10 Mar VAYAKHEL: THE RICH GET RICHER AND THE WISE GET WISER

The pasuk says, “And
He filled him with the
spirit of Elokim, with
wisdom, with
understanding, and
with knowledge and
with every craft.”
(Shemos 35:31) The Medrash, according to
the interpretation of the Etz Yosef, takes
note of the verb va’y’MALEH, which
means “and he filled him up.” Filling
something up implies that there is already
something there prior to filling it up to full
capacity. So, if the pasuk says that Hashem
filled up Bezalel with wisdom, it means that
Bezalel was already wise.
Hashem gives wisdom to people who are
already chachomim. This is reminiscent of a
pasuk in Parshas Ki Sisa: “And in the heart
of everyone wise of heart, I gave wisdom”
(Shemos 31:6). Superficially we might ask,
if a person is already a chacham-lev (wise of
heart), why does he need to be given
wisdom? The answer is that Hashem only
gives wisdom to people who are already
chachomim.
The Medrash comments that a certain
Roman matron asked Rav Yosi ben Chalafta

about the interpretation of a certain pasuk in
Doniel (2:21): “…He gives wisdom to the
wise and knowledge to those who know
how to reason.” The matron protested: What
is this business of G-d giving wisdom to the
wise? It should say that He gives wisdom to
the fools! They are the ones who really need
wisdom!
Rav Yosi ben Chalafta answered her: My
daughter, if you came across two individuals
who wished to borrow money from you – a
rich man and a poor man – to whom would
you rather lend the money? She responded,
“Obviously, I would lend my money to the
person who already has money, so that if he
loses the money I lent him, he still has other
money with which to pay me back. If I lend
money to a poor man and he loses it, from
where will he have money to pay me back?”
Rav Yosi bar Chalafta told the matron, “Let
your ears listen to that which your mouth
has spoken! So too it is with wisdom. If G-d
would give wisdom to the fools, they would
waste it in the taverns and pool houses (i.e.
indulging in foolish pleasures). Therefore,
He gives wisdom to the wise, who take it
and sit in the synagogues and houses of
study and occupy themselves with His

commandments.”
However, we can ask a big question on this
Medrash. Isn’t the Medrash comparing
apples to oranges? It is true that someone
would rather LEND money to a wealthy
person than to a poor person. But if someone
is GIVING AWAY money, then clearly, it is
preferable to give the money to a poor
person, who does not possess any money,
rather than to a rich person, who already
possesses plenty of money. Lending money
is a business deal, so you prefer to give it to
a person who can pay it back. But that is not
what the pasuk in Doniel is discussing. The
pasuk is talking about GIVING wisdom to
the wise. If we are talking about GIVING
wisdom, Hashem should in fact GIVE it to
the one who has no wisdom. What then is
the parable of the Midrash?
The Nachalas Eliezer explains that we are
missing the point here. When Hashem
“Gives wisdom to the wise,” it is also not
really a GIFT, but rather it is a LOAN. A
person with true wisdom understands that
the wisdom he possesses is not really his
wisdom, but rather, it is on loan. (“Talent on
loan from G-d”, so to speak.) When a person
recognizes that the talent he has been given

is “only on loan,” he realizes that he needs
to guard it and do the right things with it.
“It’s not mine. It is on lease.”
When someone is driving a leased car, he
knows that he cannot bang it up. He is going
to need to pay for the damage. He needs to
return it someday. That is what the Medrash
is saying. When Hashem gives us wisdom,
money or anything – He is not GIVING! He
is only LENDING. When you lend
something precious, you lend it to a person
whom you know will not abuse it or misuse
it. Therefore, chachomim are the appropriate
recipients of wisdom. They realize that
wisdom is a loan, which will someday be
returned, and that they must use it
appropriately while it is in their possession.
Fools would think that the wisdom they
were given is “theirs,” to do with whatever
they wish. They would feel that they own it,
and therefore they would abuse it.