I was thinking about how we said in class last week that פרק א, פסוקים ד-ז was talking about the cycle of nature, and I found online at Ray Stedman.org (http://www.raystedman.org/daily-devotions/ecclesiastes/the-endless-cycle) an interesting idea. It's a completely Christian site, and the article is pretty Christian as well, but disregarding the source, and most of the surrounding material, I wanted to focus on that one particular idea.
We said that the sun, wind, and water all go around and around and end up back where they started. The way I thought of this, I imagined the sun and wind going literally in circles around the earth, and the water flowing from stream to ocean to stream and back around again and again. This article proposes a different idea for the water cycle.
According to the article, the cycle is not that of water flowing downstream to the ocean and back around, it's the cycle of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Instead of water staying in one form and just traveling around and around the world, it's changing forms, but always coming back to the form in which it started.
I don't know if there's any particular correct answer, but I thought this was an interesting theory.
Is there a different result between the two ways of looking at the cycle of water, or do they both, according to Kohelet, accomplish nothing?
ReplyDeleteMirel, kudos on finding another theory. I kinda agree with what Yehudis is hinting too, though. Even if it is changing forms, the cycle is still not changing. The water might be evaporating and all that, but it just seems like its another way of looking at the cycle of nature that never progresses and never changes. Maybe you could take this to mean that throughout life we grow and change into different forms but in the end life is still part of this never ending cycle..which still leads back to the whole "everything is hevel" thing.
ReplyDeleteSteve, what an interesting and insightful new idea! I guess I never thought about that, but it really makes a lot of sense in terms of biological processes. Plus, philosophically it introduces some more depth. No matter how many different forms the water is in, it still goes through the cycle, over and over again.. what does it accomplish?
ReplyDeleteMirel,
ReplyDeleteYour idea was fascinating to read. I also agree with Yehudit and Alyssa. You seem to be alluding to the fact that, although the water changes forms, its cycle remains the same. Perhaps Shlomo is telling us that no matter which form nature assumes, it will never change. There is no purpose to it, and there is no hope for lasting progress. Hopefully, this isn't the case, and we will find out if we have a purpose, and what that purpose is!
I am here to disagree! Perhaps when water changes from one form to another, it is in fact accomplishing something. I mean, think about how important precipitation is. It has to rain!! If it didn't we would all die. Actually.
ReplyDeleteI agree Noga. The cycle of water does not change, even though the form the water is in does.
ReplyDeleteI agree Noga. The cycle of water does not change, even though the form the water is in does.
ReplyDelete