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Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 17
The sages saw fit to canonize Ecclesiastes...They saw spiritual merit not despite the book’s darker observations about the human condition but because of them.
Michael Fox, Ecclesiastes, the JPS Commentary, p. ix
Ecclesiastes is a strange and disquieting book. It gives voice to an experience not usually thought of as religious: the pain and frustration engendered by an unblinking gaze at life's absurdities and injustices.
(א) דִּבְרֵי֙ קֹהֶ֣לֶת בֶּן־דָּוִ֔ד מֶ֖לֶךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃ (ב) הֲבֵ֤ל הֲבָלִים֙ אָמַ֣ר קֹהֶ֔לֶת הֲבֵ֥ל הֲבָלִ֖ים הַכֹּ֥ל הָֽבֶל׃ (ג) מַה־יִּתְר֖וֹן לָֽאָדָ֑ם בְּכׇ֨ל־עֲמָל֔וֹ שֶֽׁיַּעֲמֹ֖ל תַּ֥חַת הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃ (ד) דּ֤וֹר הֹלֵךְ֙ וְד֣וֹר בָּ֔א וְהָאָ֖רֶץ לְעוֹלָ֥ם עֹמָֽדֶת׃ (ה) וְזָרַ֥ח הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ וּבָ֣א הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ וְאֶ֨ל־מְקוֹמ֔וֹ שׁוֹאֵ֛ף זוֹרֵ֥חַֽ ה֖וּא שָֽׁם׃ (ו) הוֹלֵךְ֙ אֶל־דָּר֔וֹם וְסוֹבֵ֖ב אֶל־צָפ֑וֹן סוֹבֵ֤ב ׀ סֹבֵב֙ הוֹלֵ֣ךְ הָר֔וּחַ וְעַל־סְבִיבֹתָ֖יו שָׁ֥ב הָרֽוּחַ׃ (ז) כׇּל־הַנְּחָלִים֙ הֹלְכִ֣ים אֶל־הַיָּ֔ם וְהַיָּ֖ם אֵינֶ֣נּוּ מָלֵ֑א אֶל־מְק֗וֹם שֶׁ֤הַנְּחָלִים֙ הֹֽלְכִ֔ים שָׁ֛ם הֵ֥ם שָׁבִ֖ים לָלָֽכֶת׃ (ח) כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים יְגֵעִ֔ים לֹא־יוּכַ֥ל אִ֖ישׁ לְדַבֵּ֑ר לֹא־תִשְׂבַּ֥ע עַ֙יִן֙ לִרְא֔וֹת וְלֹא־תִמָּלֵ֥א אֹ֖זֶן מִשְּׁמֹֽעַ׃ (ט) מַה־שֶּֽׁהָיָה֙ ה֣וּא שֶׁיִּהְיֶ֔ה וּמַה־שֶּׁנַּֽעֲשָׂ֔ה ה֖וּא שֶׁיֵּעָשֶׂ֑ה וְאֵ֥ין כׇּל־חָדָ֖שׁ תַּ֥חַת הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃ (י) יֵ֥שׁ דָּבָ֛ר שֶׁיֹּאמַ֥ר רְאֵה־זֶ֖ה חָדָ֣שׁ ה֑וּא כְּבָר֙ הָיָ֣ה לְעֹֽלָמִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָיָ֖ה מִלְּפָנֵֽנוּ׃ (יא) אֵ֥ין זִכְר֖וֹן לָרִאשֹׁנִ֑ים וְגַ֨ם לָאַחֲרֹנִ֜ים שֶׁיִּהְי֗וּ לֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֤ה לָהֶם֙ זִכָּר֔וֹן עִ֥ם שֶׁיִּהְי֖וּ לָאַחֲרֹנָֽה׃ {פ}
(יב) אֲנִ֣י קֹהֶ֗לֶת הָיִ֥יתִי מֶ֛לֶךְ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בִּירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃ (יג) וְנָתַ֣תִּי אֶת־לִבִּ֗י לִדְר֤וֹשׁ וְלָתוּר֙ בַּֽחׇכְמָ֔ה עַ֛ל כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר נַעֲשָׂ֖ה תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם ה֣וּא ׀ עִנְיַ֣ן רָ֗ע נָתַ֧ן אֱלֹהִ֛ים לִבְנֵ֥י הָאָדָ֖ם לַעֲנ֥וֹת בּֽוֹ׃ (יד) רָאִ֙יתִי֙ אֶת־כׇּל־הַֽמַּעֲשִׂ֔ים שֶֽׁנַּעֲשׂ֖וּ תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ וְהִנֵּ֥ה הַכֹּ֛ל הֶ֖בֶל וּרְע֥וּת רֽוּחַ׃ (טו) מְעֻוָּ֖ת לֹא־יוּכַ֣ל לִתְקֹ֑ן וְחֶסְר֖וֹן לֹא־יוּכַ֥ל לְהִמָּנֽוֹת׃ (טז) דִּבַּ֨רְתִּי אֲנִ֤י עִם־לִבִּי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אֲנִ֗י הִנֵּ֨ה הִגְדַּ֤לְתִּי וְהוֹסַ֙פְתִּי֙ חׇכְמָ֔ה עַ֛ל כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־הָיָ֥ה לְפָנַ֖י עַל־יְרוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם וְלִבִּ֛י רָאָ֥ה הַרְבֵּ֖ה חׇכְמָ֥ה וָדָֽעַת׃ (יז) וָאֶתְּנָ֤ה לִבִּי֙ לָדַ֣עַת חׇכְמָ֔ה וְדַ֥עַת הוֹלֵלֹ֖ת וְשִׂכְל֑וּת יָדַ֕עְתִּי שֶׁגַּם־זֶ֥ה ה֖וּא רַעְי֥וֹן רֽוּחַ׃ (יח) כִּ֛י בְּרֹ֥ב חׇכְמָ֖ה רׇב־כָּ֑עַס וְיוֹסִ֥יף דַּ֖עַת יוֹסִ֥יף מַכְאֽוֹב׃
(2) Utter futility!—said Koheleth—
Utter futility! All is futile!
