Wisdom Is Given to the Wise
“He gives wisdom to the wise.” Introduction Every generation has its own tools. In our generation a shiny new tool has been invented. It is called “artificial intelligence.” People announce: Here is the key! Here is the solution! From now on every door will open for us. Whoever was stuck will start moving. Whoever was sinking will rise. And what actually happens? One man comes and says, “If only I had the budget, I would succeed.” He is given the budget, and he is still standing in the same place. He is given the free tool, and he is still standing in the same place. One barrier is removed, and another barrier pops up in its place. A Question We have to ask: the tool is real, and the help is real. So why doesn’t it help? And there is a harder question. Hashem Himself is the greatest helper of all, and He is able to give a person every good thing. So why isn’t every person automatically filled with wisdom and success? Explanation: “He Gives Wisdom to the Wise” The answer is a great principle, taught thousands of years ago. The prophet Daniel revealed it in his verse: “He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding.” Hashem gives wisdom to the wise, to those who already have some wisdom in them. Nothing is being created here out of nothing. Nothing is being started fresh in an empty space. Hashem’s blessing makes things stronger and wider. It does not start them. The Zohar, the classic Jewish mystical text, speaks about this. It says: “The awakening from above does not awaken until there is an awakening from below.” Help from above comes only after a movement has begun down here. Even the greatest help from above does not “start” anything. It strengthens and multiplies what is already there. Without that first movement from below, the help has nothing to rest on. An Example from the Bible Here is a story from the Bible. A widow cries out to the prophet Elisha. Creditors are coming to take her sons. Elisha asks her: “What do you have in the house?” What do you have? She answers: one jug of oil, one small jug. On that small jug of oil the miracle multiplied, until every container was full. The oil was not created out of nothing. The miracle did not begin in an empty space. A little that already existed grew and multiplied. Blessing needs something real, a vessel that already holds something. The blessing rests on it and makes it grow. The Hasidic Insight: The Inner Obstacle Here is the point that touches the heart. A person says: “If only I had more time.” “If only I had a better study partner.” “If only I had some quiet.” Then, he is sure, he would study Torah and pray the way he should. He needs to know that removing that excuse will not help. When one excuse is cleared away, he will find another one right away. The excuse keeps changing, season after season. But the real obstacle stays, because the real obstacle is not outside. It is inside. What is that inner obstacle? A lack of will. In the words of Hasidic teaching: the absence of will, which is the head and the source of every movement. As it is said: “Where a person’s will is, that is where he is.” If his will is not there, he is not there. No tool in the world will be able to bring him there. Conclusion So the lesson is simple and deep at the same time. Don’t wait for the perfect tool. Don’t wait for ideal conditions. The perfect tool will not start for you. Ideal conditions will not create the will for you. And all the help from above, however great it is, you can only receive once you are already moving.
Putting It into Practice
Choose one thing in your inner work. It could be Torah study, prayer, anything at all. Make one small move in it, today. Not because the conditions are ready. They are never ready. Do it because this small move, even if it is as tiny as the point of a needle, is the only vessel that can receive the help from above and let it grow. As our Sages teach, Hashem says: “Open for Me an opening as small as the point of a needle, and I will open for you an opening as wide as a great hall.”
Questions and answers
Q: Will artificial intelligence really open every door and solve our problems?
Rabbi Landau answers: Every generation has its own tools. In our generation a shiny new tool has been invented. It is called “artificial intelligence.” People announce: Here is the key! Here is the solution! From now on every door will open for us. Whoever was stuck will start moving. Whoever was sinking will rise. And what actually happens? One man comes and says, “If only I had the budget, I would succeed.” He is given the budget, and he is still standing in the same place. He is given the free tool, and he is still standing in the same place. One barrier is removed, and another barrier pops up in its place.
Q: What does Daniel's verse "He gives wisdom to the wise" teach about receiving help from above?
Rabbi Landau answers: The answer is a great principle, taught thousands of years ago. The prophet Daniel revealed it in his verse: “He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding.” Hashem gives wisdom to the wise, to those who already have some wisdom in them. Nothing is being created here out of nothing. Nothing is being started fresh in an empty space. Hashem’s blessing makes things stronger and wider. It does not start them. The Zohar, the classic Jewish mystical text, speaks about this. It says: “The awakening from above does not awaken until there is an awakening from below.” Help from above comes only after a movement has begun down here.
Q: What does the story of Elisha and the widow's jug of oil teach about "What do you have in the house?"?
Rabbi Landau answers: Here is a story from the Bible. A widow cries out to the prophet Elisha. Creditors are coming to take her sons. Elisha asks her: “What do you have in the house?” What do you have? She answers: one jug of oil, one small jug. On that small jug of oil the miracle multiplied, until every container was full. The oil was not created out of nothing. The miracle did not begin in an empty space. A little that already existed grew and multiplied. Blessing needs something real, a vessel that already holds something. The blessing rests on it and makes it grow.
Q: Why shouldn't I wait for the perfect tool or ideal conditions before starting?
Rabbi Landau answers: So the lesson is simple and deep at the same time. Don’t wait for the perfect tool. Don’t wait for ideal conditions. The perfect tool will not start for you. Ideal conditions will not create the will for you. And all the help from above, however great it is, you can only receive once you are already moving.
Q: What small step can I take today to receive help from above?
Rabbi Landau answers: Choose one thing in your inner work. It could be Torah study, prayer, anything at all. Make one small move in it, today. Not because the conditions are ready. They are never ready. Do it because this small move, even if it is as tiny as the point of a needle, is the only vessel that can receive the help from above and let it grow. As our Sages teach, Hashem says: “Open for Me an opening as small as the point of a needle, and I will open for you an opening as wide as a great hall.”