Chacham Mentality

I was thinking about what we were talking about in class yesterday about the debate between the חכם and the יארי אלוקים, and I'm still having issues with what the יראי אלוקים says about justice being served after death.
I can kind of understand what he's saying as far as G-d allowing people time to repent, because if we couldn't repent, where would we all be? I can also kind of understand and I do agree with the fact that we have a very חכם-like mindset,  living in the "age of reason" and everything, though perhaps not to the same extent, so we think we know and understand "everything," but even still, the יראי אלוקים has never died! How does he know for sure what things are like after death?!
Also, what about the people who are being hurt by the רשעים, emotionally, physically, or otherwise? We should just keep letting them be hurt because G-d will judge the guy in the afterlife?! That won't help his victims or the victims of all those other people after him who are emboldened by the lack of visible, timely justice.
To give any credence at all to the view of the יראי אלוקים in פרק ח, I would have to use the idea that he has in mind a two tiered system of justice. This might be my חכם-like mentality showing through, scratch that: it's definitely the חכם-like mentality showing through, but I just don't think it makes sense that we could just leave people doing bad things to do them freely.
Feel free to leave your opinion!

Giving up

          When we first meet the Amal he is very exciting and enthusiastic about creating, building and  helping the world. His whole goal and purpose is to improve the world. He is aware that he can not do it by himself so he says two are better then one and three are even better, the more the merrier. Since he is the king he has the ability to make all the people help his mission. However, he couldn't. He therefor comes to the conclusion that if he, the king couldn't do it then no can do it and it won't happen.
           He falls very quickly from wanting to make the word a perfect place to well I don't really think its possible anymore. He know thinks whats the point in life if we loose everything and we can't do things perfectly.
           It seems a lot like the Amal is giving up. Did it ever occur to him that just because he tried and failed it doesn't mean that other people couldn't try again? Maybe one try isn't enough. He seems so devoted to this at the beginning but once he tries and fails, he's done. If he really felt strong about this he would have kept trying because giving up is week and is the last thing anyone should ever have to do.  

The Great Decision

     I found this picture on some random website and I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents about it...
     Switch it around to "You acquired great riches and vast amounts of power" but "you gain immortality," and you've got Kohelet (Shlomo) right there. This is what he wanted most. He had the power and wealth, but he desperately wanted the immortality too, because when trying to "be" G-d, you kinda need the immortality part as well as wisdom, power and wealth. According to Shlomo, without the immortality, all the rest of it is useless.
     Shlomo would very likely agree with chartini (the commenter under the blue box if you didn't see it) that that would be a "horrible" thing.

What's the point of Everything????

There is a terrible injustice in the world. There is no point to work because you will just loose all your money, so what's the point? The Yirahi Elokim said life was about the effort, he concludes If I can't have it all it is though I had Nothing. Man should eat, drink and Merry and do What G-d tells me. His problem is that since he is going to die use it how you can and enjoy it before you die. Man has no Control over his life, the Amal's reason for enjoying because he can not take it with him. Man Can't be Perfect, he takes the money with me and the worst is never being born. I can't solve my Problem, I can't be perfect, I can't control my Fate, and I can't have Everything, SO I'd rather not been born at all. My Desire can never been full filled so therefore it is הכל הבל. If I can't have every thing then it's not worth doing everything. If I am going to die then what's the point of living? #YOLO Not even a king can set justice.

Are We Allowed to Act Like G-d?

While on the past NCSY Shabbton, our theme was V'ahavta L'reacha C'mocha-Love your friend like you love yourself. All weekend we learned we have to treat our fellow Jew the same as we would want to be treated.

Friday night, we learned that Avraham stood by his tent waiting for an opportunity to do chesed. We looked further into it. Then we discussed whether or not Avraham was doing the wrong thing by wanting and waiting for chesed to come to him. We learned that its not at all like that. Avraham sat ther because he was making something of everyday. He was giving himself a purpose.

I think we can really learn something from what Avraham did. He sat there waiting for an opportunity to come where he could help someone else. He sat there everyday trying to make everyday count. Showing that he was put on this earth for a purpose.

It's important to not let yourself turn yourself away from the world. You need to search for your purpose. I think that the Yiraei Elokim had a good point when he said it's about the journey, because in reality it is. When you find your purpose and make something out of your life, you can actually get somewhere.

Then on Shabbat day, we learned about chesed and that you should always be ready to do chesed. Then I got confused. We discussed that we are supposed to act like G-d in a way that we emulate his actions and "feelings" we learned that G-d works in a way of chesed. I thought that seems like it would be correct to be able to act like G-d in the way that you act with kindness. I guess typing it out, it makes more sense. I always thought when we said in class that we couldn't be like G-d in any way, you meant just you cant want to be G-dlike in the way that you are perfect. When I heard it I was confused for a while, how are we supposed to act like G-d in any way?

G-d doesn't want us to be like him, he wants us to be the best we can be. It seems as though He wants us to live up to the potential. If you act with chesed and give to others while also following the commandments of G-d this is what it seems that He would want from us.

Good Wisdom v. Bad Wisdom

At the end of פרק ז,  the יראי אלוקים talks about an ensnaring woman. During class, we were all thinking 'what on earth is going on here!' After further explanation, we found an analogy in משלי that shed light on what this whole 'ensnaring woman' business was about. In משלי (also written by Shlomo) it discusses wisdom. It compares good and bad wisdom. משלי uses the analogy of the good and bad woman to represent good and bad wisdom. Good wisdom, wisdom that stems from G-d's sense of morals and ethics (the Divine), is represented by the good woman who allows man to succeed; bad wisdom, wisdom that stems from man's own sense of morals and ethics, is represented by the bad woman who ensnares man and causes him to sin.

When applying this back to קהלת, we see that the יראי אלוקים was telling the חכם that his version of חכמה was the bad wisdom -- and is like the foolish woman from משלי that leads us to sin. The יראי אלוקים's version of חכמה, the good wisdom, is like the woman who leads man to success. Since the חכם relies on his own powers and not G-d's, he's using bad wisdom; and since the יראי אלוקים relies on G-d, he's using good wisdom.

I knew I had seen analogies of good and evil before - in movies, books, perhaps even in the Torah, but none of them could come to my mind. What else would I do when I couldn't dig up the thoughts in my head? GOOGLE! I stumbled upon a pretty cool website: http://pennyofheaven.hubpages.com/hub/The-tree-of-knowledge-of-good-and-evil-A-metaphor-view. The site discusses the עץ הדעת from בראשית and compares it to the man.

For those of you that won't click on the link, I'll summarize what they said here: the tree of knowledge is a metaphor for the mind. The mind houses the ego (the serpent), and the mind has the ability to act based on your free will. The fruits that the tree brings forth are thoughts, ideas, and actions. We can bear good fruits or evil fruits -- that decision lies with the bearer of these fruits. Adam and Chava's original state of being was just dwelling in G-d's presence. They chose to listen to Chava's ego (the serpent) and partake in the fruits of the mind. The result was them losing their awareness of G-d. The spiritual death is caused by the mind/passions of the ego that aren't fulfilled -- we should rid ourselves of these kind of passions!

Aside from both of these points having analogies, I thought this even related back to קהלת by saying that when we just chase after our passions we end of losing our awareness of G-d -- and that is הבל! This is similar to the viewpoint of the נהנה -- he just wanted to go after his wants and enjoy life -- he did believe in G-d, but like the יראי אלוקים critiqued - man does have a purpose as well! but it's definitely not just to chase after all of our wants. This also invalidates the עמל's perspective: G-d is involved --- that is man's original purpose: dwelling in G-d's presence.

What do y'all think about this comparison of Breishit (as interpreted by that website) & קהלת?

enjoy what you have

The Amal has a very determined mindset. He wants what he wants (everything) and he can't except not having it. He has a problem with everything in the world.

• wants to fix everything, make it perfect, but he can't 
• no point in trying if you won't accomplish your goal
• even if you do accomplish your goal you could have done more, he is never satisfied 
• he doesn't have an heir to give his things to and he doesn't want other people to have his stuff
• work causes competition
• If he, the king tried and failed then it must not be possible
• can not control his fate
• (most importantly) he can't have everything! And if he can't have everything he doesn't want anything. 