(3) What real value is there for a man
In all the gainsbSo Rashbam. Heb. ‘amal usually has this sense in Ecclesiastes; cf. Ps. 105.44. he makes beneath the sun? (4) One generation goes, another comes,
But the earth remains the same forever. (5) The sun rises, and the sun sets—
And glidescSo Targum; cf. Bereshith Rabbah on Gen. 1.17. back to where it rises. (6) Southward blowing,
Turning northward,
Ever turning blows the wind;
On its rounds the wind returns. (7) All streams flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is never full;
To the place [from] which they flow
The streams flow back again.dAccording to popular belief, through tunnels; so Targum and Rashi. (8) All such things are wearisome:
No man can ever state them;
The eye never has enough of seeing,
Nor the ear enough of hearing. (9) Only that shall happen
Which has happened,
Only that occur
Which has occurred;
There is nothing new
Beneath the sun!
(10) Sometimes there is a phenomenon of which they say, “Look, this one is new!”—it occurred long since, in ages that went by before us. (11) The earlier ones are not remembered; so too those that will occur later eLit. “will not be remembered like…” For ‘im meaning “like,” cf. 2.16; 7.11; Job 9.26.will no more be remembered than-e those that will occur at the very end.
(12) I, Koheleth, was king in Jerusalem over Israel. (13) I set my mind to study and to probe with wisdom all that happens under the sun.—An unhappy business, that, which God gave men to be concerned with! (14) I observed all the happenings beneath the sun, and I found that all is futile and pursuitfLit. “tending,” from root ra‘ah, “to shepherd.” of wind: (15) A twisted thing that cannot be made straight,
A lack that cannot be made good. (16) I said to myself: “Here I have grown richer and wiser than any that ruled before me over Jerusalem, and my mind has zealously absorbed wisdom and learning.” (17) And so I set my mind to appraise wisdom and to appraise madness and folly. And I learned—that this too was pursuit of wind: (18) For as wisdom grows, vexation grows;
To increase learning is to increase heartache.
David Curwin, Kohelet: A Map to Eden, p. 17
The prose comprising the four main themes of the book – much of what we do in life is futile, searching for knowledge does not lead to a positive end, death is inevitable, and the righteous suffer while the wicked prosper – contains one recurring word: hevel.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, The Tao of Solomon, loc. 1291, 1318
In Hebrew, the phrase havel havalim literally means “breath of breaths.” In other words, life is no more substantial than a breath. It is fleeting, ephemeral, and impermanent. The world is in a state of constant flux: everything changes; nothing stays the same...
Every seven years or so, almost every cell in our bodies has been replaced...
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, The Tao of Solomon, loc. 116, 166, Kindle edition
This is why the book of Ecclesiastes is so important: it reveals the secret. In the second verse, just after telling us that the author of this book is King Solomon—whom Jewish tradition calls the wisest human ever to live on Earth—Ecclesiastes reveals the secret: havel havalim. Emptying upon emptying: everything is impermanent, no more substantial than a single breath. Everything is like morning dew: arising when the conditions for arising are right, and passing when the conditions for passing are right. This is why the book of Ecclesiastes is so upsetting: the implications of havel havalim, the freedom this awareness offers, the challenges it sets before us, are just not to our liking. We want to last forever, and we have to deny what is all too obvious to do so...
Saying that reality is fundamentally impermanent is not the same as saying that life is worthless or without value. On the contrary, when we understand the meaning of havel—emptying, impermanence—the essential worth and value of every moment are revealed to us.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 26
He is not consistent because the world he sees is not consistent.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, The Tao of Solomon, loc. 1369, kindle edition
I exist only in this moment. And this moment is over before I can even acknowledge it. The transience of moments undercuts the consistency of self. But without a sense of consistency, I fear I would go mad. So I tell myself a story that links one me to the next to maintain the comforting illusion of constant and consistent selfhood. It is the story that sustains us. It is also the story that blinds us to the truth: outside the world of narrative, there is no self other than who we are at this moment, and this moment, and this moment. If we understand this—not just intellectually, but on a deeper, more transformative level—we can embrace the present with a freshness of body and mind. We can find in each moment of life—even those moments that are painful and sad—an opportunity for blessing and joy.
Benjamin Segal, Kohelet's Pursuit of Truth, p. 107
The most ironic and unexpected discovery in Ecclesiastes is that there is something new under the sun. Set against Kohelet’s observations of an un-understandable, unchangeable world is the man himself, who ever so subtly grows and develops. It is he who changes; he is not at the end of the book who he was at the beginning. It is that progress that the reader confronts through careful reading.
Wislawa Szymborska, Speech on Receipt of Nobel Prize for Literature, 1996
I sometimes dream of situations that can’t possibly come true. I audaciously imagine, for example, that I get a chance to chat with the Ecclesiastes, the author of that moving lament on the vanity of all human endeavors. I would bow very deeply before him, because he is, after all, one of the greatest poets, for me at least. That done, I would grab his hand. “‘There’s nothing new under the sun’: that’s what you wrote, Ecclesiastes. But you yourself were born new under the sun. And the poem you created is also new under the sun, since no one wrote it down before you. And all your readers are also new under the sun, since those who lived before you couldn’t read your poem. And that cypress that you’re sitting under hasn’t been growing since the dawn of time. It came into being by way of another cypress similar to yours, but not exactly the same. “And Ecclesiastes, I’d also like to ask you what new thing under the sun you’re planning to work on now? A further supplement to the thoughts you’ve already expressed? Or maybe you’re tempted to contradict some of them now? In your earlier work you mentioned joy – so what if it’s fleeting? So maybe your new-under-the-sun poem will be about joy? Have you taken notes yet, do you have drafts? I doubt you’ll say, ‘I’ve written everything down, I’ve got nothing left to add.’ There’s no poet in the world who can say this, least of all a great poet like yourself.”
Of merriment, “What good is that?”
