Hakol Hevel!!

Everything Is Worthless! Everything is Incomprehensible! Everything is Ephemeral- Nothing is Lasting! 

Oh goodness.. that does not sound swell. But guys... do you realize this is basically the main thing that we've discussed about Kohelet so far? Yes, first we talked about Shlomo's life for a few classes, but in terms of Kohelet learning, think for a second- what have we been discussing?

We've been talking about how Shlomo- who, after some text study and logical reasoning, we deduced wrote this lovely text- is quoted saying "Hakol Hevel!" Sounds like a great way to go into reading a philosophical/advice text, don't ya think? There's nothing quite like the anticipation of reading a philosophical that has its main catchphrase as: nothing matters! It's all worthless!  Especially when we know that this work was written by a man who is filled with regrets and at the verge of death. Oh, what a joy!

On a serious note, Kohelet is a very respected work and I cannot wait to start learning it and perspectifying it in all the right places! I know we are going to come up with some great things. But, as for now, unfortunately, we do not have much knowledge about Kohelet in order to have much of a conversation about it. You all have pretty much exhausted the conversation about Shlomo and all his fun jazz, so I won't talk about that. Instead, I'll just muse more about Kohelet if you don't mind.

I recently finished reading a novel by Jon Krakauer entitled Into the Wild. If you haven't read it I highly encourage reading it. (Also, there's a movie that is on Netflix, but don't make the mistake of watching the movie first.) Why am I telling you about the books I've been reading? The book is centered around researching the fascinating life and unfortunate death of a man named Christopher McCandless. McCandless was devout follower of writers like Thoreau and London and chose to live out their idealized visions of life after he graduated from Emory University by giving away all his money and possessions and stepping into the wild. There is one point early on in the book when he has $150 left and he burns it. He just burns the money. And so it was gone. No longer worth anything. But how much was something really worth in the first place if it could have value one second and no value the next moment? I can very easily see McCandless making the proclamation of "hakol hevel!" He took this to the extreme, perhaps, when **SPOILER ALERT** he went into the Alaskan wild alone and unprepared. But- and this is how it connects back to Shlomo- right before he dies, he writes, "HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED." Everything is not hevel, then. He realized this all too late.

I can't wait to learn more about what Shlomo actually says in this book. From what Mrs. Perl has said so far, there are a lot of contradictions, so I'm a little bit hesitant. 

So, here's a little bit of the 'post-in-bullets' and things to think about for those who may want to comment: 

• What does it mean for everything to be worthless or meaningless? What is that saying about life in general? It's a bit grim, don't you think? If everything is meaningless or difficult to comprehend, where does God fit in to all of this and how is this a work of Jewish literature?
• I went off on a tangent about this guy who went into the wild because all material possessions were worthless. Thoughts? How much worth does something have if it can be gone in an instant? 
• Where do things like people (and maybe god) fit into the phrase "hakol hevel"? Is "hakol" strictly material things or is it really everything?
• McCandless came to a realization at the end of his life. Being close to death seems to make people finally put things from their life into perspective. So.. Shlomo.. Kohelet. What do you guys think? 

Ps. Yes, I realize the McCandless thing was a bit tangential  but just know I did the story no justice whatsoever.