The Torah describes at great length the construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and its vessels. These laws span five Torah portions, from “Teruma” through “Pekudei,” which concludes the Book of Exodus.
In all the portions that deal with the building of the Mishkan and its vessels, and particularly in parashat “Vayakhel,” a pair of words is repeated: “wise-hearted,” “wisdom of heart.” It seems that for such sacred work, a special kind of wisdom is required – one granted only to select individuals. Yet, unlike the phrase we might expect to read – “wisdom of the mind” – the Torah emphasizes that the wisdom required is “wisdom of the heart.”
What is this wisdom that resides in the heart, and how does one acquire it?
The source of this idea is the verse “And in the heart of every wise-hearted person I have placed wisdom, and they shall make all that I have commanded you” (Exodus 31:6).
On this, the sages taught: “From here we learn that the Holy One, blessed be He, gives wisdom only to one who already possesses wisdom” (Berachot 55a).
It is commonly thought that money gravitates toward money, beauty pairs with beauty, and positions are given to those with the right connections. However, wisdom – an inner quality – is thought to be acquired through toil and effort. Yet here is something remarkable: Our sages reveal that wisdom, too, belongs to that same system. To receive wisdom, one must already be wise. How can this be? As has been wryly noted, a fool would not know what to do with the wisdom granted to him.
To understand this novel idea, we turn to a midrash cited in the commentary of the Riva on the Torah:
“A noblewoman asked Rabbi Yossi: ‘What does it mean, “And in the heart of every wise-hearted person”? Does He give wisdom to the wise? It should have said to the foolish!’ He replied: ‘If two people came to you, one rich and one poor, to whom would you lend money?’ She answered: ‘To the rich.’ He said: ‘So, too, does the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written (Proverbs 9:9), “Give to the wise, and he will become yet wiser.” But if the foolish are given wisdom, they will go and sit in filthy alleyways.’”
This unique conception of how wisdom is apportioned compels us to ask: What is that initial wisdom that makes one worthy of receiving additional wisdom? And how was the first wisdom granted, if the recipient was not yet wise?
The opinions of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
A window into understanding this can be found in the words of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. The emphasis of the verse is on the “wise-hearted.” This term is unfamiliar to the modern world, where wisdom is measured by knowledge and education, while wisdom of the heart is insufficiently valued.
As one thinker put it: “The more the world advances, the more the heart retreats.” In Jewish thought, the foundation is wisdom of the heart. It is the vessel that contains wisdom.
What distinguishes the wise-hearted is their intense inner yearning for wisdom. If the desire is present, wisdom will surely follow. Our aspiration must not be merely intellectual understanding but something that beats within our hearts. One whose heart is indifferent does not act; one who is satisfied with what he already knows does not advance.
The inner drive and the aspiration to grow are what propel a person forward and expand both his wisdom and his character. It is not a thirst for knowledge that remains external to one’s personality and leaves his essence unchanged. Such a person, in Rabbi Hirsch’s words, remains the simpleton.
The superficial world indeed falls at the feet of the knowledgeable and marvels at his erudition, without realizing that his heart may be empty and devoid of substance. The true sage is one who, deep in his heart, longs for greatness and continually moves toward the proper goal.
It often happens that at a certain stage in life, a person becomes satisfied with what his teachers have taught him and focuses only on expanding his knowledge. But the true sage, whose wisdom resides in his heart, never ceases to desire greater understanding, for the addition of wisdom generates still more wisdom. As the great thinker Rabbi Yitzhak Hutner explains in his golden language:
“If we seek in the physical world a parallel to the relationship between a great sage and one lesser than him, we must pass over the comparison between rich and poor, and instead compare the body of an adult to that of a child. The difference is not that the adult body can digest more, but that its necessity is greater; the adult body cannot survive on the measure of food sufficient for a child. Similarly, every drop of wisdom that enters the soul of a sage renews within him the difference between childhood and maturity, so that as wisdom increases, so, too, does the measure of his need for wisdom” (Pahad Yitzhak, Shavuot, ma’amar 4).
Wisdom of the heart is a wondrous vessel, the driving force that continually develops one’s inner greatness. In a generation in which the gates of knowledge have opened and many are educated and informed, it is vital to cultivate wisdom of the heart as well, and never to cease growing and deepening in the matters that truly shape our roots and our connection to the creator of the world.
“Give to the wise, and he will become yet wiser.”
The writer is rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites.