Leave It All to Me

     In class, we've been talking about how העמל thinks that everything is הבל in the end because a) his creations are not completely perfect to the last detail and b) because he has "no one to leave everything to." I don't know about any of you, but to me, the first reason seems a bit over the top and the second reason seems cynical and, for lack of a better word, a bit selfish.

     We've all heard time and time again that "nobody's perfect," and we seem to have got it through our heads that we can do the best we can without having to be perfect down to the last detail. The speaker seems not to understand this. He seems to be mixing up excellence with perfection. A quote by Michael J. Fox fits extremely well in this situation: "I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business."

     On the point of leaving a legacy, I can understand why the עמל would be upset if everything he built would be forgotten because his family members wouldn't be able to keep it up, but firstly, why does everything have to stay in the family, and secondly, there wasn't one person in his entire family that he trusted to take over? If the speaker is, in fact, שלמה, he had a HUGE family! There's no way that there wasn't a single person in the family capable of taking control!

     And on the subject of selfishness, why does everything that the builder makes have to be all about him? He's making the toil his life's work, he has to pass it on to one of his descendants, etc. He can't just do things for the good of mankind and his nation? He is so worried about dying out? Society continues forever. Two is better than one, but people keep dying till there's one left? People keep having more children so the society keeps growing. He can work toward the common goals of society.

What do you all think?

The meaning of life

Everything in הכל הבל is worthless, everything literally has no meaning and is pointless. 

What is the purpose of man with all the work, toil that he does under the sun? (תחת השמש) the answer is that everything man can't do anything in the world. There is no purpose to the work the man does in this world, but maybe there is a purpose in the next. 

There are four cycles of nature that include: Earth, Fire, air and water.

1. Generations come and go but the EARTH stays the same.

2. SUN rises and sunsets and to its original place of origins it returns. 

3. WIND goes south and then turns north- it blows all over and then returns to it's place of origin. 

4. all the RIVERS flow to the sea but the sea doesn't get full, to the place where the rivers started they return. 

The cycles in nature continue and repeat without making ANY progress

They all inclusive and have four elements that represent every aspect of nature.

All the aspects of nature cycle without achieving anything.

Man is part of this progress and doesn't make any progress. 

The Pursuit of Happiness

In this week's Megillot class, we discussed the different measures Shlomo took to find the key to the meaning of life. Shlomo embarked on a journey, encountering three different lifestyles that he found utterly useless (Hakol Hevel). Shlomo began his expedition with the desire to understand the world in its entirety. He remarks that this is a bad aspiration to pursue. Through this, Shlomo recognizes his limitations; he can't understand everything.

After Shlomo realized his limitations, he turned to the first world view, Maa'simm, creations. He observed everything in the world and concluded that everything made by man cannot be perfect. All that is broken cannot be fixed, rendering everything man-made, flawed. The second perspective he took was the view of Chochmah, wisdom. Shlomo stated that he had acquired wisdom, and through that, had seen that the more wisdom/knowledge acquired, the more angrier you become/the more pain and suffering you will possess. Shlomo concluded that knowledge is vast but limited. There is pain and suffering, but you cannot do anything about it. So it is Hevel! The third outlook Shlomo took was that of Simcha, partying/pleasure. Shlomo realized that at the end of the day-what was left? Folly does not leave a lasting impression.

Shlomo later discusses why everything is Hevel. The toil of man is useless because it is unknown who will inherit it. Toil causes pain and sleepless nights, and as a result, prevents any enjoyment from life. Wisdom is futile because everyone dies and there is no lasting impression.

I would like to focus on the "Simcha" aspect Shlomo spoke of. Shlomo emphasized the vanity of foolhardiness; it does not last. When one wakes up, it is no longer there. However, how we achieve happiness is so much different than the materialistic perspective Shlomo had-acquiring wealth, power, wives, etc.

A little connection to AP Psychology: In this week's AP Psychology class, we discussed the effect of drugs on the nervous systems. These drugs produce a temporary "high," and become addictive, as the feeling becomes more and more desired. However, as soon as the effect wears off, what is left?