(3) I ventured to tempt my flesh with wine, and to grasp folly, while letting my mind direct with wisdom, to the end that I might learn which of the two was better for men to practice in their few days of life under heaven. (4) I multiplied my possessions. I built myself houses and I planted vineyards. (5) I laid out gardens and groves, in which I planted every kind of fruit tree. (6) I constructed pools of water, enough to irrigate a forest shooting up with trees. (7) I bought male and female slaves, and I acquired stewards. I also acquired more cattle, both herds and flocks, than all who were before me in Jerusalem. (8) I further amassed silver and gold and treasures of kings and provinces; and I got myself male and female singers, as well as the luxuries of commoners—coffersaThe Heb. shiddah occurs only here in the Bible; in the Mishnah it designates a kind of chest. and coffers of them. (9) Thus, I gained more wealth than anyone before me in Jerusalem. In addition, my wisdom remained with me: (10) I withheld from my eyes nothing they asked for, and denied myself no enjoyment; rather, I got enjoyment out ofbSeptuagint and a few Heb. manuscripts have “(in exchange) for”; cf. 2.24; 3.13, 22; 5.17. all my wealth. And that was all I got out of my wealth. (11) Then my thoughts turned to all the fortune my hands had built up, to the wealth I had acquired and won—and oh, it was all futile and pursuit of wind; there was no real value under the sun! (12) cThe order of the two sentences in this verse is reversed in the translation for clarity.For what will the man be like who will succeed dChange of vocalization yields “me, and who is to rule”; cf. vv. 18–19.the one who is ruling-d over what was built up long ago?
My thoughts also turned to appraising wisdom and madness and folly. (13) I found that
Wisdom is superior to folly
As light is superior to darkness; (14) A wise man has his eyes in his head,
Whereas a fool walks in darkness.
But I also realized that the same fate awaits them both. (15) So I reflected: “The fate of the fool is also destined for me; to what advantage, then, have I been wise?” And I came to the conclusion that that too was futile, (16) because the wise man, just likeeSee note on 1.11. the fool, is not remembered forever; for, as the succeeding days roll by, both are forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies, just like-e the fool! (17) And so I loathed life. For I was distressed by all that goes on under the sun, because everything is futile and pursuit of wind. (18) So, too, I loathed all the wealth that I was gaining under the sun. For I shall leave it to the man who will succeed me— (19) and who knows whether he will be wise or foolish?—and he will control all the wealth that I gained by toil and wisdom under the sun. That too is futile. (20) And so I came to view with despair all the gains I had made under the sun. (21) For sometimes a person whose fortune was made with wisdom, knowledge, and skill must hand it on to be the portion of somebody who did not toil for it. That too is futile, and a grave evil. (22) For what does a man get for all the toiling and worrying he does under the sun? (23) All his days his thoughts are grief and heartache, and even at night his mind has no respite. That too is futile! (24) There is nothing worthwhile for a man but to eat and drink and afford himself enjoyment with his means. And even that, I noted, comes from God. (25) For who eats and who enjoys but myself?fSome mss. and ancient versions read mimmennu, “by His doing.” (26) To the man, namely, who pleases Him He has given gLit. “wisdom and knowledge and enjoyment.”the wisdom and shrewdness to enjoy himself;-g and to him who displeases, He has given the urge to gather and amass—only for handing on to one who is pleasing to God. That too is futile and pursuit of wind.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes: and the Search for Meaning, p. 116
It is abiding in these contradictions – holding two opposing views that each reflect reality – that catalyzes human growth. Contradictions have the power to liberate those who accept them from the static, the predictable, and the conventional. ...Accepting multifaceted realities rather than insisting on convoluted or fruitless attempts at harmonization may help us view contradictions not as barriers to truth but as an expression of truth, as a door to more expansive horizons unfettered by the limitations of consistency.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, The Tao of Solomon, loc. 1669
Solomon’s experiment is to see if there is anything in the world that will satisfy our craving for permanence. His conclusion is that there is not. Nothing lasts, and as long as we desire permanence above all else, we will be disappointed. Everything that we encounter is a temporary manifestation of life. Everything comes and everything goes away. Anticipating the first and grieving over the second will do nothing to change this fact. And, according to Solomon, there is no need to change it. All we need do is accept it. Solomon tells us that the world is no less wondrous for its being temporary. But if we are not willing to accept its fleeting nature, we will be incapable of fully appreciating what it has to offer. When we focus on what life is not, we can’t take delight in what life is.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 151
Where initially we perceived that food is remedial for Kohelet – eating a delicious dinner surrounded by companions is preferred to sitting alone, knotted by life’s big questions – we can now appreciate that meals may have been the setting throughout the book for conversations about these big questions.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 154
Note that there is no mention or praise of excessive, mind-altering drinking in the book nor any suggestion that Kohelet was ever drunk. Quite the reverse. The only time Kohelet actually censures eating and drinking is in the context of concern that revelry may inhibit good governance:
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, The Tao of Solomon, loc. 1616, kindle edition
Our insistence on permanence is the source of all our unnecessary fear and suffering. Because we believe in permanence, we worry that the suffering we feel now will last forever. Rather than allow it to play itself out and move on, we focus on it and seek to cure it, to alleviate it. We use all kinds of drugs and distractions to make the suffering go away, when in fact it will go away of its own accord. Meanwhile, the distractions only add to our pain and unease.
