֣ם וְנָב֔וֹן אֲשֶׁ֤ר כָּמ֙וֹךָ֙ לֹא־הָיָ֣ה לְפָנֶ֔יךָ וְאַחֲרֶ֖יךָ לֹא־יָק֥וּם כָּמֽוֹךָ׃

“I hereby give you a wise and understanding heart. Never before was there anyone like you. And never will there be anyone like you afterwards.”

When Shlomo awoke, he found himself with an added measure of Divine wisdom. Rashi in Melachim explains that Shlomo was then able to understand the language of the birds, trees, and ruled over all the upper and lower worlds.

The Devarim Rabba 19:3 adds that Shlomo’s wisdom even surpassed that of Adam Harishon, who was able to see from one end of the world to the other.

The Yalkut Shemoni explains that Shlomo had fasted 40 days and nights before writing the Sefer, as did Moshe Rabbenu to be able to deliver the Torah to Am Yisrael. This is represented by the letter Mem, 40, in the word Mishlei.

The Sefer is called Mishlei because it is almost entirely full of metaphors. The Shir Hashirim Rabba, perek aleph letter ches, uses a parable for using metaphors to teach. A person loses a diamond a dark room and can’t see anything. He knows his diamond is there, but he can’t find it in the darkness. Once he lights a candle, the entire room is lit up. He can easily find the diamond which he knew was hidden there.

In the same vein, a metaphor shines light on the hidden gems of wisdom in the Torah that are unable to be seen until the light of a metaphor reveals them.

The Meiri writes that there are essentially 3 types of mashalim in Mishlei.

One type is a parable in a story form which contains a deeper meaning. An example would be a story about a man and a woman that really refers to masculine and feminine characteristics.

The second type is a mashal melitza, which is a simile. The author is comparing two things that obviously go together and are clearly understood, as in “as light as a feather.”

The third type of mashal is something which is almost exactly like the real-world event, as when neviim describe a specific city.

The opening of Shir HaShirim Rabba compares Shlomo’s authorship of Mishlei to a well with amazingly fresh water for the townspeople. No one knew how to get the water until a very wise person came along and attached a rope to a bucket to draw it up. So too, Shlomo was able to make the Torah more accessible, bringing its depth to the masses.

The Shir HaShirim Rabba also says that until Shlomo taught metaphors, the Torah was like a basket with no handles. With his metaphors, Shlomo gave the Torah ‘handles’ for all to take, understand and enjoy.

Rebbe Nachman explains that the sicker the person, the greater a doctor is needed in order to heal. So too, the sicker a person’s neshama is, the greater a tzaddik is needed to bring the Torah down to the level to heal the soul. That’s precisely the value of a mashal. No matter what level we’re on, no matter where we are in life, a mashal speaks to all levels at the same time.

Through Shlomo’s mashalim, he was able to spread the wisdom of the Torah to the farthest of places to bring a tikkun to them. As we know, even the queen of Sheba came to hear Shlomo’s great wisdom. He was able to bring the Torah to the farthest and lowest of places.

The Vilna Gaon explains that the purpose of this Sefer is encapsulated in the second passuk. It says “l’daas chochma u’mussar l’havin imrei bina – in order to make known words of wisdom and discipline, to make words of understanding discernable.”

Chochma is wisdom – a person needs to be wise to see how things are going to play out in the future and not be swayed by the tides of this world.

Mussar is discipline – for a person to rule over desires and not give in to anger or any other negative trait.

Lahavin is understanding – to understand the words of Torah and the most optimal direction for a person’s life.

In Melachim Aleph, perek 5 passuk 12, we are told that “Shlomo composed 3,000 parables and 1,005 poems.” This presents a problem, because Mishlei only has 915 pessikim.

The Radak and others explain that the original Sefer was three times larger than the version we have. Two thirds of what Shlomo wrote was lost through our 2,000 years of exile and persecution.

The Metsudos adds that what was lost reached the hands of the non-Jewish sages, who adapted these proverbs to their times and culture, passing them off as their own teachings.

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan notes in his introduction to Sefer Mishlei that therefore the very bedrock and foundation of the civilized world’s moral and intellectual framework was built on Shlomo’s lost proverbs.

Last but not least, Shlomo wrote three Sefarim: Shir HaShirim, Koheles, and Mishlei. The Ramad Walli explains Kabbalisticly that these three sefarim correspond to the 3 upper Sefiros of chochma, bina and daas. Shir HaShirim corresponds to chochma, Koheles corresponds to bina, and Mishlei corresponds to daas. This is why the sefer opens up with the word ‘L’daas,’ which essentially means the ability to integrate and fully absorb knowledge until it truly becomes like your own.

The Ramad Walli elaborates that although chochma, bina, and daas are three separate Sefiros, they are considered as one and form a distinct unit. Chochma and mussar correspond to the Sefira of chochma and bina, making it a single unit.

Join us regularly as we connect to Shlomo Hamelech, who was “chocham mikol hadam, the wisest man ever to walk the face of the earth.” As there will never be a prophet as great as Moshe, so too there will never be someone as wise as Shlomo.

Stay tuned to our next episode of NachDaily when we’ll actually be starting the Sefer. Thank you for joining us, and have a wonderful day.