When Solomon was yet young, God told him פBehold, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, such that there has never been anyone like you before, nor will anyone like you ariseצ(I Kings 3:12).

In Mishlei / Proverbs, Solomon shares his wisdom of life, of how life is to be lived. He fasted forty days so that the wisdom of the Torah would be given him (Yalkut Shimoni, Mishlei 929) -- this work is the product of those many fasts, of the voluminous effort of the wisest of all men.

It is filled with thoughts that have challenged the greatest minds that ever lived: the Sages of the Talmud, the classic commentators, the wise teachers of Israel throughout the centuries. The commentators mined beneath the surface of the proverbs and found gems of spiritual instruction. In Mishlei they found wisdom on many levels, allusions to the Torah and the soul camouflaged in down-to-earth advice to parents, merchants, farmers, parents, and children.

In this volume, years in the making, the author draws on vast scholarship and a rich family legacy of wisdom and ethics to present Mishlei with sweep and majesty. In addition to a wealth of Torah commentary, this work is filled with stories and comments from a host of the great Torah leaders and teachers of recent generations, many of them known personally to the author.

This volume is a fitting companion to the wisdom of the wisest of men.

This volume includes Chapters 1-15.

Published by: Artscroll; Hardcover; 287 pages