He is very stern with his beliefs and is not open for them to change. He has his mind set on this being the only way. The thing he can not except is that he needs to enjoy what he has. Life is not about perfection it's about effort and doing what you can. In his eyes if things are not perfect they are meaningless, but things are not suppose to be perfect and that's half the beauty of it. He is never complete with what he has and until he can except "enjoying what you have" he won't be happy, which he clearly is not.

See ya never

The title of our most recent Megillot packet struck me deep in my soul. "THE FINAL SPEECH OF THE AMAL." That's it. The character we've come to love/despise is writing himself out of the book. So what will the Amal have to say for himself? Will he answer all the questions that keep us up at night?

"Mom, buy me Justin Bieber tickets!!"
"Sorry, honey, it's just not within our budget."
"If you don't get me tickets I'm gonna KILL MYSELF."

Does this whiny, pre-teenage, overdramatic, hormonal girl remind you of anyone? The Amal, you say? Yeah, me too. In his final speech, the Amal doesn't leave us satisfied with some life-altering, beautiful epiphany that changes the way we view life. No. Instead, the Amal whines and complains about how it really sucks that we work hard during our lifetime but never reach perfection and we can never have EVERYTHING. The Amal reasons that since he can't take all the money he's earned with him after he dies, he shouldn't have been born in the first place. How's that for overdramatic?

The Amal should listen to the wise words that the acclaimed country singer, Randy Travis, so eloquently states in his hit song "Three Wooden Crosses" (A personal favorite. Grab some tissues, look it up, listen, and let the tears flow),
"I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it's what you leave behind you when you go."

What happened to Mr. Save the World that we fell in love with in Perek 4?! He's seemed to have been wiped off the map, and now we are left with a materialistic, selfish nut.  I am very disappointed in you, Amal. You haven't helped me solve the meaning of life in any way. We don't need you here anymore. In fact, I am glad to see you go! Leeeaaaavvvvveeeeeeeeeee!

Compromise 

This sefer shows a lot of extreme views. The Nehene says that life is all about enjoying your self and there is no need to try with anything. He also says that we do not have any accountability for our actions because g-d is in charge of everything.

The Amal says that the whole point of us is to make the world a perfect place. He thinks that is in only up to us, that we have to make all the effort and that g-d is no in charge. These two things are clearly very opposite, one says g-d has all control and one says g-d has no control.  

In comes the Yir'ei Elokim with a new approach. He argues with the Amal and acknowledges, but doesn't like what the Nehene says. He tries to find a way to meet both of them in the middle. He says that we have to meet g-d in the middle, we can try to work but ultimately it's up to g-d.   

Here the Yir'ei Elokim makes a compromise with both opinions. We can learn from him that we can always see extremes but what we really need to do is find a compromise between the two 

שלמה's Father Figure

I was trying to find out what different people online say about the cycles of nature and the way קהלת views them, and I came across a very interesting idea that I thought I'd share.

We've said from the beginning that שלמה was the one who wrote/compiled ספר קהלת, and it seems to be a pretty established fact now. Going on that premise, we know that שלמה's father דוד המלך had died when שלמה was very young, making him king,

Is it possible that the way he acted could have stemmed from שלמה's lack of a father figure? Especially if we say that all of the speakers are different stages that שלמה went through, and that without the guidance of a personal, familiar male role model (rather than just the political and religious advisers who helped him with politics and religion) who could help him figure out what he wanted from his life, It's very likely that שלמה could have lived like that (trying out several different ways of finding meaning in life) to try and figure it out for himself.

Just a thought...

New Girl = Sefer Kohelet

Last Wednesday, while watching a recent episode of New Girl, I saw some similarities between that episode and Sefer Kohelet. Schmidt realizes that he is not a good person, and goes to his Rabbi to find out how to improve himself. His Rabbi tells him that he should put others needs before his and be kind to others. Being nice to others will make him a better person. While walking out of the Rabbi's office, Schmidt sees a man riding on his bike, choking. Schmidt goes to save him and realizes that he did something nice, and is now a good person. For the next few days Schmidt continually praises himself for doing something so amazing for another person. He decides to go visit the man, who he had saved, in the hospital, so he could tell him how he is a good person. 

While at the hospital, Schmidt sees another man, severely injured. This man was hit y a truck while making a bake sale for children with cancer.  Schmidt, seeing that bad things could happen to good people, was back in turmoil. He then runs into a Bar Mitzvah class, that is being given by the Rabbi, and began to shout "YOLO!" 

Just like in Sefer Kohelet, Schmidt was trying to do good and find a purpose in being a good human being. He then realized that even a very good person can have bad things happen to them, and concluded that if bad things can happen to good people, then being a good person is pointless. If being a good person is pointless, then we might as well just do whatever we want before we die, because being good doesn't do anything. #YOLO

Man does not do anything?

     Why does Kohelet continue to say that man does not impact the world. This statement is very strong and can cause great discussion. My discussion on this statement is that if every man says this what would the world be. It would be full of partying, slacking off, and crazy attitudes toward everything. so if we all had these crazy attitudes we would all be hopeless. Kohelet should change and think of the world as if he could do anything he wants. As long as he could change this attitude it would have a huge impact on the world. When Kohelet talks about what is the pint of dong work if there is no one to give it too, it reminds me of doing things to make you fell good and for other people. When you see a friend speak out in class and tell the teacher it was you, this makes me realize what things like this are for. The action for sticking up for someone else, gives me the hope of what this is all about.

When will things change?

 

     Now Kohelet is reaching the final points of this long journey. The wise man says there is no pint to party for no reason  and have this attitude. Instead use should accept things. In addition, move on and continue to do what man can do.

 

     Man is not perfect, and was not meant to be perfect. Instead take what G-d gave you and enjoy it. This will help you realize what he gave you and how nice it is. This partying business has to go and Kohelet has to realize how these actions are worthless. He needs to begin t see the world as it truly is. This includes not seeing the world just around him, but also around everyone else.

 

     These actions relate to many things, but on one in particular.  Many TV shows have on character that is just bad and turns good. For example they don't behave they have detention, and create bad profiles. By the end of the episode they usually have a remodel and start slowly to change so at the end they are the favorite character. these episodes reveal that man can change himself and realize how to fix their problems.

 





New Girl, High School Musical, Freeze frames, and Kohelet

In ה:יב-יג, the עמל argues that their is a רעה חולה in the world where people save up all of their money and then it is lost. In ה:יז-יט, he purposes a solution to this issue. Similar to the נהנה, the עמל says that instead of saving up all the money and then losing it, you should enjoy your portion and spend your money. Although this is similar to the נהנה, the נהנה's reasoning was different that the עמל's. The עמל's reason for enjoying was because he couldn't take his money with him after he died. The נהנה's reason for enjoying was because man has not control over his life.
In season 3 episode 5 of New Girl, the poor bartender character, Nick receives a bag full of money at his door supposedly from his deceased father. He has the option of doing two things with the money; he could pay himself out of his debt or he could spend the money on materialistic things. קהלת also had this potential for good or bad. Nick ends up spending a large portion of his money on useless things, until his girlfriend/roommate takes his money and pays his bills for him. Unfortunately, קהלת did not have someone to help him make the right decision, therefore he ended up doing the bad thing.
So, קהלת continues to search for the meaning in life so he can have a happy ending and freeze frame like at the end of High School Musical.

ואהבת לראך כמוך

As most of us know, humans (like Torah), are so interesting because of their multiple facets. The human personality is one that includes many different elements and core values that, when combined, create any person. This past weekend, on the Midwest NCSY Fall Shabbaton, I had a very interesting discussion about ואהבת לראך כמוך. The leader of the discussion posed the question of why Rabbi Akiva said that this one mitzvah is the core of the Torah and why all other mitzvot are just commentary. Naturally, since Kohelet speaks so profoundly about the meaning of life, it was impossible not to include it in the discussion.

