"Beauty, strength, wealth, honour, wisdom, [early] old age, [late] old age and children are becoming to the righteous and becoming to the world".This list has generated considerable discussion over the past millennium or thereabouts. Why? Not because there is anything startling or profound in it but because, later in the same Baraita, Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya says that there are seven items on the list. Those who are not arithmetically challenged will see that there are eight.
One of the candidates for exclusion, to get the number back down to seven, is "wisdom" -- not because it is unfitting for the righteous but because the list is supported by a selection of proof verses and none of those verses has anything to do with wisdom.
Maybe 20 or 25 years ago I remember seeing an edition of Avot that contained an extra proof verse which extolled wisdom. The verse comes from the Book of Proverbs (14:24) and reads:
"The crown of the wise is their riches, but the foolishness of fools is folly".I cannot now recall which edition of Avot had this extra verse in it, and I can't find it in any of my editions. Does any reader have a copy of Avot with this extra verse? If so, can he or she please let me know!
