The Chacham and Yirei Elohim

While I was looking through Calvin and Hobbes Comics this week, I got overwrought with indecisiveness. So I finally decided- I'm going to make this whole post comics and explanations of how they relate! We're almost done with Kohelet, can you blame me? I'm not quite sure C&H comics will be applicable when we learn about Esther or any of the other megillot. On that note, let us begin (in no particular order):

This one reminded me of the chacham. It got me thinking about wisdom. Once you start knowing everything, you start seeing seeing how complex everything is. The more you learn, the more you realize that "nothing is as clear and simple as it first appears". The Chacham wants to learn more and understand everything, but can he? Everything is so complex, and nothing is ever simple- are there really answers out there? This is also a little reminiscent of the nehaneh- "knowledge is paralyzing" because we don't have the capacity to understand it, so why not just be "ignorant". What do you guys think about being informed and wisdom? Is there a way to be happy once you know more? You know the saying "ignorance is bliss"? Well, it's not so famous for no reason. It's easier to be less informed sometimes, because truths do get harsh. But on the other hand, isn't it better to be out of the dark, even if it means being a little sad about it? What do you guys think?

There are some really good X-Mas ones that can be applied in a broader sense to any religion. This also reminded me of the Chacham. The "Why all the secrecy? Why all the mystery? If the guy exists, why doesn't he ever show himself and prove it?" monologue sounds like the Chacham when he's being critical of the system whereby people are not held accountable for their actions. According to the Chacham, nothing happens to wicket people in this world and this is a flaw. The catch with this philosophy is that it can lead to the next 2 frames- What is the meaning of this? How do we know there is a God? What do you guys think? Too grim? Do you see the correlation or did I just make that one up? Is Santa Clause real? What makes Santa more or less real than anything else? 

This one reminded me of Pascal's wager. Not directly related to this specific text, but it is something we discussed when talking about Philosophy. What is your take on Pascal's wager? I guess this solves the Santa question! 

This reminds me of the person that the Chacham was referring to in passuk tet when he says that he sees a system in which people are encouraged to be evil because they don't see that they are being punished. I feel like these guys are like, you know what "I don't believe in ethics anymore" because I don't see anyone being punished. So let me do what I want. What do you guys think about ethics? Inherently human? Need God to have ethics? Do you agree with the Chacham about the flaw, or do you agree with the Yirei Elohim? Explain your answer.