(1) "Reishit chochmah yirat Hashem, seichel tov lechol oseihem, tehillato omedet la'ad." (The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they who do his commandments: his praise endures forever.) (Psalm 111:10) King David, peace be upon him, said: Whoever prepares his heart to engage in wisdom should first engage in the fear of Hashem and make it the foundation and principal element. All his ways should be conducted with wisdom, as our Rabbis of blessed memory said, "Whoever's fear of sin precedes his wisdom, his wisdom endures, and whoever's wisdom precedes his fear of sin, his wisdom does not endure." The fear of Hashem refers to the Torah and the mitzvot, the words of the prophets, and the tradition of the sages in the Oral Torah. Wisdom refers to the wisdom of philosophy.And if a person studies the wisdom of philosophy first, he will become confused in his spirit and stubbornly deny the great signs and miracles found in the Holy Scriptures, for these are matters that wisdom cannot comprehend. However, when he first studies the Torah, which is the fear of Hashem, and sets his heart to believe everything written in it and in all the Holy Scriptures, he will find paths of wisdom in them. As it is written, "For it is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations, who will hear all these statutes and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'" It goes without saying that the Torah and the commandments are built on the way of reason, but even the statutes, which are said to have no reason, appear unreasonable to most people. However, the wise person who contemplates them will find their reason clear and evident. After the wise person has reflected on the ways of the Torah and established it as the foundation of wisdom, he will strive in his heart to bring distant matters closer to understanding. When he subsequently studies the wisdom of philosophy, his mind will not become confused, for the wisdom of the Torah he has learned first has already firmly secured his understanding. And he will bring the ways of wisdom closer to it with all his strength and capability, and his reward will be complete. The phrase 'seichel tov lechol oseihem' means that good intellect, good insight, and good supervision come to all who engage in both the fear of Hashem and wisdom. For even in the fear of Hashem, one will not be complete if one does not engage in wisdom. Alternatively, 'seichel tov' can mean good success, as in the verse 'And David was successful in all his ways,' indicating that one who engages in both will succeed in this world and in the world to come. And our Rabbis of blessed memory said: "It does not say 'to their learners' but 'to their doers,' teaching that action is greater." And even though they also said that study is greater because it leads to action, they only elevated the importance of study because it leads to action. Action cannot be proper without study, as they said, "An ignorant person cannot be pious, and an unlearned person cannot fear sin." Indeed, action is truly greater, as the scripture says, "You shall teach them and observe to do them"—learn so that you will do. And our Rabbis of blessed memory said: "Whoever is engaged in doing [the mitzvot] is also engaged in learning, and whoever is not engaged in doing is not engaged in learning." They also said: "Anyone who says, 'I have only Torah,' does not even have Torah." This means that one who says, "I have no involvement in performing the mitzvot, only in studying the Torah," does not even receive the reward for Torah study. As it says, "You shall teach them and observe to do them"—whoever is engaged in doing is engaged in learning, and whoever is not engaged in doing is not engaged in learning. They also said: "Anyone who occupies himself with Torah alone is like someone who has no God," as it is said, "without the true God and without Torah." This means that study without action is not beneficial, but rather it harms himself and others. Our sages of blessed memory compared study without action to someone who builds a house but does not set doors in it, for surely such a house would be open and abandoned like a wilderness. Some compared it to someone who has no house but builds doors for a house, for the effort spent on the doors is useless without the house. And our sages of blessed memory said: "Wisdom without action is the Creator's complaint against His creations." They also said: "One whose words do not match his actions shames himself." After explaining that action is the principal element, we say that action has two aspects, each of which is a major pillar for a person's reward in this world and the next. The first is the performance of the mitzvot, their observance, and the ways of ethics, where one finds favor in the eyes of God and man. The other type of action is the writing of wisdom and the explanation of the Torah and the mitzvot, to inscribe them in books so that they endure for many days. If the early sages had not written their words in books, wisdom would have already been lost, plans would have perished, and the Torah and mitzvot would have ceased. But through their writing and explanations in books, the sages and scholars leave a blessing behind them, and indeed, those sages did not truly die. And our Rabbis of blessed memory said: "The righteous are called alive even in their death," and they said, "Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, did not die." And the Blessed One said: "Come, write it on a tablet for them and inscribe it in a book, so that it will be a witness for the last day forever." Therefore, David, peace be upon him, concluded the verse we previously mentioned with "His praise endures forever." This can be interpreted regarding the first type of action we mentioned: the one who acts righteously, observes the Torah and the commandments, and engages in wisdom will be praised by people for many generations, and his soul will endure forever in the world to come. It can also be interpreted regarding the second type of action: the writer of books, whose praise endures forever among the readers and learners of those books. This is why the sages are called "masters of collections," because they collect their words and the words of others into books, making them a witness and a memorial forever. They have good reward for their labor, and their righteousness endures forever. Therefore, I, the young David, son of Rabbi Yosef Kimchi, of blessed memory, saw fit to write a commentary on the words of the Scriptures, according to what I have learned and received, and according to the capacity of my understanding, with the help of Hashem, who is worthy of praise. I ask for assistance to begin and complete this work, for He is the helper and supporter; blessed be His name. And I will write the verses that need to be explained and the words that need to be analyzed carefully. I will also provide the explanation for ketiv (written) and keri (read) and ketiv lo keri (written but not read) and keri lo ketiv (read but not written) when I can give a reason for each one in its place. It appears that these words were found in such a state because during the first exile, the books were lost and scattered, and the sages who knew the Torah died. When the Men of the Great Assembly restored the Torah to its original state, they found discrepancies in the books and followed the majority opinion according to their understanding. In places where they could not be certain, they wrote one version and did not vocalize it, or wrote one version outside (the text) and did not write it inside, and sometimes they wrote one version inside and another outside. I will also write, in some places, the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, which contains good and beautiful interpretations. I will bring the words of our Rabbis, of blessed memory, in places where we need their explanations and acceptance, and I will also bring some of the midrashim for those who love midrash. And now I will begin, with the help of the One who teaches knowledge to man.