A time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted; (3) A time for cEmendation yields “wrecking…repairing”; cf. 1 Kings 18.30.slaying and a time for healing,-c
A time for tearing down and a time for building up; (4) A time for weeping and a time for laughing,
A time for wailing and a time for dancing; (5) A time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,
A time for embracing and a time for shunning embraces; (6) A time for seeking and a time for losing,
A time for keeping and a time for discarding; (7) A time for ripping and a time for sewing,
A time for silence and a time for speaking; (8) A time for loving and a time for hating;
A time for war and a time for peace. (9) What value, then, can the man of affairs get from what he earns? (10) I have observed the business that God gave man to be concerned with: (11) He brings everything to pass precisely at its time; He also puts eternity in their mind,dI.e., He preoccupies man with the attempt to discover the times of future events; cf. 8.17. but without man ever guessing, from first to last, all the things that God brings to pass. (12) Thus I realized that the only worthwhile thing there is for them is to enjoy themselves and do what is goodeI.e., what the author has already concluded (2.24) is good. in their lifetime; (13) also, that whenever a man does eat and drink and get enjoyment out of all his wealth, it is a gift of God. (14) I realized, too, that whatever God has brought to pass will recur evermore:
Nothing can be added to it
And nothing taken from it—
and God has brought to pass that men revere Him. (15) fMeaning of parts of verse uncertain.What is occurring occurred long since,
And what is to occur occurred long since:
and God seeks the pursued. (16) And, indeed, I have observed under the sun:
Alongside justice there is wickedness,
Alongside righteousness there is wickedness. (17) I mused: “God will doom both righteous and wicked, for gShift of a diacritical point yields “He has set.”there is-g a time for every experience and for every happening.” (18) fMeaning of parts of verse uncertain.So I decided, as regards men, to dissociate them [from] the divine beings and to face the fact that they are beasts.hContrast Ps. 8.5–6. (19) For in respect of the fate of man and the fate of beast, they have one and the same fate: as the one dies so dies the other, and both have the same lifebreath; man has no superiority over beast, since both amount to nothing. (20) Both go to the same place; both came from dust and both return to dust. (21) Who knows if a man’s lifebreath does rise upward and if a beast’s breath does sink down into the earth? (22) I saw that there is nothing better for man than to enjoy his possessions, since that is his portion. For who can enable him to see what will happen afterward?
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes: and the Search for Meaning, p. 183, 185
Ecclesiastes offers us a different way to measure time: not with the march of the clock or the calendar, but with milestone events of individual and collective life...These experiences do not happen at a set time or in a set place; they occur, instead, across the life span of the individual and the collective...The man, however, who lives in qualitative time has a different criterion of the experience of time than the qualitative experience. He measures time…by pure quality, creativity, and accomplishment.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, The Tao of Solomon, loc. 1828, kindle edition
Solomon’s message is that moments change. While the past may affect the present, it cannot determine it. After all, how can moments of tearing lead to moments of mending? At what point does tearing become mending? Tearing may create a need for mending, but in and of itself, it cannot become mending. Tearing is always tearing. If we fixate on the past, and the past is about tearing, then where will the act of mending come into play? For mending to happen, we have to be free from the past, free in this moment to choose differently than we have in past moments. Solomon is reminding us that each moment carries with it the chance for something new to happen in the next moment.
(4) I have also noted that all labor and skillful enterprise come from men’s envy of each other—another futility and pursuit of wind! (5) [True,]
The fool folds his hands togetherbI.e., does not work; cf. Prov. 6.10; 24.33.
And has to eat his own flesh. (6) [But no less truly,]
Better is a handful of gratification
Than two fistfuls of labor which is pursuit of wind. (7) And I have noted this further futility under the sun: (8) the case of the man who is alone, with no companion, who has neither son nor brother; yet he amasses wealth without limit, and his eye is never sated with riches. For whom, now, cLit. “am I amassing…myself.”is he amassing it while denying himself-c enjoyment? That too is a futility and an unhappy business. (9) d4.9–5.8 consists of a series of observations, each of which is introduced by some slight association with what precedes. The theme of 4.4–8 is not resumed until 5.9.Two are better off than one, in that they have greater eEmendation yields “hope for”; cf. 2.20.benefit from-e their earnings. (10) For should they fall, one can raise the other; but woe betide him who is alone and falls with no companion to raise him! (11) Further, when two lie together they are warm; but how can he who is alone get warm? (12) Also, if one attacks, two can stand up to him. A threefold cord is not readily broken! (13) Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer has the sense to heed warnings. (14) For the former can emerge from a dungeon to become king; while the latter, even if born to kingship, can become a pauper.fTaking rash as a verb; cf. Ps. 34.11. (15) [However,] I reflected about gI.e., “the contemporaries of.”all the living who walk under the sun with-g that youthful successor who steps into his place. (16) Unnumbered are the multitudes of all those who preceded them;hAnd so never heard of the gifted youth. and later generations will not acclaim him either.iFor despite his wisdom, he too will be forgotten; cf. 2.16. For thatjI.e., the advantage of wisdom over folly. too is futile and pursuit of wind.
(17) kLit. “Guard your foot when it [or, you] would go.”Be not overeager to go-k to the House of God: more acceptable is obedience than the offering of fools, for they know nothing [but] to do wrong.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes: and the Search for Meaning, p. 221
This swath of text moves from the vulnerability of the oppressed – an externalized sentiment – to the jealousies that induce internal oppression, culminating in the ultimate misery: a person is so warped by envy that he eats his own flesh.
(ו) יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן פְּרַחְיָה וְנִתַּאי הָאַרְבֵּלִי קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן פְּרַחְיָה אוֹמֵר, עֲשֵׂה לְךָ רַב, וּקְנֵה לְךָ חָבֵר, וֶהֱוֵי דָן אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם לְכַף זְכוּת:
(6) Joshua ben Perahiah and Nittai the Arbelite received [the oral tradition] from them. Joshua ben Perahiah used to say: appoint for thyself a teacher, and acquire for thyself a companion and judge all men with the scale weighted in his favor.
Maimonedes, cited in Brown, Erica, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 243
When both friends yearn for and are directed toward one goal, namely, the good, they are to each other ethically inspiring friends. Each one will want to be helped by his friend in achieving that good for both of them together. And this is the kind of friend that we are commanded to acquire. This kind of friendship is similar to the friendship that a teacher feels for a student and a student feels for a teacher.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, The Tao of Solomon, loc. 1967, kindle edition
Solomon advises work—but work from which we do not ask anything that it cannot deliver. Work at something you love, he says, and find satisfaction in what you do. Make work intrinsically valuable. Find something to do that gives you pleasure. That way, when work ends, you will have reaped its benefits already and can let it go without regret.