The discussion began with advisor asking the basic question: why would Rabbi Akiva, one of the greatest rabbis to ever live, say that a commandment that does not inherently include G-d is the core value of the Torah? How is this possible? To understand the answer we gave, we must first understand what this mitzvah really is. The way I understand it, loving your fellow Jew or person is the basis for morality. Avraham, our first patriarch was renowned for both his ethics and his monotheism. As the world’s first proponent of ethical monotheism, I see it as fitting that these two things would go together. In my mind, without any background of faith in G-d, man’s first core value would be morality. So how does that lead to faith or explain how the other mitzvot in the Torah are commentary on ואהבת לראך כמוך? I think that morality (and the better understanding of the world that comes with it) is the basis for faith in G-d. Once faith is established, morality and faith eventually hold an equal standing as core values. From there, all other Mitzvot are just commentary on how to better our relationship with both G-d and man. 

Throughout this discussion, all I could think of was how each of the 3 major characters in Kohelet would view this commandment and its fundamental role in Torah. This comparison is possible because Kohelet was written by Shlomo, the king of a society based on Torah values. No matter how much each person/character wants to deny G-d and the existence of Torah, it is impossible to do so because the society is based on the Torah.

The Neheneh is the first character I thought of. We learned that the Neheneh believed that G-d had predestined everything and that, as a result, man had no responsibility for his actions, making him no different than an animal. In my mind, if someone in the real world were to adopt the Neheneh’s views, he probably would not care less about caring for other people. In a hypothetical world where the Neheneh’s philosophy is the dominant one, no person would care for or be nice to anyone else. The society would be completely corrupt and devoid of morality. See the example of סדום for this example in practice. 

The Ammal was the next character I examined. The Ammal believed that it was man’s role to affect change in the world and to create a just society. It is man’s role, not G-d’s.  In a society filled with Ammals, there would literally be no injustice. As King Shlomo said, it is man’s role to create a perfect world. Naturally, the flaw in this plan is that man cannot create perfection; that power is reserved for G-d. Additionally, in the Avraham example, morality led him to finding G-d and finding G-d led him to continue to act morally. After the first generation of Ammals dies out, the problem will then become that the children will want to create perfection in other ways. They will then abandon the goal of creating a perfectly moral world and the world would fall into chaos. After all, what is a goal without motivation?

Finally, we come to the Yirei Elokim. The Yirei Elokim has the philosophy that man and G-d should work together to achieve a goal, whatever that goal might be. In our case, the final goal would be creating a moral world. According to the Yirei Elokim, G-d and man should work together to implement morality. In a world full of Yirei Elokims, the concept of ואהבת לראך כמוך would certainly thrive. Man and G-d would work together to make sure that other people are taken care of. This is the philosophy that makes the most sense in the context of ואהבת לראך כמוך being the core value of the Torah. In the end, faith and morality will work together to create a nicer world. However, as much as I seem to like this philosophy, the Chacham thinks that the Yirei Elokim is an extremist because he thinks that a partnership between man and G-d would be the best thing ever. I don’t know enough about the Chacham to apply this concept to a society full of Chachams, so I will leave it at that.

This discussion was truly thought provoking for me. Sadly, we only had two half-hour blocks to flesh out the discussion, so we did not get to take the ideas we talked about to their logical conclusions. Please, if you have something to add to the discussion, don’t hesitate to comment!

“Be kind to one another.”  -Ellen Degeneres

That's Just How it Is...

Well, we have arrived. The fourth and final character on our journey through Kohelet: the wise man. And man, does this guy have an answer for everyone. The wise fellow wastes no time telling everyone what is wrong with their philosophies--even the Amal who's already been voted off the island. He tells the nehena that he's just a fool. Partying is ephemeral and leads to nothing. His philosophy is an illusion! You can't ignore death and pretend like your actions don't matter. Get a reality check, buddy. Actions you take impact your reputation. You gotta look at reality and see it for what it is.
Interesting response, don't you think? It's like that annoying hippie who's finally getting set straight.

The wise guy then focuses on the amal. He asks the amal why he is so angry, after all, being angry is foolish. G-d created the world and man can't fix what G-d created. Everything is not about man and man is not meant to be perfect. Everyone dies and sometimes good things happen to wicked men, its just the way things are. I feel like if the Chachum had a TV show, his catch phrase would be, "Get a reality check, man."

Then, he moves on to the Yirei Elokim, the guy that hasn't been responded to yet. And man, does the wise guy have something to say to this guy. He tells the Yirei Elokim to stop acting so righteous. You don't need to be so extreme. After all, all people sin. Man cannot be perfectly righteous and can't not sin so there is no point in making that your goal. The Yirei Elokim has a response for the Chachum, though, too. He tells the wise guy that he has a problem with his methodology. He is using his own wisdom to determine what is moral and ethical. That is bad wisdom, which he compares to a woman who entraps and ensnares men. Good wisdom, which he compares to good women who lead men to success, is when G-d determines what is ethical and moral.

So, what do we think about the Chachum? I like him. He's a realist and sees everything for what it is. He is probably not the most positive guy in the world, but he's much better than these other guys who just complain about how hevel everything is. It kinda reminds me of that meeting we all had last week. A bunch of people complained about the school, and how much they hated it. It probably would have helped if we had someone like the Chachum in there to just be like, "Hey guys, why are you so angry? It's just how it is. There's no perfect school. Sometimes we have to do things we don't like. Its just reality. Deal with it." Would that have helped? I'm not so sure actually.

I hope we hear more from this guy cause he makes more sense than these other ones we have to listen to. He seems like a "tough love" kinda guy. He wouldn't be overly positive about anything, he'd just say it like is. It's pretty cool how these characters seem so real and relevant, isn't it?

Well, have a lovely week.
And remember, just see how it is.

The Earliest Origins of Modern Orthodoxy

One would think at first glance that the Yirai Elokim's philosophy is the ideal Jewish standpoint; after all, his goal is a closer connection to God. He teaches us that we are not in control of our circumstances, and that we are not supreme beings. He preaches that we don't know everything, and we shouldn't pretend that we do. We must be personally accountable for our actions, and know manipulating the "spiritual existence" is far beyond our capabilities. Even though God is in control, we are the ones who make the final decisions- i.e., man may be autonomous, but God is still the sovereign. He even goes so far as to counter two of the previous philosophies before him. He tells the pleasure-seeking Neheneh that he can't use the fact that God is in control as an excuse to be irresponsible and carefree. He scolds the work-focused Amal and tells him that he is arrogant and foolish- man is certainly not in control, and that perfection is not within the reach of mankind. The end result is not what matters most; in the end, it is the journey that counts. All that matters, he concludes, is being an Eved to God. This is the only true way to find a purpose in life.
Now, upon seeing this for the first time, one would come to the reasonable conclusion that the Yirai Elokim has the right idea. After all, this is how it's supposed to be, isn't it? But alas, this is not the case. The much awaited Chacham has a great deal to say about the Yirai Elokim's philosophy, and it is unexpectedly negative. Why, one might ask? It appears that, according to the Chacham, the Yirai Elokim is not the knowledgeable tzaddik that he's purported to be. Rather, he is nearsighted, naive, and hypocritical. The Chacham tells the Yirai Elokim to reflect on himself before he judges others. In reality, explains the Chacham, no one is as great as you're saying they must be, not even yourself. It's just not possible. You're not that great, and you look down on everyone else's sins. You said yourself that people can't be perfect, yet you're holding them to a double standard. Don't be so self-righteous- you will cause your own destruction. When a person goes to such extremes, they can never end up in a good place. Others will turn against you because of what you preach and your hypocrisy. No matter how much you would like to believe it, people are imperfect beings, and cannot restrain themselves from lying and breaking the rules, yourself included. It is time to get off your high horse, because this charade cannot continue much longer.
How very interesting. According to the Chacham, it is silly to think that we can do everything we are expected to do and be perfect beings. Effort is definitely important, but no one is expected to go above and beyond to be overly scrupulous, or to push others to do the same. The Chacham pushes for moderation. Could this be the earliest proponent of a sort of "Modern Orthodoxy" of the Biblical era? Modern Orthodoxy prides itself on finding the middle ground and not pushing extreme borders; in a sense, the cornerstone of the movement is the ability to not be so fully "immersed" so that one is able to view the world in a way that is clear-sighted, yet still has a keen sense of boundaries and propriety. In other words, it encompasses a mastery of the ability to "walk a fine line" between "our world" and everything else. It seems that, without knowing it, the Chacham may have stumbled on the building blocks of the Modern Orthodox movement, and in doing so, showed us all what he considers the most effective way to find meaning in our lives.

