The Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, delves into this very idea. It centers around the verse in (Proverbs 2:6), "For the Lord grants wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." What's the difference between wisdom, knowledge, and understanding here? And why does it matter where it comes from?
The text presents two beautiful analogies to illustrate the point. Imagine a wealthy man with a son who's just come home from school. The father offers his son a piece of food from a tray. But the son isn't satisfied. He says, "I only want the piece that's in your mouth." And the father, out of love, gives it to him.
Rabbi Yitzchak and Rabbi Levi offer slightly different takes on this parable in Shemot Rabbah. One suggests the food is the same, but the son craves the intimacy of receiving it directly. The other proposes the father is holding something unique, a special treat he isn't sharing with everyone else. According to Rabbi David Luria, this "special treat" symbolizes the Torah itself, distinct from other forms of wisdom. While all wisdom originates from God, the Torah represents something shared in a more direct, intimate way – "from His mouth."
Isn't that a powerful image? The idea that God's wisdom, specifically the Torah, isn’t just something given, but something shared from the very source of divine being.
But the Shemot Rabbah doesn't stop there. It connects this idea to the pivotal moment of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Remember that incredible scene? The thunder, the lightning, the palpable sense of divine presence. According to Rabbi Pinḥas HaKohen (a priest) ben Ḥama, the Israelites made two specific requests of God at that time: to see His likeness and to hear the commandments directly from His mouth, echoing the longing expressed in the (Song of Songs 1:2), "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth."
Now, here's the really interesting part. God knew, the text tells us, that the Israelites were destined to create the Golden Calf just forty days later. So why grant their requests? Wouldn't it be better to keep some distance?
The Shemot Rabbah suggests that God, in His wisdom, understood the potential excuse the Israelites might later use. They could claim, "We only heard through Moses! If we had seen God's likeness and heard His voice directly, we wouldn't have strayed!" By granting their requests, God removed that potential justification. As it says in (Exodus 20:1), "God spoke these matters, saying..." They heard it. They saw it. There was no intermediary.
So, "He gave to Moses" – meaning, "from His mouth came knowledge and understanding," as the Torah was given directly from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He.
What does this all mean for us today? Perhaps it's a reminder that there are different levels of connection to wisdom and knowledge. We can learn facts and figures from books and teachers, but there's something profoundly different about receiving wisdom that feels directly connected to its source. It's about the intention, the intimacy, the feeling that you are getting something straight "from the mouth" of the source. It challenges us to seek not just information, but a deeper connection to the wellsprings of wisdom itself.
Another matter, “He gave to Moses,” that is what is written: “For the Lord grants wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6). Great is wisdom, but greater than it are knowledge and understanding. That is, “for the Lord grants wisdom,” but to those whom He loves, “from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Rabbi Yitzḥak and Rabbi Levi, one of them said: To what is the matter comparable? To a wealthy man who had a son. His son came from school and saw a tray before his father. His father took one piece and gave it to him. What did his son do? He said to him: ‘I want only from the one that is in your mouth.’ What did he do? He gave it to him. Why? Because he loves him, he gave him what was in his mouth. That is, “for the Lord grants wisdom,” and to anyone whom He loves more, “from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” And one said: It is analogous to a wealthy man who had a son who came from school, and he gave him a portion. His son said to him: ‘I want only from the biscuit that is in your mouth.’ He took and gave him from his mouth. That is, “for the Lord grants wisdom,” but, “from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”8The difference between the two analogies is as follows: In the first analogy, the food in the father’s mouth is the same as the food on the tray, but the son wants it because it is in the father’s mouth. In the second analogy, it is a different type of food than that originally given to the son, and served to the others at the meal. This represents Torah, which is different than other areas of wisdom (Rabbi David Luria). Thus, although all wisdom is from God, as expressed in the phrase “for the Lord grants wisdom,” Torah is unique and is considered to have been shared by God in a more intimate and direct fashion, as expressed in the phrase “from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Another matter, “for the Lord grants wisdom,” you find that when Israel stood at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, they requested to hear the commandments from the mouth of the Holy One blessed be He. Rabbi Pinḥas HaKohen ben Ḥama said: Israel made two requests of the Holy One blessed be He; to see His likeness and to hear the commandments from His mouth, as it is written: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth” (Song of Songs 1:2). Rabbi Pinḥas HaKohen ben Ḥama said: Does one accede to every request of a fool? Yet it was known and revealed before the Holy One blessed be He that after forty days Israel was destined to craft the calf. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘If I do not accede to their request, they are destined to say: Did we not demand through Moses that the Holy One blessed be He show us His likeness and speak with us?’ The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘So they will not have recourse to say that it is because we did not hear from His mouth and did not see His likeness that we crafted a god for ourselves.9They could have said that since they only heard from God through an intermediary, Moses, when Moses seemed to have disappeared they therefore created the Golden Calf in his place. Rather, what will I do? I will show them My likeness and speak to them mouth to mouth,’ just as it says: “God spoke these matters, saying” (Exodus 20:1). That is, “for the Lord grants wisdom.” “He gave to Moses,” that is, “from His mouth come knowledge and understanding,” as the Torah was given to them from the mouth of the Holy One blessed be He.
