Introduction: The Concluding Verses of Kohelet
We arrive at the conclusion of the book. After Kohelet finishes his words, the final verses appear, describing the author's character and his approach to writing the book. As we have already explained - according to the Imrei Shefer that this is another sage, or according to the Alshich that this is Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) - these are not the words of Shlomo himself, but rather testimony about him. And within this testimony comes the verse before us, which is one of the verses that has elicited more interpretations than almost any other.
בִּקֵּשׁ קֹהֶלֶת לִמְצֹא דִּבְרֵי־חֵפֶץ וְכָתוּב יֹשֶׁר דִּבְרֵי אֱמֶת׃ - Kohelet sought to find words of delight, and words of truth written uprightly.
"Bikesh" - What a Person Desires in His Heart
The Malbim, in his linguistic analysis (Biur HaMilot), notes a precise distinction: seeking (bakashah) is not like asking (she'eilah). Asking is external, whereas seeking always refers to what a person yearns for in his heart, what he desires in his innermost being. Thus it is said, "those who seek Hashem," "seek righteousness" - all referring to the desire of the heart. Consequently, "Kohelet sought to find words of delight" means that with all his heart and will he sought to discover these matters. This was not mere external curiosity, but an internal yearning.
First Interpretation: To Discern the End of Days
The Pesikta Zutreta offers one explanation: Kohelet sought to discern the time of the final redemption (the Ketz). This is based on the verse, "Do not awaken or stir up love until it pleases (ad shetechpats)" - "words of delight (divrei chefetz)" thus means the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, will desire to redeem us. Regarding this, he was told, "and words of truth written uprightly," as it says, "For the day of vengeance is in My heart," which Chazal expounded: the heart does not reveal to the mouth. These matters are not uttered by the mouth; they remain concealed. The Holy One, blessed be He, did not reveal the Ketz to him.
Second Interpretation: Judging Cases Based on What Is in the Heart
Chazal further expounded: Kohelet sought to find "words of delight" - to judge legal cases based on what is in the heart. And from where do we know that judgment is called "chefetz" (delight)? From what is written in Yirmiyahu (9:23): "For I am Hashem, who practices lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight." Shlomo wished to be able to judge based on his heart's assessment and his wisdom, rather than strictly through witnesses. A heavenly voice (Bat Kol) came forth and said to him: "and words of truth written uprightly" - by the mouth of two witnesses shall a matter be established.
The Judgment of Shlomo - The Malbim's Explanation
We previously explained this principle when studying the beginning of Sefer Melachim, in the episode of the two women who came before Shlomo - the very first trial he conducted. The Malbim there asks a piercing question: What great wisdom was there in commanding, "Cut [the child in two]"? He answers with a marvelous insight: Shlomo had already reached his conclusion at the outset, from the repetition of their claims. One said and emphasized, "My son is the living one," while the other emphasized, "Your son is the dead one" - meaning that to this second woman, it was more important that "your son is dead" than that "my son is alive." From this, Shlomo immediately perceived the truth of the matter.
However, the dilemma is this: one cannot judge based on internal deductions. All of this is an assessment. You assess through your wisdom that this is the case - but do you have witnesses? Such a ruling could have provoked opposition: How can you take a child and hand him to a woman who might not be his mother, based solely on an assessment? Moreover, that case also involved the sensitive relationship of a woman and her mother-in-law, which had ramifications for the laws of yibbum. Therefore, Shlomo said: I will perform an act that will compel everyone to admit the truth. He said, "Cut," and when one cried, "Do not cut him," and the other said, "Cut him" - it became clear to all. The facts spoke for themselves, leaving no room to claim that the king had decided purely on his own intuition. The women themselves made it evident who the mother was. We learn from this that even Shlomo, the wisest of all men, could not render judgment based on what was in his heart. The Torah told him: "and words of truth written uprightly" - judgment must only be rendered according to the uprightness required by the Torah, through witnesses.
Rashi: Sought - and Found
Rashi explains: Kohelet sought - he applied his heart, reviewed the matter, and found it. That is to say, he did not merely seek; he also found. And what are "words of delight"? Halachah le-Moshe mi-Sinai. "And that which was written uprightly" - he also sought to understand the Written Torah and the Prophets with complete clarity. These "words of delight" represent the highest wisdom: Kohelet did not wish to overlook anything of the Torah's entire wisdom - the Written Torah, the Oral Torah, and Halachah le-Moshe mi-Sinai - and he found it all.
What Purpose Is There in This Creation?
Another interpretation of "words of delight" (divrei chefetz): what purpose (chefetz) is there in creating this particular thing in this way and not another. This is one of the matters about which the Chazon Ish says we have no comprehension. It is very likely that Shlomo reached the maximum possible human understanding in this area, comprehending why everything was created. We already find among earlier generations those who sought to understand: King David asked why the spider was created, why madmen were created, and the like. In each instance, the Holy One, blessed be He, showed him a moment when he himself was in need of them. Yet is that the underlying reason they were created? Certainly not. Spiders and madmen were not created solely for the sake of David's cave or his escape to Achish in Gat. Heaven merely wanted to show him that there is indeed a purpose for them in the world.