Oh Wise One (חכם)

It's that time of the week again! Yes, it's time for you all (/Emma) to look at my Calvin & Hobbes comic and decipher how it relates to what we've learned in Kohelet. What do you think? Irrelevant? Relevant? How so? I'll give you some time to think...

By now you've probably realized that the answer is in the title of the post. Yes, it's time to talk about the Chacham, ya'll. 

Mr. Wise Guy. 

Mr. Let Me Articulate This.

Mr. Get-Your-Heads-Outta-The-Gutter other guys

Mr. Reality.

This particularly comic addresses the critique of the חכם pointed out by the Yirei Elohim. The criticism here is to the methodology of the חכם . The חכם wanted to use his own intellect to explore the world. Essentially, the חכם was using "one 'fact'" that he "made up" (to quote the Calvin and Hobbes). Following the metaphor of the Yirei Elokim (that can be traced back to Mishleh), the חכם was using the 'bad wisdom' that is analogous to the prostitute woman who ensnares men. This is the kind of wisdom that comes about when a person relies on his own sense of morals and ethics to view the world. The real, true wisdom is 'good' wisdom, represented by a good, supportive woman. This wisdom stems from Yirat Elokim: ethics, morality- recognition of God. This is what the חכם is missing (according to the Yirei Elokim). 

What do you think of the חכם. I kind of like him, I've got to say. Now that my main main the Amal is gone, the חכם is my only hope. He better not jump to extremes and get voted off the island. So far the only hole is in his methodology- but I don't really support that flaw. I mean, ultimately, everything is somebody's "personal truth". We talked about this to death on Bronfman; it became a real eye-roller very soon. Everybody has their own "universal truth" that is ultimately just their "personal truth". Can there really be a truth that trumps all other truths?  Just because somebody includes God in their 'truth' doesn't mean it's still not their idea that they have claimed.

I also have a problem with this whole 'good' wisdom thing. Let's say you 'back up your wisdom' by saying that you were thinking of God all along... who's to say that you didn't just make it up? I guess I don't really get the differences between the two wisdoms. Anybody want to help me out? Differentiate between 'bad' and 'good' wisdom. It seems to me that all of our opinions stem from our personal morals and ethics. There are facts of life that can be proven by science. And then there are things that are opinions. Aren't all our opinions 'bad' wisdom? Our opinions are our morals and ethics and how we view the world. Sure, we can recognize God as above us, yadayada, but is that all it takes to switch from Good to Bad wisdom? 

How to Find Meaning in Life: For Dummies

         So at last we say goodbye to the Amal. In Perakim ה-ו, the Amal gives his last words on the purpose of work. In Perek ה Pasukim יב-טז, he states that he found a new injustice in the world- people hold on to their money, but eventually lose it and have nothing to give to their children. And of course he can't possibly continue without saying something is Hevel, so he decides that since you die with nothing, like you were born (naked and penniless), what is the point of your effort?

         Unfortunately, here is seems like the Amal has abandoned his noble pretenses of trying to rid injustice in the world- he is now focused on himself= BAD. But is he trying to say that you should just enjoy things because you die anyway? Perhaps like....the Neheneh??!?!?! *gasps*

         In the next few Pasukim it seems like he is, in fact, coming to agree with the Neheneh. TRAITOR!!! In Pasukim יז-יט he timidly approaches these ideas, saying "maybe I should just eat, drink, and enjoy what G-d gave me.." Although this does seem exactly like what the Neheneh was saying, it is a little different. The Neheneh said that since we have no control, he might as well enjoy. The Amal is saying that he should just enjoy because you cannot take your work with you. However, will he accept this philosophy??

         In Perek ו Pasukim א-ו, the Amal comes to a grim decision- the fact that he can't be perfect or take his money with him is worse than never having been born. In other words, I can't have everything, so I might as well never have been born.

         In Pasukim ז-יב he finally comes to his cheerful conclusion. Since he is going to die and he can't accomplish everything, he doesn't want to live. How uplifting! In the beginning, he found that since he as the king couldn't get rid of injustice, no one could, and now he is saying that (surprise, surprise) הכל הבל!

        Now I kind of just want to knock some sense into the Amal. He needs to listen to himself and realize how stupid he sounds! I found an article on wikiHow labeled "How to Find Meaning in Life". While reading those 8 steps, I realized how helpful these tips would be for the Amal. Step Number 4 especially. It states "Seek without purpose", and underneath it says that knowledge is not a destination, but a journey. It also says that human knowledge is not perfect, but we know enough to come to conclusions, so don't despair. I really wish they had internet during Kohelet's time!!

Link to full article: http://www.wikihow.com/Find-Meaning-in-Life

The Amal comes to the conclusion again that there is no point of work because it all goes away. He says he didn't achieve anything as a result of his toil. He starts to think that maybe he should just drink and enjoy life. He starts to become more like the Nehena and think more like the Nehena. He then changes his opinion again and decides that if he cannot have everything and take his stuff with him he would rather not be born. The Amal says that since he is going to die and he cannot accomplish anything then what is the point of living? I think the Amal needs to make up his mind. If he keeps changing his mind he will never know what he wants. He won't know what hes trying to get from life if he doesn't.  

Perfect is not the way to be

"עמל, not everything in this world is about man. Don't give up on your efforts just because you cannot be perfect. We are talking about man here. Man isn't supposed to strive for perfection. G0d made us this way. He created us to make mistakes and learn from them. You should make the best of your situation and try to put all your effort into what you are doing. But don't get upset when you don't reach perfection."

In Perek ט-טז the חכם is trying to knock some sense into the עמל. The חכם's philosophy is based on reality, and in reality people are not perfect beings. Even our greatest role models were not perfect. Moshe was punished for sinning greatly, and we still look up to him and strive to become more like him spiritually. Moshe being one of our greatest leaders who still sinned sends me a message I believe is from G0d. You cannot be perfect, and G0d is not wanting you to be perfect. He wants you to learn from your mistakes and strive to be better. But you cannot learn from your mistakes if you haven't made any in the first place. You cannot strive to be better if you are the best you can ever be (perfect). 

Achieving Potential, Not Perfection

In this week's Megillot class, we discussed the final speech of the Amal. In the first section, Perek Hey-Pesukim 12-16, the Amal begins by saying he has witnessed injustice in the world. Some people hold onto their money and then lose it all, and don't have anything to give to their child. Man returns at death just like he was born, naked and penniless. On a side note, Kohelet has already said something similar to this with the Neheneh, when he stated that man comes and returns to dust. The Amal then questions the purpose of all his effort. He concludes that he is angry, frustrated, and sick, and proclaims that there is no motivation to work because he will lose it all, and didn't achieve anything as a result of his toil. He seems to be responding to the Yirei Elokim in this section, as the Yirei Elokim emphasized the effort, but Kohelet claims that he can't have it all, it's as though he had nothing.

In the next section, Perek Hey-Pesukim 17-19, the Amal ponders the thought of just enjoying what G-d gave him to "solve" his problem. This resembles the worldview of the Neheneh to an extent, but
the Amal's reason for enjoying is because he can't take anything with him.

In the third section, Perek Vav-Pesukim 1-6, Kohelet states that the fact that he can't perfect and take his money with him is worse that never having been born, and thus rejects his previous solution. If he can't solve his problems and have everything, he would rather have not been born to witness it all.

In the final section, Perek Vav, Pesukim 7-12, the Amal says that since his desires cannot be fulfilled, "Hakol Hevel U'Reut Ruach." If he can't have it all, it's not worth doing anything. Since he is going to eventually die, by definition he can't accomplish anything, and therefore doesn't want to live.
And with that lovely sentence, we bade adieu to the Amal. He started with the altruistic perspective, wanting to perfect the world, but found that not even a king can get rid of injustice. And he ended with the desire for material things, but couldn't, so he deemed it Hevel.

The Amal's transition from wanting to help others to wanting materialistic items for himself was staggering. How could he have dismissed the idea he had possessed only Perakim before? Kohelet wanted to find meaning in this world. He genuinely seemed like he wanted to get rid of injustice, but couldn't grasp the fact that he could not achieve perfection; it is not humanly possible. Once he saw this, he immediately jumped to the next option.

