This past week at our weekly Torah study together in the midst of our Shabbat services, we studied the book of Ecclesiastes. (Yes, Ecclesiastes, or, Kohelet, its Hebrew name, is indeed in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. It is located in the third of three sections of the Tanakh, following (1) the Torah, i.e., the Five Books of Moses, and (2) Nevi’im or Prophets, comprised of books like Isaiah and Ezekiel. The third section, Ketuvim, meaning writings, is comprised of a miscellaneous collection of texts including the Book of Psalms, the Book of Esther, and Ecclesiastes).
The Book of Ecclesiastes is unlike any other book in the Hebrew Bible. It’s tone appears dreary at times, bordering on nihilistic. The very first few verses may serve to demonstrate its tone:
Utter futility!—said Koheleth— Utter futility! All is futile! What real value is there for a man In all the gains he makes beneath the sun? One generation goes, another comes, But the earth remains the same forever. The sun rises, and the sun sets— And glides back to where it rises. Southward blowing, Turning northward, Ever turning blows the wind; On its rounds the wind returns. All streams flow into the sea, Yet the sea is never full; To the place [from] which they flow The streams flow back again. (Eccl. 1:2-7)
Yet, our tradition invites us to read this book on the Shabbat of Sukkot. Why?
Our participants debated this this past Shabbat, with some finding it quite discordant with their sense of Jewish thinking.
Others pointed to the linkage between the transient nature of Sukkot—how the fragile Sukkah, symbolizing the temporary nature of our tenancy here on this earth, finds resonance in the words of Ecclesiastes, which speaks to the seemingly ungraspable nature of life. They observed that Sukkot is z’man simchateinu, the season of our joy—that sometimes the response to life’s ephemerality is to savor each passing moment with the sense of joy we so rarely give ourselves permission to feel.
We encourage you to join us each week for our Torah discussion, services beginning at 10 am, Torah discussion at approximately 10:45 am. This week, following services, we will hear from the recipients of the highest honors we bestow each year for service in our community, our Hatan Torah and Kallat Bereshit, Lisa Eizen and David Ladov. We hope you’ll join us at this link.
