A Jewish Wisdom Path

In the Beginning, the Creator was not alone. According to the ancient Hebrews, before the cosmos was formed, God made Wisdom. This power—who they spoke of as “she”—was God’s first-born and friend. She was also God’s helpmate, and through her the universe came into being.

Long after the Creation, the sages of ancient Israel heard Wisdom speak, and recorded her words in the book of Proverbs. To them, she said:

The Lord created me first of all,
the first of his works, long ago.
I was made in the very beginning,
at the first, before the world began….

I was there when he laid the earth’s foundations.
I was beside him like an architect,
I was his daily source of joy.
(Proverbs 8: 22-30, GNB)

These ancient sages called God’s first-born, “Chochma,” the Hebrew word for wisdom. They recognized her as God active in the world—as that aspect of the divine that humans can know through their senses. When they spoke of Wisdom in the Greek language, they called her “Sophia.”

For these people, Wisdom was not an abstract set of principles. She was a tangible power—a living force that created, flowed, and played in the world. Their sages proclaimed: She pervades and permeates all things. Her work is everywhere. (Wisdom 7:24; 8:5, NJB) They saw Wisdom in the abundance of the natural world, but they knew that she moved among and within them, too. “I am calling to you, all people,” she said. “I have something important to tell you….Wisdom is more precious than jewels….For whoever finds me finds life….” (Proverbs 8:4-35, NJB)

At the same time, these ancient sages knew that humans were dual-natured, capable of foolishness as well as wisdom. Often, they were distracted by fleeting pleasures and the desire to dominate others. Seduced by folly, they forgot that their essence was Chochma-Sophia herself—that she was the architect of creation, giving them life.

Despite their forgetfulness, human beings were capable of distinguishing folly from wisdom, and of choosing Wisdom as their guide and friend. Wisdom made knowing her easier because she longed to commune with her creatures. To those who truly wanted her, Wisdom revealed herself eagerly. To them, she said:

“Approach me,” she pleaded, “you who desire me, and take your fill of my fruits.” (Sirach 24:19 NJB)

The way to Wisdom was hard for those who remained attached to exotic experiences, fleeting romances, and fixed dogmas. But those who gave themselves to Chochma-Sophia experienced the eternal present, perceived the miracle of life, and knew serenity and joy.

In the ancient book of Sirach (6:25-30, NJB), the author said of Wisdom: “Offer your shoulder to her burden….Her yoke will be a golden ornament,” and “in the end you will find rest in her.”

Today, in our Art of Surrender groups, we use our three-step process, first to depict our ordinary, human self, then to portray an aspect of our divine nature. In a third symbol, we allow these two images to intertwine. Each time we create this communion symbol, we “offer our shoulder” to the yoke of Chochma-Sophia.*

Note

* Wisdom’s message can be found in the Hebrew scriptures, especially Proverbs, Psalms, The Song of Songs, and two apocryphal texts (Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon). Rabbi Rami Shapiro’s book, The Divine Feminine in Biblical Wisdom Literature, offers a wonderful overview of this material. The quotations in this essay are taken from two sources: The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB), and the Good News Bible (GNB).