Questions tagged [kohelet]
The Book of Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon; traditionally read on the holiday of Sukkot.
42 questions
0
votes
1
answer
63
views
How can one reconcile statistics with this pasuk in Koheles?
The pasuk in Koheles states:
שַׁבְתִּי וְרָאֹה תַחַת הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ כִּי לֹא לַקַּלִּים הַמֵּרוֹץ וְלֹא לַגִּבּוֹרִים הַמִּלְחָמָה וְגַם לֹא לַחֲכָמִים לֶחֶם וְגַם לֹא לַנְּבֹנִים עֹשֶׁר וְגַם לֹא ...
- 768
4
votes
0
answers
109
views
There is no Shabbat Chol Hamoed for Sukkot this year. Why is Kohelet not read on the same day in both E"Y and chu"l?
I can understand why Kohelet is not read on Shmini Atzeret in E"Y, because it's already a long davening. However, why doesn't everyone read it on the first day of the chag, which is also Shabbat?
- 99
1
vote
1
answer
111
views
וּמָת֖וֹק הָא֑וֹר (u'Matok HaOhr): Why is the Torah compared to honey and a sweet light?
(I am aware of this question, however, my question focus specifically about why Torah is called sweet).
In Koheles 11:7, Torah is described as וּמָת֖וֹק הָא֑וֹר (u'Matok HaOhr), a sweet light.
...
- 11.8k
1
vote
2
answers
133
views
Solomon made a wonderful and magnificent throne to honor G-d. then why did King Solomon go against what G-D said (the limit of wives and horses)?
King Solomon wrote Kohelet which is about how material things aren't coming with you to the afterlife. and having material wealth isn't a great accomplishment. Yet he was a Ruler that had a legendary ...
- 11
0
votes
2
answers
260
views
Is there misogyny in Ecclesiastes 7:28? Or is there something else going on?
The Hebrew is this:
אֲשֶׁ֛ר עֹוד־ בִּקְשָׁ֥ה נַפְשִׁ֖י וְלֹ֣א מָצָ֑אתִי אָדָ֞ם
אֶחָ֤ד מֵאֶ֙לֶף֙ מָצָ֔אתִי וְאִשָּׁ֥ה בְכָל־ אֵ֖לֶּה לֹ֥א
מָצָֽאתִי׃
My translation: My soul still seeks ...
- 53
-1
votes
2
answers
267
views
According to 1st century Jewish interpretations of Ecclesiastes, what part of man goes to Sheol?
Note: this is an adaptation of the question According to Ecclesiastes, what part of man goes to Sheol? which I previously asked on Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange. On that site the question ...
user25280
2
votes
1
answer
82
views
Looking for a source in Midrash Kohelet
Related.
In a short article called "New Identifications", C. R. Conder wrote:
"Beror-Hail (Midrash Koheleth vii, 7), the place to which Rabbi Johanan retired when the younger Gamaliel ...
- 28.7k
1
vote
2
answers
153
views
How would Pharisees of the 1st century AD have interpreted Ecclesiastes 9:5-10?
Ecclesiastes 9:5-10 (ESV):
5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love and their hate and ...
user25280
14
votes
4
answers
42k
views
What is the original meaning of the word "hevel"?
I am not religious myself, but lately I have found myself somewhat attracted to Ecclesiastes. Reading about it, I am fascinated about what seems to be endless meanings and interpretations of the word ...
- 248
0
votes
1
answer
58
views
Is spending time in a city a cure for exhaustion (Koheleth 10:15)?
Koheleth 10:15 states: 'The toil of fools wearies him, for he does not know to go to the city'.
Rashi, it seems to me, interprets 'city' as Torah study. Are there any authorities who claim that a ...
- 1,512
1
vote
1
answer
141
views
Who authored the Targum on Kohelet?
Who authored the Targum on Kohelet? I was unable to find an answer online.
- 28.7k
-2
votes
1
answer
187
views
What are the parameters of the “enjoyment/ שִׂמְחָ֗ה that the author of Kohelet did not deny himself?
Kohelet 2 (10) writes that he “denied myself no enjoyment”. Does that mean a mix of 'permitted' and 'no permitted enjoyment'?
Ecclesiastes 2:10
וְכֹל֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר שָֽׁאֲל֣וּ עֵינַ֔י לֹ֥א אָצַ֖לְתִּי ...
- 366
1
vote
1
answer
132
views
Why is the word "youth" בְּחֽוּרֹתֶ֑יךָ in the plural?
Why is the word "youth" בְּחֽוּרֹתֶ֑יךָ in Kohelet 12:1 in the plural, when the first word, the first verb in the sentence, indicates that the speaker is speaking to one person?
וּזְכֹר֙ ...
- 41
1
vote
5
answers
413
views
Meaning of Ecclesiastes 3:21?
What is the meaning of Ecclesiastes 3:21:
מִ֣י יוֹדֵ֗עַ ר֚וּחַ בְּנֵ֣י הָאָדָ֔ם הָעֹלָ֥ה הִ֖יא לְמָ֑עְלָה וְר֙וּחַ֙ הַבְּהֵמָ֔ה הַיֹּרֶ֥דֶת הִ֖יא לְמַ֥טָּה לָאָֽרֶץ׃
Who knows whether the spirit of ...
- 23.7k
1
vote
0
answers
124
views
Were the Talmudic Sages fools according to R. Saadia Gaon?
In Emunot V’Deiot (7:5) R. Saadia Gaon writes the following, with regard to some verses in Chapter Nine of Ecclesiastes:
[An example,] again, of the third type [of verses presenting difficulty so far ...
- 50.3k
5
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Makers and Creators: Job 35:10 & 12:1 Kohelet singular v.s. plural
After reading the description of the Zohar from the Chabad website, I got confused:
What is the correct translation for Job 35:10: 'My Maker', ' Our Maker', or Makers?
After searching the internet ...
- 1,099
0
votes
2
answers
100
views
What means the term "sopheric" ("sopherisch" - this question cites a short german sentence)
Reading Heinrich Graetz's 1871 study on "Kohelet" again I run on the term "sopherisch", even in connection with "postexilic-sopheric". Never heard this word before; ...
- 147
5
votes
1
answer
112
views
Irrelevant case in Chagiga 1:7?
The Mishna in Chagiga 1:7 continues from the previous mishna (1:6)
in talking about different explanations for the passuk (Kohelet 1,15):״מעות לא יוכל לתקון וחסרון לא יוכל להימנות״- “a crookedness ...
- 4,974
4
votes
1
answer
201
views
Do the Rabbanim know more than King Solomon about the reality of post-death?
I believe it's accepted in the mainstream that Kohelet is authored by King Solomon in his wisdom.
In it, he writes:
19- For there is a happening for the children of men, and there is a happening ...
- 197
5
votes
3
answers
307
views
Kohelet 12:13 what does kol ha'adam mean
Looking at the verse of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 12:13 I found a couple of translations for כי-זה כל-האדם :
...for this is the whole of man
... for these are for all of mankind
... for these applies ...
- 7,596
1
vote
1
answer
799
views
What does the "three-stranded cord" mean in Kohelet 4:12?
What is the "three-stranded cord" mentioned in Kohelet 4:12?
And if a man prevails against the one, the two will stand against him, and a three- stranded cord will not quickly be broken.
...
- 29
2
votes
2
answers
150
views
"Do not be overly righteous...why be left desolate?" -(artscroll translation)
Shlomo Hamelech says in Koheles Chapter 7 pasuk 16 "Do not be overly righteous...why be left desolate?" -(artscroll translation) Does anyone know the meaning of this? Are we not supposed to be as much ...
- 109
6
votes
2
answers
609
views
Why is Shlomo Hamelech called Koheles in the book of the same name?
What does the word "Koheles" mean and why is Shlomo called that?
- 502
6
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Why do we read Kohelet on Sukkos?
We read Kohelet either on the Shabbos Chol Hamoed of Sukkos or Shemini Atzeres.
Why do we specifically read this on Sukkos? What is the connection between Sukkos and Koheles?
- 38.8k
1
vote
0
answers
71
views
Bleak thoughts of Kohelet vs the Mitzvah of Simhah
This question is a follow up to "Why-do-we-read-kohelet-on-sukkos. The answers there failed to find any reliable source for a connection. I would like to emphasize one aspect of Kohelet - it's ...
- 28k
2
votes
1
answer
142
views
Ramban and the generations
I heard someone mention the folowing:
The Ramban in the writings on sefer koheles make an interesting diyuk. Koheles (1:4) tell us, “A generation goes and a generation comes.” The Ramban tell us that ...
- 7,025
1
vote
1
answer
294
views
Kohelet and women
I'm curious about the meaning of verse 7.28 from Kohelet:
"Which my soul sought yet, but I did not find; one man out of a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I did not find."
It seems to ...
- 97
6
votes
1
answer
330
views
Why does the prefix She- appear in only Tehillim, Shir Hashirim, and Koheles?
The prefix שֶׁ is very common in Mishnaic and Modern Hebrew, but in Tanakh appear rarely, except in Tehillim, Shir Hashirim, and Koheles, where it is all over the place. Why are these books the only ...