However, Kohelet doesn't seem to understand, time and time again, that man is flawed. We are imperfect. However, we continue to try to improve ourselves. That's the beauty of human life. We are given the opportunity to become better people. We cannot achieve perfection, but we can put in EFFORT to try and achieve a better world, something the Amal does not want to heed to. The Amal might have had an easier time trying to accomplish his goals, if he had realized that he can't achieve perfection, but he can achieve his potential.

And the Cat Fight Begins...

As the עמל made his pitiful exit out of the Kohelet, the חכם made his bold entrance. The חכם didn't waste much time in starting to push the other three characters down. From what he says to each of the characters, we can most definitely tell that he is a realist.

"You are an IDIOT," says the חכם to the נהנה.  The חכם tells the נהנה that it is better to be patient than be naughty. He calls him a fool because he doesn't understand what happens to him from all the partying. "Hello," says the חכם, "You must understand the world to be happy!" The חכם calls the נהנה's philosophy an illusion because he cannot ignore death, and actions impact your reputation. The חכם is basically telling the נהנה that he is not accepting and recognizing reality and because of that, he is flawed.

Next, the חכם responds to the עמל even though he has made his exit. Personally, I think that what he says to the עמל is the only one that makes sense and the only time he has a good point. He tells the עמל, "you are so angry!" He tells him that it is not good to live life so angrily, and if you acquire חכמה, then you will be set for life. The עמל has trouble understanding that what G-d gave us, is life. The חכם is always trying to get the עמל to realize that that is life and we cannot change what G-d gave us, so stop being angry. The עמל's constant desire for control leads to nothing but an angry life.

Lastly, the חכם responds to the יראי אלוקים. He is trying to get the יראי אלוקים to realize that everyone sins in life and that he is being too righteous, that it's almost selfish. At this point we haven't heard what the יראי אלוקים thinks is hevel in life, so I think that we can say that thus far, he is being a little too righteous.

From what I have read about the חכם so far, I see that he is not only a realist, but a meddler. He seems to be the one is meddling the most into the other's views and trying to change them. When there have been other responses to each other before this, it was mostly a statement of opinion, not telling them that they must change and be wise. Thus starts the cat fight between the characters...DUH DUH DUHHHHH!

Runaway Love

     So as we have continued to explore Kohelet even further, I would like to say that I am extremely bothered with the Amal. First, he was so into helping other people and then he just took a turn and was so caught up only on himself. One main thing that irritated me though was what he was saying in Perek 6, Pasukim 1-6. Kohelet basically says that since he cannot take his money with him when he dies it is all worthless. He also says that he cannot solve his problems, he cannot control his fate, he cannot be perfect, and he cannot have EVERYTHING so he would rather have not been born. Okay Kohelet, I am sorry but this is ridiculous.
             By saying all of this, Kohelet seems so spoiled and obnoxious. Does he not think about the starving kids who have it far worse than him? The people suffering from disease? The people people who are living on the streets? So there are all these much bigger problems and then there is the Amal who cannot find simcha because he cannot have everything?

I wish the Amal would have heard the song Runaway Love and then complained about how he cannot have everything.
Here are the lyrics:
Now little Lisa's only nine years old
She's tryin' to figure out why the world is so cold
Why she's all alone and they never met her family
Momma's always gone and she never met her daddy

Part of her is missin' and nobody'll listen
Momma's on drugs, gettin' *** up in the kitchen
Bringin' home men at different hours of the night
Startin' with some laughs, usually endin' in a fight

Sneakin' in her room when her momma's knocked out
Tryin' to have his way and little Lisa says ouch
She tries to resist but then all he does is beat her
Tries to tell her mom but her momma don't believe her
........................................................................................
Runaway love, runaway love
Runaway love, runaway love
Runaway love, runaway love
Runaway love, runaway love

Little Nicole is only ten years old
She's steady tryin' to figure why the world is so cold
Why she's not pretty and nobody seems to like her
Alcoholic step-dad always wanna strike her

Yells and abuses, leaves her with some bruises
Teachers ask questions, she's makin' up excuses
Bleedin' on the inside, cryin' on the out
It's only one girl really knows what she's about

Her name is little Stacy and they become friends
Promise that they'll always be tight 'til the end
Until one day, lil' Stacy gets shot
A drive-by bullet went stray up on her block

Now Nicole's stuck up in a world on her own
Forced to think that **** is a place called home
Nothin' else to do but get her clothes and pack
She says she's 'bout to run away and never come back

Now, Amal, why can't you find happiness?

Shlomo Might Have Multiple Personalities

Since we started learning Kohelet, I have always found it quite interesting that the Amal and the Neheneh seems to be complete opposites. As we have learned, the Amal puts complete power in the hands of mankind. Nothing in the world is attributed to the work of G-d. The Amal sees everything in the world in relation to man and sees that all change in the world must come from the hands of man. On the other hand, the Neheneh gives total power to G-d. The Neheneh believes man has absolutely no control in the world, and therefore our actions don't matter, just like animals. The Neheneh sees everything in the world as being controlled by G-d, and there is nothing man can do to make a change.

I personally find it quite fascinating that Shlomo found it possible to put himself in these completely opposite mindsets. It is almost as if Shlomo lived several different lives from several different viewpoints. The fact is, all these approaches, no matter how extreme and how opposing to each other, came from the mind of a single person. Can you imagine totally changing your entire attitude and perspective multiple times in search of an answer? Shlomo's journey must have been extensive and exhausting. As he jumps from one extreme to the other, it seems as though Shlomo lived multiple lifetimes. I can't even imagine living life like this. I feel like once I am set in my beliefs and ideas, it can be very difficult for me to change my views. Shlomo seems to have done so constantly.

It's honestly amazing to me and I'm kind of obsessed with this right now. Daaaaaang.

Partnership with G-d

In Perek 4, the Amal stressed the importance of human kind coming together to help the oppressed and make a difference on the world. He believes the main purpose of life is to build, create, and make an impact.

We then see in Perek 5 Pasuk 7 that the Yirei Elokim tries to refute the philosophy of the Amal:

"If you see oppression of the poor and deprivation of justice and righteousness in the province, wonder not about the matter, for the Highest over the high waits, and there are higher ones over them."

From this, it seems like the Yirei Elokim is basically saying that humans have absolutely no control over situations in life, the ability help others, or changing the world. Is this indeed what he is saying?

This idea reminded me of a story I've heard many times. There are many variations of this story but it essentially goes like this:
A man is sitting on his porch as flood waters rise. A woman floats by in a boat, asking if the man needs help. "No, thank you," says the man, "I'm trusting in G-d." The waters rise higher, sending the man upstairs. A raft full of people floats by his second story window. "Get in," they say, "there's plenty of room." "No thanks," says the man, "I'm trusting in G-d." The flood waters keep rising, pushing the man up to the roof. A helicopter swoops in, lowering its ladder for the man. "Thanks anyway," shouts the man, "I'm trusting in G-d." Finally, the man is swept away in the torrent and drowns. At the gates of Heaven, the man asks God, "Why didn't you save me?" "What do you mean?'' replies God, "I sent two boats and a helicopter."

This story illustrates the actual point I think the Yirei Elokim is trying to get at. Man must have a partnership with G-d. G-d controls what goes on in this world, and we, the human beings living in His world, act as his servants fulfilling His will, in this case, helping those in need. We may not have the ability to make a change in the world or control what goes on in our lives, but we must try!

The Worst of All Attitudes

Last week in class, we learned about the final speech of the Amal. We learned that he is so afraid of death, that it blocks him from doing anything else in his life. He is so afraid of death that he would have rather not lived at all. He's not G-dlike, he can't be perfect, so why live at all?

In ninth grade, I had the same thoughts as the Amal. Maybe not as extreme, but it was there to some extent. I didn't care about school. There was this level of expectation people around me were expecting me to achieve and I never felt as if I was reaching their expectations. Then I felt that I don't like it anyways, I'm not as good as other people want me to be, I won't try.

