HOKHMA
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From: Giovanna Z.
Date: Saturday, September 13, 2008, 4:44 PM
Subject: HOKHMA
ID: 264495

Good day everyone; I’m one of today’s new members. I would like to offer a prayer from a book called Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood by Merlin Stone. The prayer is called Hokhma. I’ve always associated this prayer with Sophia. Thank you for accepting my application and to Sophia spirit for this walk, leading me on a long and crooked road with Your spirit wind at my back.

G.Zammit

Note: I will be reading some of the recent list postings to catch up on what is happening on the forum.

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HOKHMA

Hokhma (Chokhma, ch as in the Gaelic loch) is the Hebrew word meaning wisdom. The following piece is adapted from excerpts of In Praise of Wisdom, from The Wisdom of Solomon in the Apocrypha of The New English Bible. The Apocrypha contains many texts that were removed from the main body of The Bible , the word apocrypha literally meaning hidden. We may want to question why this particular piece of writing, dated to the period of Israel’s Solomon (about 900 B.C.) was not included in The Bible, in light of the exalted and powerful image of Wisdom as female. Even with The Wisdom of Solomon, as it appears today, we may observe possible evidence of attempts to alter the role and status of Hokhma. Such attempts may be the cause of the puzzling sixth paragraph of In Praise of Wisdom, which starts out by Solomon explaining that, “wisdom is under God ‘s direction”, and “He himself gave me true understanding of things as they are”, but ends the long list of all that he had learned with, “... for I was taught by her whose skill made all things, wisdom”. Throughout the piece, wisdom is repeatedly referred to in anthropomorphic terms, even described as seated by the door. Thus I have taken the liberty to capitalize the name Wisdom, whose role may be compared to that of the Egyptian Goddess known as Maat.

Wisdom, She who knows all, shining bright and never fading, is recognized by all who love Her, quick to make Herself known to any who seek to find Her, for She is often seated upon the doorstep, just waiting to be invited in. The prudent will set all their thoughts upon Her, for to lie awake at night, with thoughts of Her upon the sleepless mind, is to find peace of mind more quickly – as She wanders about seeking out those who search, appearing with kindly intention, always meeting each halfway in their purpose.

That which comes from loving Her is the keeping of Her laws, the first of which is to forego pale envy, for from envy there is spite. Wisdom will not make Herself known to the spiteful, but only to those who realize, that compared to Her, all the gold in the world has the value of the sand upon the desert, and compared to Her, all of the silver in the world is as common as the clay of the river bank. Her brilliance is greater than the sun, for She never disappears from view, but following Her to each place that She leads one may find riches greater than gold or silver, yet riches beyond count-and that which may comfortably be shared, for always She is there, to lead to more.

It is She who teaches the knowledge of the structure of the world, and of the constant changes of its elements: of the beginning and the end of eras, and the path of going from one end to the other; of the solstices and the equinox; of the changing of the seasons; of the patterns of the years, as the stars create their designs in the heavens; of the natures of animals and beasts, of the wild winds, and of the thoughts of people; of the many wondrous plants, and the purpose of each root-for whether visible of hidden, Wisdom teaches of all that She had made.

Wisdom is the Holy Spirit. She is one and yet She is many, so loose and free moving, so subtle and so light in touch that She is like the mist of the air, moving as easily as motion itself, loving what moves as easily as Herself, beneficence and kindness -- as She permeates all with Her ethereal essence. Though they say that She is the brightness that comes forth from the eternal light, and that She is but the flawless mirror of the active power of God, they also say that it is She who continually renews all, as Her power spans the universe and Her kindly orders are always fulfilled; that She decides what God shall do, and that She is the cause of all that occurs.

Temperance and thoughtfulness, justice and strength-these are Her teachings. It is well worth listening to Her advice for She knows all that has happened in the past, as She also knows what is yet to come, and can thus explain the solving of all problems and the settling of all conflict, providing us with the knowledge of what to do through Her many signs and omens. If one follows to each place that She leads, each time doing as She suggests -- afterwards there is rest with Her, rest without bitterness or pain, rest with only gladness and joy.

To begin to know Her is pure delight, to become with Her as family is the gaining of immortality. Understanding and eternal honour are won by those who hold converse with Her. Though they say that She sits by the throne of God, and that She is his to give or to withhold, yet they also say that She was there in the beginning, at the time of the creation of the universe, and that She is the Holy Spirit that has since stood by us on our needs, forever teaching what would not otherwise be taught.