This is why we have to pursue Simcha, happiness, in a different manner to find meaning in life. Instead of looking at what we do not have, we need to take a moment to realize the true extent of what we do have. Oftentimes, what we own overshadowed by the newest technological advancement that comes along, or other materialistic objects. We immediately pounce on it, and often take what we own for granted. Materialism clouds the fundamental components of happiness: family, friendships, love, and a strong relationship with Hashem. Shlomo pursued materialism, and he did not achieve happiness. Happiness means being content with what you have, not always searching for something you will never have.

Hakol Hevel

There are two different meanings for the word "Kohelet"-
 קבל- which means congregation which they gather all the people together and address people. Another meaning is מקהלה- which means choir that brings together different perspectives/voices about life, and internal dialogue/debate between different  perspectives.  
There are four statements that kohelet makes: That everything is worthless, Asking what the purpose of man is, people come and go but the word remains the same, and nothings new. 
Kohelet seems to think about life with a תחת השמש meaning is that nothing changes, It's Pointless, and it all stay's the same. 

Shlomo the Perfectionist: Ain't Nobody Got Time For That!

This week, we learned all about the world views of the pleasure-seeker and the builder. The pleasure-seeker, as Alyssa already outlined, is basically a hippie. He believes that everything in life is already predestined, so man should just go and enjoy his time on Earth. On the other hand, since everything is already predestined, man can take no responsibility for his actions. In other words, man can massacre one hundred people and claim that G-d predestined it to happen, so he is not at fault. The builder, on the other hand, is having trouble coming to terms with the imperfection of the world. According to him, the world is evil, so the pleasure seeker is a fool to think that G-d is taking care of it. As for the things that the builder builds, they will all crumble after his death or pass into the hands of undeserving men. For both of these aspects of Shlomo, "Hakol Hevel." How lovely!

I have been thinking a lot about Shlomo's perfectionist nature. As Alyssa and Sophie already said, Shlomo is immature in his expectation of what life should be and insanely pessimistic. If you put those two things together with perfectionism, the end result of a personality and mindset are honestly not pretty. As Shlomo has already established, the only thing he doesn't have is immortality. His finite life span makes everything else in life Hevel. Instead of trying to make the most of his numbered days, Shlomo resorts to writing Kohelet. I am sure that I will understand Shlomo better by the time we're done learning Kohelet, but right now, I see him as incredibly foolish. He probably spent a considerable amount of time writing a book in which he describes various world views and how life lacks meaning INSTEAD of trying to find meaning through other actions and aspects of life. (I don't know what Shlomo says at the end, but I certainly hope that writing Kohelet helped him find meaning.) He writes about how life is horrible for the pleasure-seeker and builder instead of doing something about his own discontent.

This past summer, I went on NCSY GIVE, a program based on action. Not only did we tour Israel and see wonderful things, but we took the time to help the Jewish people in the land of Israel. In my mind, Shlomo was in the same sort of situation. As king, he had the power to provide for the people. He did provide Am Yisrael with the first Beit Hamikdash and immense geopolitical success. However, as I see it, he neglected the part of life that provides the most meaning: G-d. On GIVE, I went into the program thinking that I would have a nice time helping people. I never imagined that I would come out of the program with a much greater understanding of G-d's desired role for me in life or even the meaning of life. After spending five weeks on GIVE, I can honestly say that I found both of these things, or at least have started down the road of understanding. Shlomo said that מעשים are Hevel. Maybe he was trying to find meaning in the wrong kind of מעשים. If he tried to help others and stepped out of the mindset of his own selfish desires, then he might have found the meaning of life a lot sooner. I said before that nobody has time for lamenting; it is much better to try to fix the problem. Although life is short and man only has a limited number of days on Earth, helping others and finding meaning is definitely something that we should all have time for. 

Gam Zu L'tova

This week we have learned the perspective of life from the pleasure seeker, and the builder or toiler. Both of their perspectives started out particularly positively, but then they realize what they have said and knock it back down with Hakol Hevel, that everything is worthless in life.

First, is the pleasure seeker. He talks about how everyone should make the time to enjoy life, to eat, drink, and be happy. I mean, he is the pleasure seeker after all. But, as the pesukim go on, he seems to be finding himself in that Hakol Hevel trap. He starts to talk about what is the point of enjoying everything in life, if life eventually comes to an end. We can relate this back to Shlomo wanting to be G-d like. When the pleasure seeker talks about eating, drinking, and enjoying life he is trying to be G-d like, but he soon realizes that G-d is the only one who can be truly happy and live forever. This results in everything being Hevel.

