דֵּעָה קָנִית- מָה חָסַרְתָּ?, דֵּעָה חַסְרַת -מָה קָּנִיתָ?

ביטוי (אנגלית)

If you have acquired knowledge, what do you lack? If knowledge is lacking, what have you acquired?

הגדרה (אנגלית)

A saying in praise of study and acquisition of knowledge that exists only to bring benefit (here, acquisition means understanding). If you have knowledge, behold, you have not lost anything, only gained; but if you have no knowledge, you have gained nothing at all.

(Rabbi Tanchuma opened (Proverbs 20): There is gold and many pearls and precious vessels, the lips of knowledge — in the conduct of the world, a person has gold and silver, good stones and pearls and every desirable vessel in the world and goodness, yet he has no knowledge. What acquisition does he have? He said: If you have acquired knowledge, what do you lack? If knowledge is lacking, what have you acquired? And Rabba (Vilna) read the section and read the first section, and likewise: "There is no poor except in knowledge." In the West they say: This has everything in it; if this is not in it, what is in it? This acquires what it lacks? This does not acquire what it acquires? — Nedarim 45a)