(7) If you see in a province oppression of the poor and suppression of right and justice, don’t wonder at the fact; for one high official is protected by a higher one, and both of them by still higher ones. (8) Thus the greatest advantage in all the land is his: he controls a field that is cultivated.eI.e., the high official profits from the labor of others; but meaning of verse uncertain.
(9) A lover of money never has his fill of money, nor a lover of wealth his fill of income. That too is futile. (10) As his substance increases, so do those who consume it; what, then, does the success of its owner amount to but feasting his eyes? (11) A worker’sfSome ancient versions have “slave’s.” sleep is sweet, whether he has much or little to eat; but the rich man’s abundance doesn’t let him sleep. (12) Here is a grave evil I have observed under the sun: riches hoarded by their owner to his misfortune, (13) in that those riches are lost in some unlucky venture; and if he begets a son, he has nothing in hand. (14) gMoved up from v. 15 for clarity.Another grave evil is this: He must depart just as he came.-g As he came out of his mother’s womb, so must he depart at last, naked as he came. He can take nothing of his wealth to carry with him. (15) So what is the good of his toiling for the wind? (16) Besides, all his days hSeptuagint reads “are [spent] in darkness and mourning.”he eats in darkness,-h with much vexation and grief and anger. (17) Only this, I have found, is a real good: that one should eat and drink and get pleasure with all the gains he makes under the sun, during the numbered days of life that God has given him; for that is his portion. (18) Also, whenever a man is given riches and property by God, and is also permitted by Him to enjoy them and to take his portion and get pleasure for his gains—that is a gift of God. (19) For [such a man] will not brood much over the days of his life,iThe thought of which is depressing; see v. 16. because God keeps him busy enjoying himself.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, The Tao of Solomon, loc. 2171, kindle edition
The freedom that Solomon speaks of is the freedom that comes from knowing the transience of both joy and suffering, blessings and problems. With this knowledge, he tells us, we are free to be joyous and miserable as the moment requires, without clinging to the former or bemoaning the latter. We are free simply to be present to each moment as it comes, and to engage it with integrity.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 300
When study becomes one’s work, the job involves reaching above the sun, to God’s domain. There it is pure light, and the perpetual student connects to that light through the life of the mind. What better work can there be?
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 312
Speculation is also a form of mental exertion. Enjoy today, Kohelet reminds his readers seven times throughout the book, because what will happen tomorrow is outside one’s ambit. One’s ĥelek, “portion,” one’s habitus and narrow confines, is all one can know. The rest is off-limits. Kohelet, therefore, advises his readers to avoid the guesswork of tomorrow:
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 320
The verse warns that desire is inherently futile and the pursuit of wind. Like wind, it is an untouchable force that passes by us invisibly and quickly; once sated, it blows away and in a flurry of fresh movement finds another object.
Better a patient spirit than a haughty spirit. (9) Don’t let your spirit be quickly vexed, for vexation abides in the breasts of fools. (10) Don’t say, “How has it happened that former times were better than these?” For it is not wise of you to ask that question. (11) Wisdom is as good as a patrimony, and even better, for those who behold the sun. (12) For to be in the shelter of wisdom is to be also in the shelter of money,hEmendation yields “For the possessor of wisdom becomes a possessor of money.” and the advantage of intelligence is that wisdom preserves the life of him who possesses it. (13) iVv. 13–14 continue the thought of v. 10.Consider God’s doing! Who can straighten what He has twisted? (14) So in a time of good fortune enjoy the good fortune; and in a time of misfortune, reflect: The one no less than the other was God’s doing; consequently, man may find no fault with Him.jSo Rashi; cf. the same thought in Job 1.22; 2.10. (15) In my own brief span of life, I have seen both these things: sometimes a good man perishes in spite of his goodness, and sometimes a wicked one endures in spite of his wickedness. (16) So don’t overdo goodness and don’t act the wise man to excess, or you may be dumfounded. (17) Don’t overdo wickedness and don’t be a fool, or you may die before your time. (18) It is best that you grasp the one without letting go of the other, for one who fears God will do his dutykCf. postbiblical yaṣa yede. by both. (19) Wisdom is more of a stronghold to a wise man than lEmendation yields “the riches of the magnates”; cf. Prov. 18.11.ten magnates-l that a city may contain. (20) mApparently continuing the thought of v. 16.For there is not one good man on earth who does what is bestnRefers back to 6.12. and doesn’t err. (21) Finally, don’t pay attention to everything that is said, so that you may not hear your slave reviling you; (22) for well you rememberoLit. “your heart knows”; the same idiom occurs again in 8.5. the many times that you yourself have reviled others. (23) All this I tested with wisdom. I thought I could fathom it,nRefers back to 6.12. but it eludes me. (24) [The secret of] what happens is elusive and deep, deep down; who can discover it? (25) I put my mind to studying, exploring, and seeking wisdom and the reason of things, and to studying wickedness, stupidity, madness, and folly. (26) Now, I find woman more bitter than death; she is all traps, her hands are fetters and her heart is snares. He who is pleasing to God escapes her, and he who is displeasing is caught by her. (27) See, this is what I found, said Koheleth, item by item in my search for the reason of things. (28) As for what I sought further but did not find, I found only one human being in a thousand, and the one I found among so many was never a woman. (29) But, see, this I did find: God made men plain, but they have engaged in too much reasoning.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 348
For Kohelet, those mourner’s sighs are a sign that we are still here. Despite his morose gravitation toward death, Kohelet’s words still brim with life: “For he who is reckoned among the living has something to look forward to – even a live dog is better than a dead lion – since the living know they will die. But the dead know nothing; they have no more recompense, for even the memory of them has died” (Eccl. 9:4–5). Kohelet perseverates on death that we may live fully and beautifully and astonishingly, much the way, millennia later, the poet Mary Oliver crafted her thoughts on this short, magical life.