- 8,313
2
votes
0
answers
114
views
What is the status of Koheles and Shir HaShirim in the bathroom?
Depending on the Tanna, Koheles and Shir HaShirim might not be considered a part of Tanach, but merely written from Shlomo HaMelech's wisdom. Therefore, unlike books of Tanach, one who touches these ...
- 34.7k
2
votes
2
answers
633
views
what is love --- Rebbe of Kotzk: "You don't love fish." King Solomon: "Whoever loves silver"
Where can I find the source of the following story about the Rebbe of Kotzk?
At a Shabbat dinner, a chassid once told the Rebbe of Kotzk, "I love fish." The Rebbe responded, "You don't love fish. If ...
- 7,624
8
votes
3
answers
349
views
Why is the Evil Inclination Called a "Fool"?
Koheles (4:13), (as explained by the Midrash Rabba) describes the Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination) as "A king, old, and a fool".
It explains:
"...ולמה קורא אותו כסיל? שהוא מלמד לאדם דרך ...
- 21.2k
1
vote
2
answers
268
views
Why does Koheleth 12:1 use בוראיך instead of בוראך?
Koheleth 12:1 says:
וּזְכֹר, אֶת-בּוֹרְאֶיךָ, בִּימֵי, בְּחוּרֹתֶיךָ: עַד אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָבֹאוּ, יְמֵי הָרָעָה, וְהִגִּיעוּ שָׁנִים, אֲשֶׁר תֹּאמַר אֵין-לִי בָהֶם חֵפֶץ. 1
Remember then thy Creator ...
- 7,084
1
vote
3
answers
124
views
Kohelet citation - better peace and poor then rich and without peace
I remember that there is some citation in Kohelet meaning "better peace and poor then rich and without peace", but cannot recall the exact source... Does someone remember?
- 111
-4
votes
1
answer
422
views
Must we wear white clothes?
Matt wrote here about תפלין (Tefillin)
that "they were all black".
I have also seen jewish men wearing only black.
How do the jews traditionally follow commandment of God (relating to happiness we ...
4
votes
1
answer
80
views
What does Koheles 9:1 have to do with the surrounding verses?
The last part of chapter 8 of קהלת and the first part of chapter 9 discuss the fact that good things happen to bad people and bad things to good people. It notes that this is a shame, since it leads ...
- 73.8k
1
vote
0
answers
55
views
Why is 'לִבִּי' treated as a separate entity in Kohelet?
Kohelet is a chronicle of King Solomon's life journey to understand the 'meaning of it all'. In this short klaf the phrase לִבִּי (and variants on the word for 'heart') is used some 30 times (mainly ...
- 10.5k
1
vote
2
answers
106
views
Does this quotation have its roots in the words of King Solomon?
I once read that this quotation, which comes from the 2001 Hollywood film "A Beautiful Mind", scripted by Akiva Goldsman, is based on words of King Solomon:
"It is good to have a beautiful mind, but ...
- 388
3
votes
0
answers
579
views
Why don't Sephardim read Kohelet on Sukkot?
It is the custom among Ashkenazim to read Kohelet on the Shabbat of Chol HaMoed Sukkot.
Is there any reason why Sephardim never took on (or stopped) this custom?
- 11.9k
5
votes
1
answer
271
views
Nothing new under the sun, except for women chasing men?
I noticed that in Yermiyahu 31:21, it says .
עַד-מָתַי תִּתְחַמָּקִין, הַבַּת הַשּׁוֹבֵבָה: כִּי-בָרָא יְהוָה
חֲדָשָׁה בָּאָרֶץ, נְקֵבָה תְּסוֹבֵב גָּבֶר.
"...and Gd will create a new thing ...
- 19.1k
0
votes
0
answers
41
views
Does the Midrash imply that one should give up his life for "smaller" mitzvos?
The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 14:6) expounds the Pesukim in Koheles (8:2-3):
Based on several incidents, the Midrash interprets "ani" as indicating that one's awe should be over you. Thus, "Ani, the ...
- 34.7k
5
votes
1
answer
171
views
Where was it first said that "The generation is diminishing and diminishing"? (הדור הולך ופוחת)
in Hebrew we have an adage that says “הדור הולך ופוחת” ("Hador holekh wepocheth"), meaning “the generation is getting more and more diminished", which may have meant that there are fewer and fewer new ...
- 167
1
vote
0
answers
218
views
Ibn Ezra vs. Hachamim in Regards to Piyyutim
In Kohelet 5:1 (Al Tibahel), Ibn Ezra has a lengthy, harsh critique of R. Eliezer HaKalir and other Paytanim for their poetry's components (in short: flowery language, the use of allegory/metaphor/...
- 946