With Kohelet it is different. He's not just standing up in front of you telling you his philosophies. He is telling you his life experiences. You can see all these personalities in Kohelet himself. He can tell you all of this through experience. It makes it easier to listen to him because we know he has experienced it all himself.
When Charlie Harary came to Memphis a few weeks ago, we had a Q & A session with him. We were allowed to ask him any question that we wanted to ask him and he would answer with his opinions. At first people were asking questions like why do we have to do this? Why does G-d care what we do? Then someone asked him why he has a right to tell us what to do and who to listen to?
I was very impressed by his answer. He basically answered the question with the almost the same answer that Kohelet could answer. He said the kid who asked the question was completely correct. No one had to listen to what he was saying. He was there to say what he had to say and hope people took something out of it. He was hoping that it would effect maybe one person. He said that he didn't grow up religious. He has been through it all. He knows exactly what it's like to be a teenager, but he went through a change. He went through a spiritual growth at some point and it changed his view on life completely. Yeah, we didn't have to listen to him, but he told us that he has been through it all and he knows what he is saying through experience.
I agree that he has no right to tell us how we should live our spiritual life, because that is between and and G-d, not other people in G-d. I like how you made the connection between his experiences and how kohelet focuses a lot on experience. It gives a lot more meaning to an explanation or a journey if you have a unique experience on your way.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog! While I was reading it I was thinking about the question that was asked to Charlie Harary too. Then when you mentioned it I thought it was very fitting. The thing in Kohelet is that the characters say their opinions and then someone else argues with them. But truthfully, since it is al from experiences, no one really has the right to say it is right or wrong. I think it is all opinions. They should not be known as philosophies, just opinions.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting! Never thought to relate this back to Charlie Harary but I think what you said makes a lot of sense. I think it's much easier to listen and relate to people that have been through a lot, there's more to take out of it.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting! Never thought to relate this back to Charlie Harary but I think what you said makes a lot of sense. I think it's much easier to listen and relate to people that have been through a lot, there's more to take out of it.
ReplyDeleteWay to make connections, Racheli! Pretty cool! I'd like to point out one difference, or at least, my opinion. Charlie Ferrari was more like "I don't have the authority, I'm just here to share with you my experiences and opinions." He has no real authority. The way I see kohelet, he has a lot of authority because he's been through so much. Even though it's all just a record of his opinions based on his experiences, we can tell how much weight all his words have because he is a guy who has been to every extreme.
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