When it’s over, I want to say all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, The Tao of Solomon, loc. 2275, Kindle edition
If we are attuned to it, we can often sense an energy in a house of mourning that hovers at the edge of joy—the deep joy and equanimity that come when we accept the fleetingness of life and thereby open ourselves to its wonders. As we walk among the mourners, we are reminded of what really matters: family, friends, caring, love. Death puts life in perspective and reminds us not to waste the precious time we have on bitterness. It is customary for Jewish mourners to open their homes to visitors after a funeral. I have attended hundreds of these gatherings over my four decades as a rabbi. While not every house of mourning can be—or needs to be—a house of reconciliation, I rarely fail to sense a renewed and deepened sense of compassion among the mourners.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 358
Kohelet warns his readers not to expect unrealistic levels of piety of themselves. No person is free of sin and error: “Who can say, ‘I have cleansed my heart, I am purged of my sin’?” (Prov. 20:9). We are all flawed and vulnerable to temptation. Only God’s ways are perfect: “Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for before You no creature is in the right” (Ps. 143:2). With a more personally forgiving mindset, one can ignore or excuse the shortcomings of others.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 360
Kohelet muses that the fact that some who sin are not punished offers no license to sin, but when we do sin, it is an act from which we can recover. It is not a summative identity from which we cannot escape. We disappoint ourselves much the way the world disappoints us. Kohelet invites us to negotiate that disappointment, not to withdraw from the world through abnegation or exploit the imbalance of justice through sin. Do not be overly righteous. Do not be overly wicked. The right way to be lies somewhere in between.
“A man’s wisdom lights up his face,
So that his deep discontentbLit. “face”; cf. 1 Sam. 1.18; Job 9.27. is dissembled”? (2) I do! “Obey the king’s orders—and cMoved up from v. 3 for English word order.don’t rush-c into uttering an oath by God.”dThe answer to the inquiry about the implications of the proverb in v. 1 is given in the form of another proverb, of which only the first half is relevant and is enlarged upon. (3) eOr “Give ground before him; do not resist.”Leave his presence; do not tarry-e in a dangerous situation, for he can do anything he pleases; (4) inasmuch as a king’s command is authoritative, and none can say to him, “What are you doing?” (5) One who obeys orders will not suffer from the dangerous situation.
A wise man, however, will bear in mindfThe same idiom as in 7.22. that there is a time of doom.gLit. “time and doom”; cf. the synonymous “time of misfortune,” lit. “time and misfortune,” 9.11. (6) For there is a time for every experience, including the doom; for a man’s calamityhStill another term for death; cf. “the time of calamity” for “the hour of death,” 9.12. overwhelms him. (7) Indeed, he does not know what is to happen; even when it is on the point of happening, who can tell him? (8) No man has authority over the lifebreath—to hold back the lifebreath;iFrom leaving the body when the time comes; see 12.7; cf. Ps. 104.29; 146.4. there is no authority over the day of death. There is no mustering out from that war; wickednessjEmendation yields “riches.” is powerless to save its owner. (9) All these things I observed; I noted all that went on under the sun, while men still had authority over men to treat them unjustly. (10) And then I saw scoundrels kMeaning uncertain; emendation yields “approaching [to minister]. They would come and profane the Holy Site.”coming from the Holy Site and being brought to burial,-k while such as had acted righteously were forgotten in the city.
And here is another frustration: (11) the fact that the sentence imposed for evil deeds is not executed swiftly, which is why men are emboldened to do evil— (12) the fact that a sinner may do evil a hundred times and his [punishment] still be delayed. For although I am aware that “It will be well with those who revere God since they revere Him, (13) and it will not be well with the scoundrel, and he will not live long, becauselSee note on 6.12. he does not revere God”— (14) here is a frustration that occurs in the world: sometimes an upright man is requited according to the conduct of the scoundrel; and sometimes the scoundrel is requited according to the conduct of the upright. I say all that is frustration. (15) I therefore praised enjoyment. For the only good a man can have under the sun is to eat and drink and enjoy himself. That much can accompany him, in exchange for his wealth, through the days of life that God has granted him under the sun. (16) For I have set my mind to learn wisdom and to observe the business that goes on in the world—even to the extent of going without sleep day and night— (17) and I have observed all that God brings to pass. Indeed, man cannot guess the events that occur under the sun. For man tries strenuously, but fails to guess them; and even if a sage should think to discover them he would not be able to guess them.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 384
The face, in this rendering, is the gateway of connection. Its expression signals receptivity, validation, and acceptance. By contrast, the turning away of the face, hester panim, represents painful rejection – all this in one small, simple gesture, like an upturned lip, a flared nostril, or a gaze held slightly longer than usual. We become, or try to become, experts in the reading of cues. In this, there is also wisdom.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, The Tao of Solomon, loc. 2398, Kindle edition
There are two bumper stickers I often see pasted on the backs of cars. One reads Miracles Happen. The other says Shit Happens. I agree with both, though I believe that each tells only half the story. I would like to create a bumper sticker that reads Shit Happens—What A Miracle! Miracles Happen reminds us of all the good that we encounter. Shit Happens reminds us of all the crap that we encounter. Life is not a matter of noticing the one and avoiding the other. It is a matter of accepting both. The miracle is not that good stuff happens. The miracle is that anything happens at all. Jewish spiritual practice includes the recitation of one hundred blessings every day—affirmations of thanksgiving for what happens to us during the day. Some of these are common, such as blessings over food. Some are more rare, such as blessings when seeing a rainbow, a scholar, or an old friend after a long absence. There are even blessings for the horrible things that happen to us. The practice of saying blessings reminds us that whatever happens to us is a gift—even the things we wish we could return.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 419
Some scholars contend that verses in Ecclesiastes that accept a lack of justice as normative may have emerged because of the book’s historical context. John Priest groups Job and Ecclesiastes together as books that were a response to exile.9 This crisis precipitated a foundational questioning of the ancient Israelite theological pattern of retribution: namely, those who do good will be rewarded and those who do not will be punished as a collective: “The postexilic context of Israel, with what appeared to be the demise of the great Israelite experiment, must have led Qohelet and his educated contemporaries to question the reality of the Israelite vision of life in to which they were born and nurtured.”10 Sneed argues that “the clash between social reality and Jewish expectations seems to be the real problem underlying Qohelet’s malaise.”11
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 422
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in a lengthy essay that connects the insecurity experienced on Sukkot symbolized by sitting in the sukka with the public reading of Kohelet, expands on this notion of the gift of the transient: “What remains, other than fear, in a state of radical insecurity? The answer is simĥa, joy. For joy does not involve, as does happiness, a judgment about life as a whole. Joy lives in the moment. It asks no questions about tomorrow. It celebrates the power of now.”17 The power of now is unlike the worry of what tomorrow may bring. The here and now is all we have. “In the end Kohelet finds meaning in simple things. Sweet is the sleep of a laboring man. Enjoy life with the woman you love. Eat, drink and enjoy the sun.”18 This is not a concession to a bleak reality. It is a choice to live intentionally in the moment. Kohelet, standing at the periphery of a philosophical black hole, advises his readers not to lean in but to lean back and away sometimes. Ask the questions because they are obvious and unavoidable, but do not try to answer them. There are no obvious answers. The human mess that is life stares back in a state of stupefaction. Walk away. Walk away.
