Hashem is in Control

           As a new year comes and school begins once more, we again have the privilege of contributing to Mrs. Perl's blog(s) (for those of us in AP Psych, we get to do two! Yippee!). In our very first class we found out that we would be studying the book of Kohelet. "But what does Kohelet mean?", you might ask. Excellent question! Kohelet is actually a name. I know, right? Who saw that coming? But from what we learn from the very first pasuk in Kohelet is that Kohelet is actually a code name for Shlomo-  
"דברי קוהלת בן-דוד מלך בירושלים". Who else is a son of Dovid that ruled in Yirushalayim? Seeing that Shlomo actually wrote Kohelet, we looked more into Shlomo's life to see what we might expect in Kohelet.
       
           Ignoring most of the better years of Shlomo's reign (because who likes all of that gross happy stuff?), we jumped straight to his issues. In מלכים א פרק ג, we see that Shlomo is given the opportunity to request something of Hashem. He asks for "a heart to judge the nation and to understand between good and bad". When first looking at his request, it seems impressive and humble. He is simply asking for wisdom to be able to judge the nation, right? But when looking more deeply, it seems to take on a more negative meaning. By comparing this situation to the one of Gan Eden, we see that similarities arise.

          Hashem gives Adam and Chava a paradise for a home with only one restriction- they cannot eat from the עץ הדעת. As we know, Adam and Chava went against the word of Hashem, which resulting in a major punishment for them. The עץ הדעת was the tree of knowledge, or in this case, the ability to know between good and bad. Therefore, when Adam and Chava chose to eat from the עץ הדעת, they were trying to gain the ability of knowing between good and bad. This is where Shlomo's story comes in. By requesting to know the difference between good and bad, he was copying Adam and Chava's sin. But what is so bad about knowing between good and bad? Hashem is the only one who can have this ability. It shows that He is in control and that man is beneath Him. Therefore, Adam, Chava, and Shlomo were punished because they wanted to become like Hashem.

           Hashem does give Shlomo wisdom, along with wealth, power, and honor, but with a condition. He tells Shlomo that he will only get a long life if he follows the mitzvot. However, since he soon falls into the trap of desire, this privilege is torn from him, as was Adam and Chava's.

           As ראש השנה draws near, it is extremely important to recognize Hashem's power in this world. We can take many lessons from Shlomo's downfall. The most important to remember during this time of the year is that Hashem really is the only one who has complete control. While saying selichos last night, I was having trouble getting through the Hebrew so I read the English instead. What is said was very relevant to the idea that I am explaining now. It talks about how we are begging for Hashem's forgiveness because we regret our sins and we understand that He is in control. I hope that we all can remember this during ראש השנה, Yom Kippur, and really all year round.

!שנה טובה ומתוקה