It took me the whole year to realize that wasn't the best idea. I wasn't getting such amazing grades, I never liked school. I wasn't putting effort into anything. How do you get anywhere without effort? I, unlike the Amal, realized I needed to change. Not trying and just giving up because I can't reach other peoples' standards is foolish of me.

Everyone in this world has a choice. You get to choose how you live. Yes, G-d helps push you, but most of the time you have to take the first step. If you can't make the first step G-d won't be able to push you and you won't get anywhere.

You have to be willing to try in life. You won't be perfect, and you might not even be what others expect of you. But you have to realize that's not failing. To me, I think you accomplish your life goal when you are able t reflect on yourself and know what you are doing wrong and right in your life. When you gain the strength to criticize and appreciate yourself and live up to your own potential, that is accomplishing your own life goal.

יראי אלוקים

In ד:יז-ה:ה there are 3 important responses to the נהנה and the עמל that the יראי אלוקים mentions. Three don't's aimed towards the נהנה and the עמל. The first is a response to the עמל who thinks that he can manipulate the spiritual as well as the physical. It says, "Don't go to the בהמ"ק like a fool who thinks he can do whatever he wants as long as he gives a sacrifice." The second response says, "Don't be like a fool who speaks a lot. Recognize that god is in שמים and we are on earth." This is responding to the נהנה who doesn't think man has any purpose and to the עמל who thinks god has no control. Finally, the last response says, "Don't make any vows that you will break." This response is to the עמל who thinks he is in control. I agree completely with the יראי אלוקים. These are important morals that we should know.

#thestruggle

In פרק ב, the philosophy of עמל is raised. קהלת recognizes that the goal of man is to create, build, and make an impact on the world. Sounds logical, right? However, he finds a problem in this goal. Nothing that man can create will be perfect. If it is broken, it cant be fixed. Therefore, it is הבל.
Another rationale as to why everything is הבל is the fact that we all have the same fate, death. Death means all of our pain and sleepless nights didn't make a lasting impression. There will be no remembrance of the wise man. We don't know if a fool will inherit all of our hard work, so what is the point! No enjoyment in life because of our constant hard working only ending in death. This is so depressing. I need a hug.
Now, a bunch of hugging gifs:

Is Kohelet All That Negative?

Every week I go to write my blog post: I often find that I'm writing depressing post after depressing post.. It just doesn't ever seem to be positive with Kohelet. It's almost exhausted.

Well, tonight I fell asleep and when I kept waking up and trying to force myself to write my blog post I really just couldn't get myself to do it. So I started thinking: what if I could make it a little bit more exciting? A little bit more positive so that I wasn't so depressed while writing my blog post! 

I'm gonna give this whole positivity thing a shot (even though I usually identify with Kohelet's negativity) so bear with me! 

Just like all humans "תחת השמש " we all go through hard times. We all make mistakes. We all get really down and negative and wish we just really would have never had the opportunity to mess up. However, despite these moments of anger, we wouldn't define ourselves or life by these moments. 

Is this really what Kohelet is doing? As we already discussed the different perspectives (the נהנה, the עמל, and the יראי אלוקים) are all really קהלת - just different aspects of his personality. Maybe these are the different phases he went through -- the moments of frustration that he had. 

I'm going to venture to say that קהלת doesn't really think ''הכל הבל.'' I think that he's showing each of us a side within us all and taking it to an extreme to show a point. When looking at the עמל we said "okay, that's just a little too much focus on man.." then when looking at the נהנה we said "whoa, that's just too much G-d.." Then when seeing the middle (the יראי אלוקים) we were a little more accepting.

I think קהלת is trying to show us that there are moments in our lives where it seems like הכל הבל, like we're confused and don't know what to believe really. Are we focusing on man (עמל) or G-d (נהנה)? Whatever it is, whatever our frustrations are.. it will ultimately go back to the middle, and normalize. 

שלמה was a great king. We know that he had a hard time and fell from grace, but he's still considered a very great king. How could he be showing us all negativity? I think it'd make things easier to say that he's just trying to teach us something: despite our moments of extreme anger and our varying mindsets -- things will always normalize and we'll find our balance. 

Obviously we haven't finished the Sefer yet, so I can't say for sure, but this little theory of mine is definitely comforting me in the meantime.

How would y'all interpret the extreme negativity that we've found in קהלת so far? 

A King and An Eved

While perusing over the notes of this past week, I had an interesting thought. We contrasted the different philosophies of the Neheneh, Amal, and Yirai Elokim, and looked into the specific distinction between each. I focused on the differences between the role of the king in each philosophy. The Nehenah, predictably, believes that it is the job of the king to live a party lifestyle while knowing there is someone above him. The Amal thinks that it is the job of the king to make sure society is just. The Yirai Elokim belives that it is the job of the king to be an Eved of Hashem and lead the people in the ways of God, in a master-servant kind of relationship. Now, as we all know, a  servant is a very different position that a king. Does this seem demeaning to the king? He is in a high level position, and yet he is no better than a lowly servant. What level are his subjects on, then? What is lower than a servant?
This title of Eved is not a new one in the Torah. We see that G-d compared Moshe to an "Eved Hashem," and that this title was nothing to scoff at. According to some commentators, "Eved Hashem" is the highest ranking a Jew can recieve, because they are at the utmost capacity to follow His will. Not many people ever receive the title of an Eved to G-d. In fact, it is a very hard title to recieve. Moshe was one of the most righteous people to ever live. So, it can be surmised that this title of "Eved" to G-d is really a great compliment, one that could perhaps mean an incredibly righteous person such as Moshe. With this perspective, it is reasonable to say that having this title of Eved bestowed upon  a king is not degrading, but rather a great compliment,if not one of the greatest.

רעה חולה

Before Perek ה I wasn't certain that Shlomo was קהלת. How do we know that it wasn't someone else who was the son of David? We had no way of knowing. Now that we have read Perek ה I am pretty much positive that Shlomo is the one that wrote Kohelet. Perek ה mentions a character that Shlomo brushes over for a second. It talks about a man who was once wealthy, but then lost all of his wealth suddenly. This man has nothing to show for his work that he spent his time on and nothing to pass down to his son. 

I think Shlomo is talking about himself when he created this character. Shlomo himself was once very wealthy because G0d gave him more than what Shlomo requested. He gave him a lot of wealth, but Shlomo didn't use it to help him become a better leader. Instead he used it to buy many chariots and horses, many wives from other nations, and other material items. (FYI these were the specific things that G0d mentioned that Kings were not allowed to have.) Of course all this wealth and physical needs corrupted him. G0d took everything away from him because he became too haughty to be a leader for the Jewish people. 

G0d gave all his wealth to his servant to show him that He is in control, and that G0d gives you everything that you have and can take it away in a second. I kind of see this as G0d laughing in his face because he switched the positions so that his servant who was the lowest of the low is now the highest of the high. 

Let Go of Perfectionism: Ain't Nobody Got Time for That!

         This week we learned that Kohelet decided to look into toil to find meaning in life. The Amal has finally been introduced. In the very beginning of the Perek, we see that Kohelet changes to 1st person POV. The Amal has an interesting view of the world. His main goal is to make the world a better place by ridding it of injustice. He decides that if he'd rather never have been born than not be able to make the world a better place. Kind of a drama queen.

         As Kohelet looks more closely into the life of workers, he finds two problems: 1. work creates competition and jealousy that prevents man from accomplishment and 2. if you don't have someone to give your work to, then what's the point?

         As these problems are obstacles in finding meaning in the Amal perspective of life, Kohelet would naturally want to find a solution. He comes up with the idea that two people working together are better than one. This would solve both problems: there is no competition if you work together and you have someone to give your work to. So if two people working together is so great, imagine three people! Four! Five! What if the entire nation could work together? If Kohelet could get the entire nation to work together under him as the king, maybe he has a shot at making an impact on the world.

          What a great solution! If only it would have worked. However, as we know, Shlomo failed in his attempts to make an impact because he became corrupted. Therefore he decides (quite pompously) that if  he can't make an impact on the world, than no one can. What a snot!

         Now that Kohelet has looked at the Amal and crossed it off his list, he turns to religion. Personally, I found that this view was considerably more optimistic than the others, though it just seems as if he is just responding to the Amal and the Neheneh.
 
