שירי סוף הדרך

 מַה-שֶּׁהָיָה, הוּא שֶׁיִּהְיֶה, וּמַה-שֶּׁנַּעֲשָׂה, הוּא שֶׁיֵּעָשֶׂה; וְאֵין כָּל-חָדָשׁ, תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ.That which hath been is that which shall be, and that which hath been done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.(Kohelet 1:9)

The first part of Kohelet is really familiar to me; I feel like I've read it before. In a way I did-but not in Mr. Soleman's class when we learned Kohelet- in 9th grade when my Ivrit class learned "שירי סוף הדרך" with Mrs. Tsuna (hey! That's my mom! Cool). I always loved שירי סוף הדרך, but now that I'm starting to learn Kohelet, I wish that I could have read the poem after I learned Kohelet. 

The poem is separated into 3 different parts:  2שירי סוף הדרך 1, למדני אלקי, ושירי סוף. Essentially, shirei sof haderech is briefly interrupted in the middle for a little part that is sometimes called the "tefillah" portion. What is the premise of the poem? 

The first poem begins by people of all ages describing "הַדֶּרֶך"- "the road", otherwise known as "life". They all have different interpretations of what הַדֶּרֶך is like. The young boy says that הַדֶּרֶך is super beautiful; the young man say הַדֶּרֶך is very tough; the man says הַדֶּרֶך is super long. And the old man sat down with the golden sunset beating down on his  grey hair. The last bird of the day passes over him and sings- "Will you remember what was beautiful, tough, about הַדֶּרֶך?"

The middle part is the tefillah in which the author is pleading God to teach her secrets: the secrets of the withered leaf and the secrets of the ripened fruit. The secrets of this freedom we have to see, to breathe, to feel, to know, to yearn, to fail. Teach me how to sing out in praise about how time is renewed by each morning and night. Teach me this so that today won't be the same as yesterday. Teach me to appreciate the complexities in nature and the beauty of each new day lest I begin to think that יִהְיֶה עָלַי יוֹמִי הֶרְגֵּל. Teach me the secrets of nature because I don't want to think every day is the same and nothing changes. 
The poem ends with part B of "שירי סוף הדרך. This part isn't written in third person like the first part and it isn't written as a prayer like the second part. This part starts off אָמַרְתָּ- you said. It can be "you" as in the old man from the first paragraph or the "you" could be the author speaking reflexively and wanting us all to think reflexively.That's how I'll interpret this last part. I said that the days and nights were chasing after one another. They were just passing by, zooming by- I couldn't seem to tell the difference. It was just a blur. Days are coming and going. In my heart I see days passing- creeping through my window as the sun rises and the sun sets. The days are passing, but it seems like they're all the same. Does it really matter what day it is? הֲלֹא אֵין חָדָשׁ תַּחַת הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ? There's nothing new under the sun; it's all the same.... But now I'm old and grey and my days are limited and I realize-I know: : חָדָשׁ כָּל יוֹם תַּחַת הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ. Every day under the sun is new. 
It's really beautiful in its original Hebrew (much nicer than my explicated English version, anyways.) and I suggest you all read the poem. 

 א שירי סוף הדרך

הדרך יפה עד מאוד - אמר הנער 

הדרך קשה עד מאוד - אמר העלם 

הדרך ארכה עד מאוד - אמר הגבר 

ישב הזקן לנוח בצד הדרך 

צובעה השקיעה שיבתו בפז ואודם 

הדשא מבהיק לרגליו בטל הערב 

ציפור אחרונה של יום מעליו מזמרת 

התזכור מה יפתה, מה קשתה, מה ארכה הדרך 

לַמְּדֵנִי, אֱלֹהַי

לַמְּדֵנִי, אֱלֹהַי, בָּרֵך וְהִתְפַּלֵּל

עַל סוֹד עָלֶה קָמֵל, עַל נֹגַהּ פְּרִי בָּשֵׁל,

עַל הַחֵרוּת הַזֹּאת: לִרְאוֹת, לָחוּשׁ, לִנְשֹׁם,

לָדַעַת, לְיַחֵל, לְהִכָּשֵׁל.

לַמֵּד אֶת שִׂפְתוֹתַי בְּרָכָה וְשִׁיר הַלֵּל

בְּהִתְחַדֵּשׁ זְמַנְּךָ עִם בֹּקֶר וְעִם לֵיל,

לְבַל יִהְיֶה יוֹמִי הַיּוֹם כִּתְמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם.

לְבַל יִהְיֶה עָלַי יוֹמִי הֶרְגֵּל.

שירי סוף הדרך ב

אמרת יום רודף יום ולילה - לילה 

הנה ימים באים בלבך אמרת 

ותראה ערבים ובקרים פוקדים חלונך 

ותאמר הלא אין חדש תחת השמש 

והנה אתה בא בימים, זקנת ושבת 

ימיך ספורים ויקר מניינים שבעתיים 

ותדע חדש כל וים תחת השמש 

Since ninth grade I have often thought about this poem at the weirdest times. I look at things in my life or sometimes in life in general and think יום רודף יום ולילה - לילה. But then I think of the tefillah portion of the poem.. I think there's something to be said about looking at the complexities of nature and of the subtle nuances that exist everywhere in life. 

Now, I can't tell you whether or not there is a purpose in life, and I'm not going to say that Shlomo is depressed because he calls everything "hevel", but I will affirm that I strongly believe that חדש כל וים תחת השמש- no day is the same. Every day is different. Days might seem to all blob up and cluster- sometimes it might seem like all days are the same- but every day is new, and every day is different. I have a hunch Shlomo might come to that conclusion at some point over the sefer (even if he argues against it soon after).

I'd love to hear what you guys think about the poem and its relation to Kohelet!