Chachma and the Life of Pleasure
Mishlei Chapter 17 Verse 16
טז לָמָּה-זֶּה מְחִיר בְּיַד-כְּסִיל-- לִקְנוֹת חָכְמָה וְלֶב-אָיִן
16. Why is there a price in the fool's hand to buy wisdom, when the heart is not here (when he will surely fail)?
A ksil is someone who is attached to the world of the immediate physical pleasure. He is so attached to the physical that even if he sees some value in chachma and has a desire to aquire it, he will be unable to because to do so he must give up on (and mechir) a life of immediate gratification. Although the life of chachma does provide a more pleasurable life, the ksil will not have the strength of will to give up the immediate pleasure. Only when he stops viewing the acquisition of chachma as a trade (a mechir) in which he is making a sacrifice, will he be in a position to aquire chachma.
טז לָמָּה-זֶּה מְחִיר בְּיַד-כְּסִיל-- לִקְנוֹת חָכְמָה וְלֶב-אָיִן
16. Why is there a price in the fool's hand to buy wisdom, when the heart is not here (when he will surely fail)?
A ksil is someone who is attached to the world of the immediate physical pleasure. He is so attached to the physical that even if he sees some value in chachma and has a desire to aquire it, he will be unable to because to do so he must give up on (and mechir) a life of immediate gratification. Although the life of chachma does provide a more pleasurable life, the ksil will not have the strength of will to give up the immediate pleasure. Only when he stops viewing the acquisition of chachma as a trade (a mechir) in which he is making a sacrifice, will he be in a position to aquire chachma.
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