LISTEN TO HER WISDOM

Pro. 1:8

“I am the holy being of my mother's prayer and my father's song”

                                              Norman Patrick Brown, Dineh Poet (quoted in Joy Harjo's poem "Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings"

Listen to her wisdom. That is what the book of life is telling us today. The political reality is such that it feels like an omen or a blessing or a reminder of how long we’ve come and how much longer we have to go in defiance of the patriarchal way of life that is not ready to give up its power. And yet, we listen to her wisdom. And she shows up today to tell us who, and how and why. 

Welcome to the second biblical book in the Wisdom Series. Mishlei or Proverbs is a collection of 31 chapters containing moral teachings, self-help aphorisms and pithy sayings that sometimes contradict each other and are all about ways of living with more wisdom. But it isn’t just wisdom in general. It’s about Her Wisdom - and ours -- there is an ancient goddess hidden here. Throughout our journey in this book and some of the ones coming up we’ll be honoring this hidden truth and try and seek what she, and it, is all about - how does this sacred data matter to our modern lives. 

King Solomon, son and heir of David, is credited by biblical authors as the wisest of men. That’s likely why he also gets authorial credit in the opening line of the Book of Proverbs, along with three other unknown kings and poets. The Talmudic tradition claims he wrote this in his middle years - a response to midlife crisis. 

Scholars, however, question the historical validity of such claims. Whoever wrote this book, just like the authors of the Psalms, likely lived much later and used earlier texts from the tradition, perhaps as old as the 10th century BCE,  and wanted to give it a fancy celebrity endorsement, whether real or not. David got the psalms, Solomons got proverbs. That’s how you build a dynasty. 

Regardless of authentic authorship, this book is about the ways of wisdom.

But it’s not just wisdom as a general, universal concept. The star of this book is wisdom as the embodiment of the feminine wisdom. She is the mother of wisdom, and the essence of the divine design. Hidden inside these chapters is an ancient goddess, perhaps The Goddess, disguised, but unmistakably the designated driver of this volume and several others coming up. 

Feminist Jewish scholar, Prof. Claudia V. Camp writes about this Woman Wisdom in the Jewish Women's Archive:

“wisdom” is personified as a female character. This character is shown not only in traditional roles of women as a mother and housekeeper, but also as a prophet and a source of counsel. Her portrayal often draws comparisons to goddesses outside of the Hebrew Bible, such as the Egyptian goddesses Ma’at and Isis, the Sumerian Inanna, and the Babylonian Ishtar. There is debate over whether Wisdom was worshipped as a goddess, and ultimately her presentation is ambiguous. Nevertheless, the stories of Woman Wisdom are significant for their use of a woman’s voice in male books.”

Proverbs and Job, along with Ecclesiastes and the Apocryphal Books (written around the same time but not part of the biblical canon) of Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon, are classified by scholars as “wisdom literature” because of their focus on this fundamental human attribute and its relationship to the divine, and because of their similarities to other ancient Near Eastern literature with similar forms and concerns. Some also include the Psalms and Song of Songs in this series. 

Proverbs contain several literary forms but the dominant one is parallelism. The book’s Hebrew name Mishlei is the plural for Mashal which can be translated as analogy, a metaphor, a parable, idiom - or proverb. These parallelisms seem to point at patterns and paths for the good life - walking the way of Wisdom- whether you initially one to, or not. 

It begins with a reminder to begin at home - to listen to one’s parental wisdom. The opening verses of the book are constructed as an elder’s advice to a son starting his way in the world. While officially geared towards males - this text also  clearly indicate that it’s not just the father’s low that matters - it’s also the mother’s wisdom: 

שְׁמַ֣ע בְּ֭נִי מוּסַ֣ר אָבִ֑יךָ וְאַל־תִּ֝טֹּ֗שׁ תּוֹרַ֥ת אִמֶּֽךָ׃

My son, heed the discipline of your father,

And do not forsake the instruction of your mother;

Pro. 1:8

I remember this verse being sung to me, or rather at me, by a big-voiced cantor, standing on the stage in the middle of our synagogues, on the day of my Bar Mitzvah - coming of age ceremony. With his hands on my head and his voice filling the sanctuary, the cantor conveyed these hallowed words that only barely made sense to me at the time. I was however able to notice that my mother, father and relatives were all trying very hard not to burst out laughing at the sight of the pompous cantor and the terrified tween who must have looked terrified. 

This incident has become a fond memory in our home, and as I reflect on it now, is also an indicator of exactly what the verse is about - and what lurks beneath its surface. 

The Hebrew word for ‘the instruction of your mother’ is ‘the Torah of your mother’ - and the use of the word Torah here is an expansion of the concept of wisdom, teaching and law that is perhaps rooted in love. While the cantor in that very Orthodox male-led congregation spelled out the blessing for boys traditional in many community, he was also, likely unbeknownst to him, delivering the secret code embedded in this text: There is an older wisdom, her wisdom, the mother’s way, that you are not to look away from, and you must not ignore. 

In the years since I came of age in that synagogue my journey led me to explore the different ways of the divine, including, and with emphasis on the Divine Mother’s message. And it is within the chapters of this book that she is most emphatically preserved, even without the clearly defined divine title. 

The Wisdom of the Mother starts imparting advice here - warning the son not to walk along with those who favor wickedness, to suspect those who are out for quick gains and eager to spill blood. 

And then she shows up, in the public domain, in double-parallel lines that still speak to us today, loud and clear: 

חׇ֭כְמוֹת בַּח֣וּץ תָּרֹ֑נָּה בָּ֝רְחֹב֗וֹת תִּתֵּ֥ן קוֹלָֽהּ׃ בְּרֹ֥אשׁ הֹמִיּ֗וֹת תִּ֫קְרָ֥א בְּפִתְחֵ֖י שְׁעָרִ֥ים בָּעִ֗יר אֲמָרֶ֥יהָ תֹאמֵֽר׃ עַד־מָתַ֣י ׀ פְּתָיִם֮ תְּֽאֵהֲב֫וּ־פֶ֥תִי וְלֵצִ֗ים לָ֭צוֹן חָמְד֣וּ לָהֶ֑ם וּ֝כְסִילִ֗ים יִשְׂנְאוּ־דָֽעַת׃ וְשֹׁמֵ֣עַֽ לִ֭י יִשְׁכׇּן־בֶּ֑טַח וְ֝שַׁאֲנַ֗ן מִפַּ֥חַד רָעָֽה׃ 

Wisdom cries aloud in the streets,

Raises her voice in the squares.

At the intersections  of the busy streets she calls out; 

At the the gates to the city, she speaks:

“How long will you fools love what’s foolish

You scoffers be eager to scoff,

You dullards hate knowledge?

Yet the one who listens to me will dwell in safety,

Untroubled by the terror of misfortune.”

Pro. 1:20-22, 33

And so begins the book of Proverbs, her voice calling in the streets for us to listen deeply, to embrace the wise ways and to not be afraid, no matter how long, no matter the speed bumps, towards the noble path that honors our fathers’ faith and mothers’ love, the wisdom of our ancestors, the hope for our future, and our courage to listen to Her wisdom and to walk the talk of more responsible and caring love. 

Welcome to Her Book of Wisdom.

Image: Lady Wisdom, Street art by Sarah Hout, in Columbus, Ohio

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