         We see in פרקים ד-ה that Kohelet once again changes his point of view. We can conclude from the fact that he changes from 1st person to 2nd person POV that he is responding to the other views.

         In the beginning of Perek ד, he responds to the Amal, who thinks that man has ultimate control, saying that he shouldn't believe that man can manipulate the spiritual as well as the physical- don't be like the fools who go the Beit Hamikdash to bring Korbanot because they think it will justify their sins.  Kohelet also tells the Amal not to make vows you cannot fulfill, because it implies that you believe you are in control of your future, when G-d truly has ultimate control.

         In Perek ד we also see Kohelet's response to the Neheneh. He says that G-d AND man have control- G-d has ultimate control in שמים and man has control on Earth.

         In the beginning of Perek ה, he decides that man must have a partner-ship with G-d and try to accomplish things in life=> do not get upset by the הבל!!! He then uses this philosophy to tell the Amal and the Neheneh that in life man should try to accomplish. He explains that it is the process that counts, and if the Amal is constantly looking for perfection, he will never be satisfied. He also explains this to the Neheneh, saying that if he doesn't put in any effort, he will never find meaning.

        I consider myself a perfectionist in some aspects. I am very particular about my handwriting as well as my planner. It's very annoying to have to make everything perfect, but it's even more annoying to have it below perfection. On Google, I found an article labeled "Let Go of Perfectionism: It's the Leap That Counts", and I was immediately intrigued. After reading it, I decided that it would be a great lesson for me and for Kohelet, and it's a shame the internet didn't exist during his time.

         The author, Jennifer Boykin, explains how she was a perfectionist and how exhausting it was. While reading this, I couldn't help but imagine that if the Amal were to write an article, that is exactly how it would sound. Boykin even states that "it wasn't sustainable" and she wasn't happy. At the end of the article she discusses ideas that I believe would be uplifting to the Amal, if he would have been able to see it. She states that "it's the leap that counts. Not the results." echoing the perspective of the יראי אלקים.

          How do you think the Amal would have responded to this article?

          Link: http://tinybuddha.com/blog/let-go-of-perfectionism-its-the-leap-that-counts/

עבד v.s. עמל

This week we learnt about the עבד's view v.s. the עמל's. The עבד's goal is to try. He is happy with what he does. To him, it is ok if he doesn't do everything. He cares about the process, but the עמל only wants to accomplish things. If he doesn't reach his goal by accomplishing, he is very upset. When he doesn't finish, accomplish, and have it be perfect then הכל הבל. The ירא אלקים responds to this saying that the עמל will never be happy. He always wants more and more and is never satisfied. I think the עבד has a good philosophy. It is good to be happy and proud of yourself when you try. All you can do is try your hardest.         

What Man's Goal Is...

         The  dosen’t have the ability to change the world and the whole purpose seems to be to change the world. There are two problems to find toil. One is to create competition and prevents man from accomplishing what he needs. The second one is that there talking about the fool, because the toil is just to enjoy life! We have to realize that the Nehena is that everything is from Hashem, Hashem is in complete of man, and is responsible for his actions. The only thing that man control can do is eat, drink and Merry. That is what Man’s goal is.

The Amal’s work he does isn't important. It is saying that It is bad to be a fool and to party, but also wants important things.

It’s important to have a relationship with G-d. 

If I can't have it no one can

When Shlomo switches to the amal's point of view, working to make a difference in the world, he finds himself with a few problems. One of his problems is of course, what will happen after he dies. He can build a beautiful mansion and live happily in it but what will happen to all his hard work when he dies? An obvious solution is that he will give it to his children. Shlomo however has a different mindset. He doesn't care that he really does have someone he can give his stuff to, if he can't have it he doesn't want anyone else to have it. This seems to be quite selfish. Life isn't just about just helping yourself, its about helping the world too. The amal seems to want to help the world so I'm not sure why he doesn't see this too.

Past=Present=Future

I couldn't think of anything to blog about this week, which made me kind've sad. Sophie kind've blogged about what I was going to blog about, so there went that. I had no choice but to turn to Calvin and Hobbes for guidance. I knew I would find inspiration with the help of my crazy old friend, Calvin. And, alas! I did. (I guess)

Going back to one of the main motifs of Sefer Kohelet: Ein Chadash Tachat Hashemesh. I think this concept is particularly interesting. We like to think that everything we do and think is unique, but what if it's not? What if somebody's thought what we've thought in the past and somebody else will think what we've thought in the future? What if our lives aren't special, we're just cogs in the little cycle thing? I mean, that's some sad shtuss. 

In the comic above, Calvin is hilarious as usual. But still- look at what he's saying about time: all is one, and existence in the temporal sense is illusory." Calvin should have hung out with Kohelet. I can only imagine why a guy (Kohelet) with a complex about dying and leaving a footprint would be very bothered by the idea that nothing really changes. That essentially means that nothing you do really makes a difference. Because it already was and will be. Woopdie-doo: nothing you do matters! What a heartwarming feeling. The world is cyclical and we're a part of that cycle. Oy vey. 

On a sort of related note, let's put some (drum roll) pop culture perspective into this!
Think of the last movie you watched. Or the last song you listened to. Did the movie have any new ideas that you haven't seen in every other movie you've watched? Did the song sound like every other song you've listened to? The last movie I watched was Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing. That's not new. That was first a Shakespeare play, preformed on stages all over; then it was a movie; now it is a new movie. But it's not really a new movie. Or is it?... The direction was different than the previous movie, the actors were different.. It was very different, yet, very familiar. 

You guys, wanna offer up some advice for Calvin and me? 

What do you have to say?

 Do things change, or is everything just the same (ie, we only would like to believe that things are different)?

How can you tell if something is new?

Do we have a purpose in this cycle? 

ENJOY WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU!

Kohelet approaches the character נהנה in פרק ב and says that it is good for man to rejoice in his work, eat, and drink because all of that was given to us by god and that is what he wants from us. That sounds very logical. I think it is great to be happy and enjoy your life, but to an extent. Then, in פרק ג he begins to say there is a time for everything that is predetermined by God. He saying that we can't decide when we will die, so we have to enjoy everything that god has given us before god decides it is our time to die.

It seems like Kohelet has got it right! There is no point to life if we just sit here miserable. We need to enjoy what god has given us. We have a beautiful world in front of us that we can explore, so why waste time watching everything beautiful in life surround us without experiencing it?

Although I agree with Kohelet, I don't think we should lead hedonistic lifestyles. All hedonism will do is lead us to sin! Our life should not revolve around partying and nothing else. We need to get up and do something with what god has given us. Kohelet even said that the sinner accumulates wealth. Instead of just being a lazy bum with all the tools in life to achieve happiness, we should make something of it. We can party and have a good time, but we should not go to the extreme.

Why take everything to the extreme?

The Amal, in perek 4, talks about how to is better than one. If the first person falls, the other can be pick him up. Working as a pair also eliminates competition, and you have someone to take your toil after yo die. This sounds satisfying. To have a better life, and get rid of injustice, working as a pair is the way to go. 
The Amal then continues and states, that two is good, but even better is three, and even better than three is a king. A king has power and toil, and can therefor easily get rid of injustice. Even though we can't all be king, and therefore have the ability to get rid of injustice, it is still a some what satisfying philosophy. The Amal then concludes by saying, that a great king can't hold onto his power forever, and  therefore everything is pointless.
It's true that a king can't hold onto his power,and therefore cannot end injustice, but that was not the goal of the Amal in the beginning of the perek. When the Amal responds to Nehene, he says that if man can't make an IMPACT in the world, then he rather not have even been born. His goal was not to end injustice, it was to make an impact. Not only was making an impact his goal, but he also found a solution. Two is better than one, and even better is three.
A better conclusion to this philosophy would be, that a king can't make an impact because his power isn't stable, so maybe we should just stick to being with a pair or small group. Why would you conclude with everything is pointless, if you already found a solution? Not everything needs to be taken to the extreme.