The Chazon Ish says: divine needs belong to a concealed realm. What exact purpose the Holy One, blessed be He, has in His world for all those creatures remains hidden from us. Yet know, says the Chazon Ish, that the world of the Holy One, blessed be He, would be, so to speak, "dull" without all those animals and without the full tapestry of beauty and complexity in creation. A sovereign over mere insects and creeping things is not truly a king; therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, created formidable creatures and grand animals. But does this mean we understand why every bug was created and what its purpose is? That still remains hidden within the inner secrets of the Creator of the universe. This is what Shlomo sought to discover: what is Hashem's purpose in this creation and in this creature.
Ibn Ezra: A Lost Commentary
Ibn Ezra explains that "and that which was written uprightly" is the title of a composition - a commentary, similar to "upon the Book of Yashar." That is to say, Shlomo had written a commentary, and it is no longer in our hands. We do not possess those writings of his, apart from what has reached us.
The Alshich: Everything Derives from the Torah
The holy Alshich explains, building on his explanation of the previous verse - "he also taught the people knowledge, and he weighed and probed and composed many proverbs" - that even when a person writes words of Torah and offers novel insights, it is proper that all the foundations derive from the Torah. As we have already explained, the foundation of all ethical wisdom is the holy Torah. We have nothing to learn from the nations, nor from foreign ideologies and secular academies. If something is good - it is already in the Torah; and if it is not in the Torah - it is not good. The Holy One, blessed be He, bestowed upon us the best of all that exists.
Regarding this it is said, "Kohelet sought to find words of delight" - matters that reflect the will of Hashem, not the invention of any scholar nor the philosophy of some thinker. What does Hashem want? What is expressed in His words? And he found: "and that which was written uprightly, words of truth" - these are the words of the Torah, from which all "words of delight" can be drawn. From the Torah one can learn every teaching and every fundamental principle, and there is nothing that is not in the Torah. This was always the way of the great sages: when they sought to understand a certain matter, they returned to scrutinize the Torah - where is the allusion to it, where did the Holy One, blessed be He, address this subject? There they found all His ethical guidance. Everything contained in the Prophets and the Writings, and everything that an advanced disciple is destined to innovate - all of it was known to Moshe, and everything is alluded to in the Torah.
Everything Is Alluded to in the Torah
So too said the Vilna Gaon, that everything is alluded to in the Torah - his own name and all the events of the world from beginning to end. When they asked him where he himself is alluded to, he answered: "A perfect and just weight (even shelemah) shall you have" - Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo; "Eliyahu ben" ends with the letters of Even (אב"ן), and "Shlomo" is explicit. And it is well known that the Rambam is alluded to in the verse, "That My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt" (whose Hebrew initials spell Rambam).
It has already been noted where the Ra'avad is alluded to in the Torah - an insight illuminated from Heaven, not something deliberately searched out. As is well known, the Rambam was young when he composed his work, while the Ra'avad was already elderly. The Ra'avad was deeply concerned that the Rambam's work might become a substitute for the Talmud, since it contains no differing opinions or varying approaches, but rather everything is decided: this is the ruling and this is the halachah. The Rif still cites different approaches and opinions, but the Rambam is structured like a code of laws. Therefore, in many places, the Ra'avad stepped forward to dispute him, at times using sharp language, in order to declare: the Torah was not given from Sinai exclusively to the Rambam; there are other views and they must be brought. And this is hinted at in the verse: "Was it only through Moshe that Hashem spoke? Did He not also speak through us?" (Bamidbar 12:2). The words "Rak ach beMoshe diber" (הֲרַק אַךְ בְּמֹשֶׁה דִּבֶּר) form the acronym RAAVAD (ראב"ד). Was it only through Moshe? Was the Torah given to only one individual? Did He not also speak through us as well?
Whoever is familiar with equidistant letter sequences (Torah codes) will discover wondrous and profound things - discoveries, scientific insights, and history - all encoded within letter intervals in the Torah, which is one of the methods of reading the Torah. The Alshich notes: see that everything Shlomo found, he found from within the Torah. He did not seek out external philosophies or foreign systems; we have everything within the holy Torah.
Seeking to Be Like Moshe - The Secret of the Red Heifer
In the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (21b), the Sages expounded: "Kohelet sought to find words of delight" - Kohelet sought to be like Moshe. A heavenly voice (Bat Kol) went forth and said to him: "And that which was written uprightly, words of truth" - "And there arose no prophet since in Israel like Moshe" (Devarim 34:10). What does it mean "to be like Moshe," and in what sense? And what is the significance of "uprightness" (yosher) here?