(7) Go, eat your bread in gladness, and drink your wine in joy; for your action was long ago approved by God.iCf. 2.24–25; 3.13; 5.18. (8) Let your clothes always be freshly washed, and your head never lack ointment. (9) Enjoy happiness with a woman you love all the fleeting days of life that have been granted to you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For that alone is what you can get out of life and out of the means you acquire under the sun. (10) Whatever it is in your power to do, do with all your might. For there is no action, no reasoning, no learning, no wisdom in Sheol, where you are going. (11) I have further observed under the sun that
The race is not won by the swift,
Nor the battle by the valiant;
Nor is bread won by the wise,
Nor wealth by the intelligent,
Nor favor by the learned.
For the time of mischancejEuphemism for death. comes to all.kI.e., the insignificant duration of life renders all successes illusory; cf. 4.15–16. (12) And a man cannot even know his time. As fishes are enmeshed in a fatal net, and as birds are trapped in a snare, so men are caught at the time of calamity,jEuphemism for death. when it comes upon them without warning. (13) This thing too I observed under the sun about wisdom, and it affected me profoundly. (14) There was a little city, with few men in it; and to it came a great king, who invested it and built mighty siege works against it. (15) Present in the city was a poor wise man lOthers “who saved.”who might have saved-l it with his wisdom, but nobody thought of that poor man. (16) So I observed: Wisdom is better than valor; but
A poor man’s wisdom is scorned,
And his words are not heeded. (17) mVerses 9.17–10.19 constitute a group of loosely connected aphorisms.Words spoken softly by wise men are heeded nLit. “than the scream of a lord in [the manner of] the fools.”sooner than those shouted by a lord in folly.-n (18) Wisdom is more valuable than oEmendation yields “everything precious.”weapons of war,-o but a single error destroys much of value.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes: the Search For Meaning, p. 458
Relatively speaking, only God knows a person’s weights and measures, whether or not one bad act or word will hurt or uplift, whether or not we have the spiritual ballast to withstand minor infractions. Maimonides lets us know that cosmic calculations are far beyond our ken, but Kohelet lets us know that our speech is entirely within our control.
gThe thought of this sentence is resumed at v. 20.A man cannot know what will happen; who can tell him what the future holds? (15) hThis verse continues the thought of v. 3.A fool’s exertions tire him out, for he doesn’t know how to get to a town. (16) Alas for you, O land whose king is a lackey and whose ministers dine in the morning! (17) Happy are you, O land whose king is a master and whose ministers dine at the proper time—with restraint, not with guzzling! (18) Through slothfulness the ceiling sags,
Through lazy hands the house caves in. (19) TheyiI.e., the ministers of v. 16. make a banquet for revelry; wine makes life merry, and money answers every need. (20) Don’t revile a king even among your intimates.jOthers “thoughts”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.
Don’t revile a rich man even in your bedchamber;
For a bird of the air may carry the utterance,
And a winged creature may report the word.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes: a Search for Meaning, p. 480
Skills are not enough; one must be wary of the dangers – the pitfalls – that skill involves. Kohelet is not warning against digging pits or breaching fences, but pointing out the obvious and hidden dangers to be managed.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes: a Search for Meaning, p. 486
The Talmud states that a prisoner cannot remove himself from his own prison;11 Rabbi Jonathan Sacks often cited this statement in relation to addiction and depression. Although the person suffering must acknowledge his or her own condition and a desire to change to begin the difficult work of recovery, it will be near impossible to heal without the support and help of others: Self-help is when you really need help, it’s when you are drowning and you lift your hand up and you wave and somebody takes hold of your hand and lifts you to safety. Or to use the other metaphor used by our Talmud, “A prisoner cannot release himself from prison.” You can’t cure your own depression. Somebody else needs to release you from that prison.12 A therapist friend of mine finds the pit metaphor particularly apt: “I will often say to someone who is hopeless about their depression that depression is like a deep pit. They may be so low down that when they look to the opening, they only see a pinpoint of light. But as someone who is outside of that pit, I believe in a possibility of healing that they may not yet be able to imagine.”13 You can fall into a pit you dug but cannot physically dig yourself out of it; digging only makes the pit larger. You have to climb or be lifted out of it. Someone has to place a ladder or lend a hand and pull you out into the light outside.
(7) How sweet is the light, what a delight for the eyes to behold the sun! (8) Even if a man lives many years, let him enjoy himself in all of them, remembering how many the days of darkness are going to be. The only future is nothingness! (9) O youth, enjoy yourself while you are young! Let your heart lead you to enjoyment in the days of your youth. Follow the desires of your heart and the glances of your eyes—but know well that God will call you to account for all such things— (10) and banish care from your mind, and pluck sorrow out of your flesh! For youth and black hair are fleeting.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes: and the Search for Meaning, p. 513
Warmed by the sun and awed by its light, he gives himself over to the total pleasure of the moment. Life lived under the sun1 – taĥat hashemesh – is made better by looking up at the sun – lirot et hashemesh. When success does come from all of the risk-taking Kohelet advises in this chapter, it fills us with a light we should treasure. We are told to look at the sun, to stare into the pleasure of its radiance. Savoring the light will neither prepare us for future moments of doom nor mitigate them, but, in the balance of a life, they will remind us of its sweetness.
