Disclaimer: Depressing Thoughts Ahead

Ever since we started learning Kohelet, we have run into the words, "Hakol Hevel" about a hundred times. That might be an exaggeration, but it definitely feels like a hundred times. Probably because that phrase has become part of the GMSG slang. Anyway, ever since we learned the depressing meaning of Hevel and how Shlomo uses it to basically say that the world is meaningless, we have had many arguments trying to understand how Shlomo could say such a thing. After all, the world could not actually be hevel, right? I mean, man has to have a purpose. There has to be a reason for us being put on this earth. Shlomo must be wrong..he must not be seeing clearly..maybe he's depressed over a few bad break ups? In my last few blogs I have said numerous times that Shlomo cannot be accurate on his views of the world. There is no way that everything is actually hevel. Well, brace yourselves folks, cause I'm about to explore the other different side of the spectrum. 

Please don't get depressed or think that I'm depressed while reading this. I'm just trying to understand the other side of this hevel debate. 

The Nehene compares man to animal when he declares that there is no accountability for man in this world. We should all just realize that everything is from G-d, so we should eat, drink, and enjoy. However, if man is not accountable for his actions then we really are no different than animals, and therefore, we should just rejoice and party cause that's the only thing we can do. And that, my friends, is hedonism.

Then, the Amal comes along and gives the nehene a piece of his mind. He says that he has seen the cruelty, injustice, and oppression in the world. He says there is no comfort tachat HaShamayim, and if there is no accountability for man, then it is better to never even have been born. The Amal thinks that it would be better to not even live on an earth where people are oppressed Tachat HaShamayim. This viewpoint was brought up again by the amal in perek vav, where he says that it would be better to be stillborn than live a long life in this world.

This got me thinking, what if this all true? What if everything on this earth is actually hevel? What if there is no purpose? We're all going to die in the end, and as Shlomo says, who knows who will come after us? It could be a fool. We might not be remembered. All people, no matter how wise or hardworking they were, ultimately die in the end. So, what really is the point?

Last year when I was learning why bad things happen to good people (and vice versa) in Jewish Life & Faith, we talked about why infants or young children die so early. The answer that I liked the most was that people are put on this earth with a certain amount of mitzvot they must do. Once they have successfully completed these mitzvot, G-d takes them back to Shamayim. Another similar answer was given in an article I read on Chabad.org. The response given there for why some women have miscarriages, is because all souls are put on this earth with a specific mission. Once that mission is completed, they do not need to be on earth anymore. The holiest souls need so little time to complete their mission that they do not even need to make it out of the womb. 

So, why did I just explain a really depressing idea about miscarriages and children who die too young? I wanted to contrast the Jewish position on what happens to the soul of babies who die in the womb to other religions beliefs, particularly Christianity. One reason many Christians are so against abortion is because the baby has not had a chance to be baptized yet, and therefore it cannot be "saved" and go to heaven. Although Jews are against abortion as well, we have different views on a baby who has not been born yet, as I have shown above. We believe that the baby's soul still goes up to heaven regardless of how much time it has spent on earth.

Okay, so I'm sure you're pretty confused by now and are wondering where I'm going with this. Well, hang on. I'm almost there.

As I was saying before, the amal says everything is hevel (at least according to the nehene) so it would be better if we weren't even born. So, I thought about this. What if we were never born? According to some rabbis, Jews can get abortions during the first few days (or something like that, I don't exactly remember the time frame) after conception. Let's not talk about killing, though. This is depressing enough. But what if we just weren't born and went straight up to heaven? According to our religion, we don't need to "live" to end up in Shamayim. Don't we base all of our beliefs on the fact that we want to end up there because everything is better there? Maybe the amal is on to something. What if this world is all hevel and there is no point? Would it actually be better to not ever have been born?

Clearly I'd rather not be thinking about this, so I guess it's up to Mrs. Perl and Shlomo to prove that this world does have meaning and everything is not hevel and it is better to have been born. I'm looking forward to it.