Kohelet Takes High School

We work so hard everyday to make good grades, have privileges, and be accepted in to college. If you think about it we are all the עמל in high school sometimes

As the עמל finally makes his exit out of Kohelet, he starts to change his viewpoint again. His new viewpoint is that if one ends up with nothing, what was the point in trying in the first place? What was the point of all the "toil?" In high school, I think think we can all agree that there have been times when we have studied endlessly for a test, and aced it. But, there are also time when we studied for a test and something went wrong and we failed or did poorly on. I know this has happened to me and when I get a grade back that is less than wonderful, I always think about why was there even a point in studying if I failed anyways.

 People always complain about our hebrew classes at school and how much work we have in them. I hear often, "what's the point of taking these Hebrew/Judaic classes if I am not going to need them when I go to college?" This sounds exactly like the עמל because he questioned what's the point of all of his toil if he couldn't take it with him when he died anyways. The viewpoint of some of our students is the same way. I believe though, that we will always use our Judaic studies in some way because after all, we are all Jewish.

Although this is bad, we must pick ourselves back up and maybe listen to the יראי אלוקים. The יראי אלוקים says that everything is about the journey and not about the goal. When we get one bad test grade we must not let that get us down, because there will always be more good grades on the road to success. Our journey in a dual-curriculum school is so important because it is what shapes our Jewish identity. From all the Navi to the chumash, to the ivrit classes, I have found values in each and every one of them to take with me in life.

Representing Jews Internationally: Which Approach Is Best?

As of the end of this week, we have made it halfway through Kohelet. Woohoo! At this point, I think that we have a fairly firm grasp on the main philosophies of all three of the major characters. To recap, the three major characters are the Neheneh, the Ammal, and the Yirei Elokim. The Neheneh is a hedonist: he believes that G-d has predestined everything and that man had no responsibility for his actions, making him no different from an animal. Hakol Hevel. The Ammal is the overachiever: he wants to create perfection and fix the injustice in the world. When the things he creates are not perfect and when he realizes that he has no heir and no immortality, Hakol Hevel. Jealousy and competition are bad too. The Yirei Elokim's philosophy (so far) is the least extreme. He emphasizes that man has to create a partnership with G-d while simultaneously recognizing G-d's superiority over man. In his opinion, life is more about the journey than about reaching the goal.

I think the best way of looking at the effectiveness of each of these philosophies is to look at them in a real-world context. I know that Mrs. Perl has already given us an assignment in which we make our three characters talk about a modern issue facing the world. This is my take on that assignment. Please note that I am not trying to pass judgement on anyone; I am merely trying to point my observations and, maybe, inspire some thoughts on the topic.

Over the past few weeks, I have been thinking a lot about how Jews are perceived by the world. While there are many people all over the world who are accepting of Jews, there has been a recent rise in hate crimes against Jews. While surfing YouTube, I stumbled across a video in which someone was jokingly insulting someone else. What did guy A call guy B? A Jew. This Shabbat, all of my thoughts and speculations about the meaning of Kiddush Hashem and Chilul Hashem came alive. Here is the scenario:

On his way from one shul to another shul this Shabbat afternoon, a friend of mine was walking by a house with four teenagers sitting on a roof. (I don't know whether they were sober or not. It doesn't really matter.) As my friend was walking by the house, the teenagers stopped talking. Suddenly, they yelled out, "We don't like Jews." My friends just brushed it off and kept walking. Later on, after he told me this story, another situation arose when some children in the shul thought it would be funny to steal some ice from kids doing a snow cone sale outside. Not only was this a Chilul Hashem, but it really got me thinking about how our actions reflect on people's perceptions of Jews everywhere.

A lot of anti-Semitism throughout the ages started with one bad experience with one Jew. Maybe a Jew cheated in business once. Maybe Jews were portrayed as materialistic, shallow people on TV more than once. Maybe Jews ran successful businesses in Europe once, causing the gentiles around them to persecute and violently murder them. If Jews were to accept the philosophy of the Neheneh, we would be completely numb to the rest of the world and take no responsibility for our actions, good or bad. In the world's eyes, we would be extremists. If Jews were to accept the philosophy of the Ammal, we would all be working hard to create perfection that does not exist. Not only would we be upset, but we would lose the most essential element of our Jewish culture: our faith in G-d.

As I wrote last week, I find the philosophy of the Yirei Elokim to be the most human and practical philosophy. Why do I think that? I think that because I know man is imperfect. When life gives you hatred and sadness, what use is thinking that man is in complete control? Furthermore, if man is trying to make a difference in the world, isn't it better to have a partner with whom you can implement change? Working with G-d and recognizing G-d can solve a lot of the world's problems. Even the Ammal recognized that change was best implemented when people joined together as a nation. Maybe Am Yisrael can join together, put their best face forward, and help end the hatred.

What blog post is complete without a video? Here is a song from one of my favorite movies, Joseph: King of Dreams. The message of this song really rings true thousands of years after the story of Yosef.

Effort Is Key

In this week's Megillot class, we added another member to the "island" of the pursuit of meaning. Who is this new character, you may ask? It's the Yirei Elokim, literally the G-d fearer. The Yirei Elokim's thoughts refute those of the Neheneh and the Amal's. First, let's review the perspectives of the Amal and the Neheneh. The Amal had two goals: 1) to create. 2) to fix the world. However, some problems arose. The Amal claimed that no one can create because it won't be perfect and fixing the world creates competition and uncertainty of a legacy. The Amal came to the conclusion that more people should work together because there is an increased chance to make a difference. But, since Kohelet failed as a king who was wealthy, wise, and powerful, it can't be done. Cue the "Hakol Hevel."

The Neheneh offers a slightly different approach. He states that since everything comes from G-d, G-d is in complete control. If G-d is in complete control, man is not accountable for his actions. Man is therefore no different than animals, and the only thing he can do is eat, drink, and be merry.

The Yirei Elokim says something completely different. The Yirei Elokim begins by reminding the people of the world not to go into the Beit Hamikdash like a fool who thinks he can do whatever he wants as long as he gives a sacrifice. This is a response to the Amal who believes he can manipulate the spiritual and the physical. Man will not be absolved of his sins just because he offers a Korban. He then continues and says that one should not be a fool who speaks a lot. Instead, recognize that Hashem is in Shamaim and man is on earth. This is a reply to the Neheneh who thinks man has any purpose. This perspective shows that both G-d and man are responsible. It is also a response to the Amal who thinks G-d has no control. The next subject the Yirei Elokim discusses is to not vow without paying. It is better not to take a vow, but if it is made, one should hasten to fulfill it. This is a response to the Amal who thinks he is in control.

The Yirei Elokim then talks about man's relationship with Hashem. Man has a partnership with G-d, but must fear Him. The Yirei Elokim also introduces a fantastic new idea: do not get upset by the Hevel. Keep trying; it's about the effort! Woo-hoo! Optimism!

The last view the Yirei Elokim possesses is that even the king is an eved. The slumber of the eved is sweet, as he doesn't worry about money. However, the owner is so concerned about money, that he doesn't sleep. No matter how much money you have, you can't be satiated if you love money.

I personally like the ideas of the Yirei Elokim. They are the most practical and provide a more "middle-ground" approach to life. His ideas made me think of one of the scenes in one of my favorite movies: The Mighty Ducks: D3. For all of you who think this movie sounds cheesy, watch it. You'll love it.

Anyways, in the movie, a hockey team, the Ducks, are accustomed to winning. In the prequel, they had won the Junior Goodwill Games. However, at the beginning of the movie, when receiving scholarships to attend a prestigious high school to play hockey, they are so intent on winning that they lose. The movie has a happy ending, but I won't spoil it, because I am pretty intent on somebody watching it. One of the quotes in there summarizes the importance of effort. Here it is below for your convenience:


Coach Ted Orion: We are here for one reason and one reason only. You know what that is? Starts with a W.
Averman: To win, sir!
Coach Ted Orion: No. Work.

The Yirei Elokim is not telling us that we need to abandon everything and not even try to accomplish. He is telling us quite the opposite. We need to set goals, but not get discouraged if we don't reach them. You can't reach a goal if you don't work for it. Effort is key. In the end, it's the effort that counts. This is the difference between the Yirei Elokim and the Amal. The Amal gets despondent and relinquishes his goals, because he didn't achieve them. The Yirei Elokim does not care about the outcome. It is the effort that is valuable in the long run.

Shabbat Shalom!