Hokhma (ܚܟܡܐ)

These are the words I taught concerning Wisdom, for Wisdom is the lamp of the heart and the compass of the Way.

Seek Wisdom, and you will not stumble. Walk without it, and you will wander in darkness. For Wisdom is not many paths but one light, shining upon the road.

“Teacher, what is Wisdom? Is it knowledge of many books, or skill in many trades?”

Wisdom is not the piling of scrolls, nor the swelling of words. It is not the cunning tongue, nor the storing of secrets. Wisdom is seeing rightly, and acting in season. It is the balance between knowing and doing.

Knowledge is the seed, but Wisdom is the fruit. Skill is the tool, but Wisdom is the hand that guides it. Cunning may win the day, but Wisdom endures the night.

Wisdom is listening before speaking, pausing before striking, questioning before believing. It is the measure that weighs pride and finds it light, the plumb line that tests the wall and finds it straight.

There once was a king who stored gold in his treasury and called himself wise. He counted his coins each morning and guarded them each night. But a famine came, and the people cried for bread. The king opened his storehouses, and behold - he had nothing that could be eaten. His gold was heavy, but his people were light with hunger.

Then came a farmer who had little gold but full barns, and the people gathered to him. And they said, “This one is wise, for he has what gives life.”

So it is with Wisdom: it is not in what is counted, but in what sustains.

Why seek Wisdom? Because strength without Wisdom is destruction, and love without Wisdom is blindness. For Wisdom joins love to truth, power to mercy, desire to discernment.

Wisdom guards the heart from folly, and the hands from harm. It builds the house upon rock, not upon sand. It plants in season, and reaps in season, so that no labor is wasted.

Why seek Wisdom? Because Wisdom is the eye of the soul. Without it, you are as one walking in darkness, who stumbles though the path is straight. But with Wisdom, even a crooked path is made safe.

There once was a child who wished to gather honey. He saw the bees at their hive and reached in with bare hands. The bees stung him, and he wept.

The next day he came again, but this time he brought smoke to calm the bees, and a vessel to hold the comb. He gathered the honey, and both he and the bees were unharmed.

So it is with Wisdom: it does not forbid desire, but shows the way to fulfill it without harm.

“Teacher, how shall we live with Wisdom?”

Live with ears open and mouth measured. Speak truth, but speak it kindly. Test all things, but do not mock what you do not understand.

Be quick to learn from a child, from the poor, from the stranger, for Wisdom is not bound to the proud. Do not despise the small voice, for often Truth whispers where power shouts.

How shall you live with Wisdom? Plant not only for yourself, but for those who come after you. Judge not by the surface, but by the root. See not only the present moment, but also what it becomes.

There once was a builder who laid two foundations. One was upon rock, deep and sure, though it took much labor. The other was upon sand, easy and quick. Both houses rose fair, but when the storm came, one stood and the other fell.

So it is with Wisdom: it chooses what endures, not what is easy.

I once saw a river in flood. It rushed and tore at the banks, carrying away trees and stones. But when the season passed, the river was shallow and barren. Yet another river flowed gently, winding its way, watering fields as it passed. Though less fierce, it endured, and the land was made green.

So it is with Wisdom: it flows steady, not violent.

“Teacher, when shall we call upon Wisdom?”

Call upon Wisdom in the morning, before you speak. Call upon Wisdom at noon, before you act. Call upon Wisdom in the evening, before you judge your day.

Call upon Wisdom in times of peace, that peace may endure. Call upon Wisdom in times of war, that hatred may not consume you. Call upon Wisdom in times of plenty, that greed may not blind you. Call upon Wisdom in times of want, that despair may not drown you.

Call upon Wisdom when anger rises, for Wisdom cools the fire. Call upon Wisdom when fear binds, for Wisdom sets free. Call upon Wisdom when love stirs, for Wisdom shows its true shape.

There once was a man with two lanterns. One he kept full of oil, the other he left empty. When the night fell, the empty lantern gave no light, but the full lantern guided his steps.

So it is with Wisdom: fill it each day, and it will guide you when darkness comes.

Therefore I tell you:

Seek Wisdom as the thirsty seek water, as the sailor seeks the stars, as the child seeks the face of the mother. For Wisdom is the eye of love, the hand of justice, the root of peace.

This is what Wisdom is: not many words, but true sight.

This is why Wisdom is sought: for it guards and guides.

This is how Wisdom is lived: in listening, in patience, in discernment.

This is when Wisdom is called: in every hour, in every choice, in every breath.

Walk in Wisdom, and you will walk in Truth.