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Thought for the Day: If They Don't Have Torah, How Do They Have Wisdom?

Some time ago (yikes! It was more than a decade ago... where has the time gone?!) I wrote about a gemara (Bava Kama 92) that takes several expressions that were common in Babylonia -- among the Babylonians, that is -- and analyzes each one to find its source in Torah. Wild, right? Why should a common expression among the goyim have its source in Torah? Mind you, Chazal were not looking for a verse from which we can learn the same lesson; they were seeking and discovering its root source. The Einei Shmuel (which I found, after some searching, in the back of the Vagshall Shas) says, essentially: (1) If something has become a common expression, then it must reflect some deeper truth. (2) If it is true, then it has a source in Torah -- the ultimate and exclusive source of everything. See the actual TftD for more details.

That's pretty cool, but old, news. (Yes, I know it can't be news if it is old; deal with it.) R' Schwimmer, in the Reb Naftali Tessler z"l Friday Night Chumash Shiur on parshas Yisro (5784) , though, brought a fresh perspective to this thought. Chazal (medrash Eichah) tell us that if someone says there is Torah among the goyim, don't believe them. If, however, they say there is wisdom among the goyim, you can believe them. Why is there no Torah among the goyim? Because Torah is not of this world, and only those who stood at Har Sinai can access Torah. R' Schwimmer brought several sources to support that point. So far so good. Then R' Schwimmer brought sources that all wisdom is actually rooted in Torah. One source says that Alexander the Great took King Solomon's library and gave it to his teacher -- Aristotle. Aristotle then plagiarized the works (hmm... nothing new under the sun) and disseminated them in his own name.

Interesting, but... the point? The point is, if goyim have no access to Torah and all wisdom is rooted in Torah, then how can goyim have wisdom? In fact, the medrash Eicha mentioned above really alludes to this question. To paraphrase the medrash: Since goyim have no access to Torah, it follows that they also should have no access to wisdom. Comes the medrash to tell you that they do have access to wisdom. As usual, the medrash doesn't give more details.

R' Schwimmer, though, made the following observation: We know the Torah makes a point of telling us that HaShem first offered the Torah to all the nations. Of course it was obvious and known they wouldn't accept it, but the offer was made. Why? One reason is so the goyim will not be able to call  -- "No fair" -- in the time to come. However, we also know that whenever the Torah records even a reaction from HaShem, Chazal will search to find the lasting effect that had on the world. For example, when Moshe demurred one too many times at the burning bush, HaShem got angry. What happened? Moshe lost the priesthood to his brother Aaron.

It seems very reasonable, therefore, to conclude that the offer did two things to change the world. (1) It gave goyim access to wisdom; not to the depth of Torah, but at least something like an echo from the depths of Torah. (Something like being able to use a cellphone and knowing it has something to do with electricity and radio waves, but absolutely no understanding nor even knowledge of the physics behind it.)(2) It created a doorway to allow goyim who were willing to do the real work of finding the combination to step through that door to join Klal Yisrael. (I have the notes from the shiur and would be happy to share them; just ask.)

So cool. So cool.

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