Wisdom has built her house, when she has hewn seven pillars. She has slaughtered the meat, mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids, she cries out from the highest places in the town.” (Proverbs 9,1-3).
In these verses Solomon draws a comparison between our faith and that of the idolaters. He compares our faith to a wise woman, whereas he compares the idolaters to a foolish woman (verse 4 and onward). The words חכמות בנתה ביתה, are a reference to the wisdom contained in the Torah. The reason that the word appears in the plural is to remind us that all manner of wisdom extant are contained in the Torah. This is why he describes the house built by such a woman (faith) as based on seven different pillars. The number seven is a simile for "many pillars.” Any structure built on numerous pillars, foundations, is bound to endure.
The number “seven” is not to be considered as literally seven, just as in Proverbs 24,16 the word “seven” in the line: “for the righteous will rise even if he falls seven times,” is not to be taken literally. The wise woman endeavors to prepare the food herself, mix the wine herself, and set the table herself instead of relying on others to do all this for her. This is implied in the words אף ערכה, i.e. she also does this herself. The wise woman, i.e. the Torah, also calls out to the women of her age, the foolish ones, trying to convince them that our faith is the only one which has substance. [This is the meaning of “she sends out her maids” Ed.] The paragraph is a parable describing the perfection of Torah in all its aspects, the Torah of which it is written לא תחסר כל בו, “it does not lack anything at all” (Deut. 8,9).Torah is a guide for the individual leading him to His Creator. Anyone who immerses himself thoroughly will find answers to all its detractors, i.e. to people who believe in the Trinity (the Catholics) or those who believe in other power-sharing by G’d and other deities. When he has studied Torah thoroughly, he will feel that the table is set for him and all the food and drink has been served ready to eat. Torah can fill the needs of the mind of the foolish just as food and drink can serve the needs of our stomachs. This is what David had in mind when he wrote in Psalms 19,8 “The teaching of the L-rd are perfect, renewing life; the decrees of the Lord are enduring, making the simple wise.”
Solomon warns all people to preoccupy themselves with Torah and to abandon their previous foolish pursuits. This is the meaning of Proverbs 9,4:” Who is a fool let him enter here; to the person who is devoid of sense she says.” What does Torah (the wise woman) have to say to such people devoid of sense? “Come and eat my bread, drink the wine which I have mixed, Forsake foolishness and live! Walk in the way of understanding.” As a result (verse 11) “your days will be multiplied; you will experience added years of life.”
Solomon compares the belief in idolatry to a foolish woman who offers the kind of advice which makes the multitude stumble and fall; she strengthens those who indulge in a sinful life style; she praises the foolish practices perpetrated by the sinners, the wicked deeds performed by them. This is the meaning of Proverbs 9,13-14: “a foolish woman makes a lot of noise, she is full of foolishness, knows nothing. For she sits at the entrance of her house or on a chair in the highest place in town.” The meaning of this verse is that the woman described here is the reverse of the one described in verses 3-4 of the same chapter.
The meaning of the verse is that the woman mentioned made herself the foremost, the highest in rank. Normally, the highest-ranking position is accorded to wisdom; in this instance the woman occupying pride of place is a foolish woman. The truly foremost woman, the one mentioned in verses 3-4 built her house with wisdom, while preparing everything in her household she kept silent. The foolish woman, who is unable to do what the wise woman has done, substitutes for her failure with noise. This is the meaning of the words: “she does not know anything.” To the degree that the woman in verses 3-4 is accomplished with all degrees of perfections, the one mentioned in verses 13-14 is without any of these accomplishments. All she knows how to do is “sit in the entrance of her house.” This expression is a simile for the way such a woman, i.e. philosophy, is unproductive and a waste of time. The “woman” sitting perennially at the entrance to her house indicates by her conduct that there is nothing worthwhile inside her house. The idolaters are in a similar position. Although totally devoid of accomplishments they can point to, they are unwilling to enter the shadow of G’d’s House, or the protection of his wings, preferring to remain on the “outside.”
Rabbi Joshua ben Chananyah answered the Roman Emperor in a similar vein when he said to him that whereas he and his colleagues were at liberty to worship any philosophy they desired, they would forever remain outside the fold, (Judaism) even if they wanted to. Our verse points out the audacity of idolaters who, though not able to boast of any true accomplishments, boast of the efficacy of their faith, extolling their evil deeds. This is what Solomon meant here with the words על כסא מרומי קרת, as opposed to על גפי מרומי קרת in verse 3. The difference is that the maids of the wise woman call to people warning them not to enter the house of the foolish woman, the foolish woman by way of contrast praises “the sweetness of stolen waters, and the tastiness of bread eaten in secret” (verse 17 there). This is an example of how the foolish woman (philosophy) entices her followers to become enmeshed in further sin. The former woman gives advice which results in added years of life, whereas the foolish woman’s advice hastens the onset of decay and death. (compare verse 18 at the end of that chapter).
A Midrashic approach to the verses in question: The words “she built her house with multiple wisdom” refer to the Torah which was the blueprint with which all the various worlds were built. The words חצבה עמודיה שבעה, mean that the world is hewn out of seven heavens, רקיעים. If man accumulates merits by busying himself with Torah he will inherit seven different “earths.” If not, he will be expelled from seven earths, i.e. worlds. The expression שבעה ארצות, “seven earths,” refers to our terrestrial world which consists of seven regions each with a different climate. Promising us “seven earths” is equivalent to promising us that we will inherit this earth, whereas the people ignoring Torah are told that they will lose their life in the hereafter, the region of seven heavens.
This Midrash (Midrash Mishlei chapter 9) interpreted the word שבעה, “seven,” which Solomon mentioned in verse one literally. The reason is that the number seven has equal significance in the celestial regions and the terrestrial regions. There are many commandments in the Torah where the number “seven” plays a significant role. The Sabbath is the seventh day; the Jubilee year is the conclusion of seven cycles of seven years, שמטה. Both the festival of Passover and Tabernacles consist of seven days. The components of the four species of plants used on the festival of Sukkot total seven, (1 lulav, 1 etrog, 2 willow-branches, and 3 branches of the myrtle). We observe a period of seven days of mourning for close relatives who have died; we observe seven days of celebration when a couple get married. The common denominator of all these commandments or practices involving the number seven is that they somehow symbolize the seven days in which G’d created and completed the universe. Even a Gentile prophet such as Bilam built seven altars for G’d before embarking on his nefarious scheme of cursing the Jewish people (which was thwarted by G’d). He told G’d specifically that he had erected seven altars (Numbers 23,4). It is not surprising therefore that there were seven days of inauguration for the Tabernacle. G’d Himself referred to them as such (Leviticus 8,33). The spiritual origin of these rites involving the number seven is one and the same.
If Aaron did not get consecrated on the seventh day itself but only on the morrow, the eighth day, this was because of the special nature of performing service in the Sanctuary of the Lord. Seeing G’d is essentially “One,” this is symbolized by the fact that Aaron did not commence his duties until the “first” day after the seven days of his consecration, i.e. the day of the “One.”
