The Heart Before the Wisdom – TESAVEH :
Understanding “חכמי לב” and “רוח חכמה”
In Shemot 28:3, Hashem commands Moshe:
“וְאַתָּ֗ה תְּדַבֵּר֙ אֶל־כׇּל־חַכְמֵי־לֵ֔ב אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִלֵּאתִ֖יו
ר֣וּחַ חׇכְמָ֑ה…”
“You shall speak to all the wise-hearted, whom I have filled
with a spirit of wisdom…”
The phrasing is curious. If Hashem is filling them with
wisdom, why are they already called “wise-hearted” (חכמי לב)” beforehand? And
if they are already wise-hearted, what does Hashem’s filling add?
This suggests a process: wisdom doesn’t appear out of
nowhere—it must begin with something inside the person. What does that teach us
about how we acquire wisdom?
The Malbim makes a crucial distinction:
• A chacham (wise person) follows
wisdom, but still struggles with his yetzer hara.
• A chacham lev (wise-hearted
person) has fully internalized wisdom, so there is no inner conflict—his wisdom
fills his entire being.
The Torah is teaching that Hashem does not simply grant
wisdom randomly. First, a person must be a chacham lev—someone whose heart is
already oriented toward wisdom. Only then does Hashem grant an even deeper
ruach chachmah—a divine spirit of wisdom.
Rabbeinu Bachya reinforces this idea:
• The artisans making the garments
weren’t just craftsmen; they needed deep kavanah (intentionality).
• If their hearts weren’t already
attuned to the sacred purpose of the garments, no amount of technical skill
would be enough.
This is why Ohr HaChaim emphasizes Moshe’s personal
involvement. He had to handpick those whose hearts already had wisdom because
technical ability wasn’t enough—there had to be devotion and understanding.
To understand this deeper, let’s look at a powerful story
from the Dubno Maggid as told over by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky
Once, the Maggid was giving an inspiring sermon, filled with
wisdom and passion. Among the listeners were a few maskilim (members of the
Enlightenment movement), who were unmoved by his words.
After the speech, one of them approached him mockingly.
“Rabbi, the sages say that ‘words from the heart enter the
heart.’ You clearly spoke from your heart—so why didn’t your words affect me at
all?”
The Dubno Maggid smiled and answered with a parable:
A
simple man once visited a blacksmith and saw him using a large bellows. With
just a few squeezes, the flames roared higher and hotter. The man was amazed.
“This tool can make a fire instantly!” he thought.
He ran
to buy a bellows for himself, excited to create a roaring fire at home. That
night, he set up some logs in his fireplace and pumped the bellows with all his
might—but nothing happened. The logs remained cold and lifeless.
Frustrated,
he returned to the blacksmith and shouted, “This thing doesn’t work! My fire
never started!”
The
blacksmith laughed. “You fool! A bellows can only fan a fire—it can’t create
one. If there’s no spark, all the blowing in the world won’t help!”
The Maggid turned back to the maskil and said: “If there’s
no spark in the heart, even the strongest words won’t ignite anything.”
This is exactly what the Torah is teaching us about wisdom.
• Hashem fills people with ruach
chachmah—but only if they are already chachmei lev.
• Wisdom doesn’t begin with divine
inspiration; it begins with a spark, a passion, a desire to learn.
• Once that exists, Hashem fans the
flames, filling a person with a higher, divine wisdom.
This idea perfectly aligns with the Gemara’s principle:
“לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ובמצוות אפילו שלא לשמה, שמתוך שלא לשמה
בא לשמה.”
“A person should always engage in Torah and mitzvot, even if
not for the purest reasons, because through doing so, he will ultimately reach
pure intentions.” (Pesachim 50b)
Hashem doesn’t demand perfection from the start. He looks
for those who begin the process—those who make the effort even before they
fully feel it.
• If a person waits for inspiration
before engaging in Torah or avodat Hashem, they may never start.
• But if they take the first
step—even if their heart isn’t fully engaged yet—Hashem will fill them with a
ruach chachmah over time.
• Just like the Chachmei Lev had a
foundation of wisdom before Hashem filled them with even greater wisdom, we
must create the beginning of wisdom through action, even if it’s initially “lo
lishma.”
Rabbi Abittan often quoted The Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 16)
which teaches:
“אחרי הפעולות נמשכים הלבבות.”
“The heart follows the actions.”
• This means that even if someone
doesn’t yet feel connected to Torah or mitzvot, by doing the right actions
consistently, their heart will eventually be drawn to them.
• The Chachmei Lev weren’t
necessarily born with their wisdom fully developed—they cultivated it over
time.
• Hashem only fills someone with
ruach chachmah after they have taken the initiative to become Chachmei Lev.
When we approach Torah study, avodat Hashem, or any
spiritual growth, we often wait for inspiration. But Hashem is telling us:
“Start with the heart.”
• We can’t just passively hope to
become wise—we must open our hearts first.
• If we create that initial spark—by
learning, seeking, and striving for depth—then Hashem will take it further.
• That is the message of “חכמי לב”
followed by “רוח חכמה”—first, we must have a wise heart. Then, Hashem will fill
us with a divine spirit of wisdom.
This perspective transforms how we think about acquiring
wisdom and growing spiritually. Wisdom isn’t just given—it’s earned through the
heart.
If we take the first step—whether in Torah, in avodat
Hashem, or in personal growth—Hashem will respond by filling us with something
even greater. But it all starts with the effort, even if we’re only doing it lo
lishma. First comes the action, then the transformation.