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, p. 49.
Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time – past and future – the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.
(3) When the guards of the housebI.e., the arms. become shaky,
And the men of valorcI.e., the legs. are bent,
And the maids that grind,dI.e., the teeth. grown few, are idle,
And the ladies that peer through the windowseI.e., the eyes. grow dim, (4) And the doors to the streetfI.e., the ears. are shut—
With the noise of the hand mill growing fainter,
And the song of the bird gExact meaning of Heb. uncertain.growing feebler,-g
And all the strains of music dying down;hCf. 2 Sam. 19.36. (5) When one is afraid of heights
And there is terror on the road.—
For the almond tree may blossom,
iEmendation yields “The squill (postbiblical Heb. ḥaṣab) resume its burden,” i.e., its blossom-stalk and its leaves.The grasshopper be burdened,-i
And the caper bush may bud again;jThese plants, after seeming dead for part of the year, revive, unlike man; cf. Job 14.7–10.
But man sets out for his eternal abode,
With mourners all around in the street.— (6) Before the silver cord snaps
And the golden bowl crashes,
The jar is shattered at the spring,
And the jugkSo in Punic; others “wheel.” is smashed at the cistern.lPoetic figure for the end of life. (7) And the dust returns to the ground
As it was,
And the lifebreath returns to God
Who bestowed it. (8) Utter futility—said Koheleth—
All is futile!
(9) A further word: Because Koheleth was a sage, he continued to instruct the people. He listened to and tested the soundnessmA noun, like dibber (Jer. 5.13), which occurs in such postbiblical phrases as shanim kethiq(qe)nan, “normal years” (lit. “years according to their propriety”). of many maxims. (10) Koheleth sought to discover useful sayings and recordednWekhathub is equivalent to wekhathob, an infinitive employed as in Esth. 9.16 and elsewhere. genuinely truthful sayings. (11) The sayings of the wise are like goads, like nails fixed oMeaning of Heb. uncertain. Others “are those that are composed in collections.”in prodding sticks.-o pMeaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “They are accounted as a sharp ox goad” (post-biblical mardea‘).They were given by one Shepherd.-p (12) A further word: qEmendation yields “Slow, there!” Cf. Arabic mah and mah mah; so also mah (meh) in Prov. 31.2.Against them,-q my son, be warned!
The making of many books is without limit
And much studyrMeaning of Heb. uncertain. is a wearying of the flesh. (13) The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind: (14) that God will call every creature to account for sEmendation yields “all their conduct.”everything unknown,-s be it good or bad.
The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes: a Search for Meaning, p. 581
If a person is filled with book learning but lacks spiritual depth, their kol – their unified being – is incomplete; without actual practice of righteous deeds, the student will never access true devotion to God. Deeds are the outermost expression of the internal process of learning. Together they represent spiritual wholeness.
Dr. Erica Brown, Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning, p. 586
Meaning is a verb: the process of seeking in and of itself confers dignity and integrity to human life.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro, The Tao of Solomon, loc. 2502, Kindle edition
Here is the summation of Solomon’s teaching. Each moment is a precious expression of God. Never repeating, it comes, only to pass away. If we are to live well, we must do so here and now, for that is all there is. Pay attention to this moment, and this moment again. Do not control it, judge it, cling to it, or flee from it. Just be with it, in it, as it. Attending to the moment, we see the wonder that surrounds and fills us. Accepting impermanence, we honor and respect our bodies, our minds, our hearts, our relationships, and everything that comes our way. Engaging each moment without fear or hesitation, we open ourselves to the full range of feeling, knowing that we are always free to act wisely.
Benjamin Segal, Kohelet's Pursuit of Truth, p. 113
Ecclesiastes has a lot more to do with asking questions than supplying definitive answers. Undoubtedly there will be some who bridle at the suggestion that a book of the Bible seeks to challenge religious thinking rather than suggest a system of belief and action. However, that is exactly what this book does.65 It joins other great works (the Book of Job and many psalms, such as Psalm 27, might serve as examples) in an ongoing commitment to open-eyed religious thinking. This is not a failure nor is it a reflection of religious thought that had not yet reached maturity.66 Rather, it is one reflection of biblical religious thought, namely, its being firmly based in the context of the limits of human understanding.
James Kugel, The Great Poems of the Bible, p. 323
Ecclesiastes, if read from end to end in one sitting, seems much longer than its twelve chapters. By the time one reaches chapter 10 or 11, the book begins to feel like an all-night vigil, as if one stayed up to the early hours to follow a winding, tedious argument, going over and over things, until now, just as the sky has finally started to change color and the first hint of dawn is seen, one has reached, if not one great conclusion, then at least an exhausted state of equilibrium, perhaps even some kind of peace.
Yehuda Amichai, A Man in His Life (translation: Chana Bloch)
A man doesn’t have time in his life
to have time for everything.
He doesn’t have time enough to have
a season for every purpose. Ecclesiastes
was wrong about that.
A man needs to love and to hate at the same moment,
to laugh and cry with the same eyes,
with the same hands to throw stones and to gather them,
to make love in war and war in love.
And to hate and forgive and remember and forget,
to arrange and confuse, to eat and to digest
what history
takes years and years to do.
A man doesn’t have time.
When he loses he seeks, when he finds
he forgets, when he forgets he loves, when he loves
he begins to forget.
And his soul is seasoned, his soul
is very professional.
Only his body remains forever
an amateur. It tries and it misses,
gets muddled, doesn’t learn a thing,
drunk and blind in its pleasures
and in its pains.
He will die as figs die in autumn,
shriveled and full of himself and sweet,
the leaves growing dry on the ground,
the bare branches already pointing to the place
where there’s time for everything.