Next, we have the builder or the toiler. He explains that everything has a time in life. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Kohelet - 3:1). Again, as the pesukim go on the toiler realizes that we are not in control of the times things happen to us, that is G-d's decision. Also going back to Shlomo trying to be G-d like in Givon with trying to control everything, the toiler realizes that G-d is the only one who can control the time for everything under the sky. And once again, Hakol Hevel. 

This summer at Kallah (my summer program I went on), I took a course on Rabbi Akiva. The Rabbi started off the course with the quote, "Gam Zu L'Tova," meaning, "this too is for good," This was Rabbi Akiva motto, he lived by this quote. He was a poptomist as my Rabbi called him. He hoped for the best, but didn't get his hopes up because the worst is always bound to happen. I think that Shlomo needs to take up this quote as his motto, because he is just being a pessimist. He needs to find some good in life like the pleasure seeker and the toiler, before he sits down and automatically assumes, Hakol Hevel.  

Hippies & Hevel

According to Shlomo/Kohelet,

• Ma'asim have no lasting worth
• Wisdom doesn't matter in the end because a fool could come after you and reap the benefits from your toil. Also, a fool and wise man both meet the same fate in the end
• After all the pleasure, you're left with nothing

Therefore, HaKol Hevel. 

Next, the Neheneh (pleasure-seeker) jumps in. Or as I like imagine him, the hippie. He believes that everything is from G-d, the good will be rewarded while the sinners are punished, and man should just sit back and enjoy the world. There is time for every action and every emotion, so we should all just relax. The goal in life is to eat, drink, work, and recognize that everything comes from G-d. Why should you want to be a wise man? He says that we can't understand the world so what's the point in trying? We will never understand war and peace or good and bad so you might as well stop thinking about it. Also, why would you want to be a builder/Amal? Everything comes from G-d, not a human builder says the Neheneh. 

Everything's predetermined, so we should all just enjoy life. Well, the hippie gets a little too hedonistic towards the end of perek 3. He explains that there are no responsibilities for our actions in this life since everything is predetermined. Therefore, man is no different than an animal. Men and animals both meet the same fate: death. So, if we all die and we're no different than an animal, then we're back to where we started: Hakol Hevel. So, if we're all just going to die on the same level as an animal, then the only thing left to do for man is to rejoice and live a hedonistic life.

Hippies have always fascinated me. I'd love to just drink herbal tea and do yoga all day, but I've got more important things to do with my life. Something about hardcore hippies has always made me think that they're a little immature. Not all of them, of course, but at some point you gotta get in the real world and try to make a difference. You have to learn to be competitive in this world to make a living and advance. Another person that seems pretty immature is Shlomo.

I mean, I can't say for sure yet that I know the meaning of life or what the purpose of man is, but I definitely don't justify these thoughts by saying that I can't be G-d-like and therefore everything else is worthless. Shlomo realizes that the only thing in life he can't have is immortality, therefore everything else he has in life is worthless. His attitude reminds me of my sister's when she was younger.

One example is with birthday presents. My sisters' birthdays are four days apart. Because of this, they have had a few parties together in the past. My youngest sister (Emma) will open up her presents and get so excited, like most kids do. Regardless of how happy her presents make her, the presents my other sister (Sophie) gets make her twice as jealous. As soon as she sees Sophie's presents, her presents seem worthless to her. All she wants is Sophie's presents, and if she can't get them then everything else is pointless and she will just cry until Sophie agrees to share. To my brothers, parents, and I this is all extremely frustrating and annoying. All you want to do is try to explain to Emma that she has all these other amazing presents and just because there's one thing she can't have (usually because she's not old enough) does not mean that everything else is worthless.

I'd like to think that this is how G-d felt when dealing with Shlomo. Shlomo is over there freaking out because he can't have immortality and G-d just wants to show him that he has all this other great stuff--wisdom, wealth, power--and he can't handle being G-d-like. The whole thing must have been very frustrating. 

I understand Shlomo's desire to find the meaning of life and purpose in a life that may seem like a cycle with no progress made, but it can't be that life - immortality = Hevel, right?