The author of Binyan Ariel, who served as Av Beit Din of Amsterdam, cites an explanation he heard, which the Chida also brings in the name of the Rabbis of Ashkenaz: King Shlomo sought to understand the secret of the Red Heifer (Parah Adumah). Chazal state that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe: "Take for yourself a red heifer" - to you I reveal its secret, but to no other person in the world; the only one who grasped its secret was Moshe Rabbeinu. Where is this alluded to? "Ve-lakhu la-tamei mei-afar sereifat ha-chatat" ("And for the unclean they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the purification offering") - the first letters of mei-afar sereifat ha-chatat (מ'עפר ש'ריפת ה'חטאת) form the name Moshe (משה). The secret was entrusted exclusively to Moshe.
Shlomo also sought to find "words of delight" - what is the purpose of the Parah Adumah, and how does it purify the defiled while defiling the pure? Why did he consider himself worthy of this understanding? Because within those very words, "la-tamei mei-afar sereifat ha-chatat", the letters of Shlomo (ש-ל-מ-ה) are also present - scrambled, yet undeniably there. Therefore, he reasoned, it is fitting that these matters be revealed to me as well. A Bat Kol went forth and told him: "And that which was written uprightly, words of truth" - only the one whose name is written uprightly, in proper sequence, was granted the words of truth. "Moshe" is spelled there uprightly, in direct order; "Shlomo" appears only in scrambled letters. Therefore, only the one whose name appears in order was privileged to know the true rationale of the Red Heifer. The Rokeach added: "I said, I will become wise, but it is far from me" (Kohelet 7:23) - the phrase "ve-hi rechokah mimeni" ("but it is far from me") shares the gematria of Parah Adumah; its secret remained beyond my grasp.
The Reward for Mitzvot
Chazal further expounded: "Kohelet sought to find words of delight" - he sought to comprehend the exact reward given for mitzvot and for Torah study. This is one of the matters concealed from us, for a person cannot know the reward for mitzvot. The punishment for transgressions is known, as it is spelled out explicitly in the Torah: for this sin, lashes; for that one, stoning, burning, decapitation, or strangulation. As is known, the severity of the death penalty reflects the gravity of the sin. When one wants to assess the gravity of desecrating Shabbat, one sees that the Torah assigned it the most severe punishments: stoning and karet (spiritual excision). From this we understand that it is among the most severe offenses, equivalent to idol worship. For sins, we have a clear "tariff" - but for mitzvot, we have no such scale. We cannot know what any given mitzvah performed by a person is worth, nor how much reward will be received for it.
Chazal have already revealed that the Holy One, blessed be He, concealed this intentionally. Consider two mitzvot, the easiest of the easy and the most demanding of the demanding, yet both carry the exact same stated reward: length of days. What does sending away the mother bird (shiluach haken) involve? A person merely gives the mother bird a gentle nudge and she flies off. And what does honoring parents entail? Rabbi Yishmael remarked: all my days, I never reached the level of honor that Esav showed his father. The Gemara says, "Fortunate is he who never saw them," meaning fortunate is one who grew up orphaned, because avoiding failure in honoring parents is among the hardest tasks, and fulfilling it properly is extraordinarily difficult. Thus, we have an exceptionally easy mitzvah alongside an exceptionally difficult one, yet the Torah promises the identical reward for both.
This is precisely what Shlomo sought to understand. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "And that which was written uprightly, words of truth" - I have already recorded in the Book of Uprightness, in Tehillim: "How great is Your goodness that You have hidden away for those who fear You" (Tehillim 31:20), and "No eye has seen, O God, beside You, what He will do for him who waits for Him" (Yeshayahu 64:3). The Pesikta Zutreta likewise explains: he sought to find "words of delight" - "for in these things I delight, says Hashem" (Yirmeyahu 9:23), which refers to the mitzvot; he wished to know their deeper reasons and their precise rewards. Yet he was told, "and that which was written uprightly" - "Know therefore that Hashem your God, He is God" (Devarim 7:9). The Midrash explains the reason: so that people perform them purely for Heaven's sake (lishmah), and in the end they will receive their reward. Had the reward been made explicit, everyone would pursue the mitzvah offering the highest return and neglect the rest - reasoning, "here the payout is low, while there it is high" - and mitzvot would end up abandoned.
Beyond this, an essential principle must be emphasized: reward cannot be reduced to a fixed ledger of coins and amounts, and for good reason, since every mitzvah varies from person to person. The holy books state that a great person can perform a minor mitzvah, and it will make an immense impression in Heaven, yielding tremendous reward; while a lesser person might perform a major mitzvah, and it will barely make an impression. Everything depends on who the performer is, the spiritual refinement with which the act was done, the intention behind it, how difficult it was, and the inner struggle involved - for an act performed through difficulty is worth a hundredfold more than one performed without struggle. With so many variables, establishing a fixed tariff is entirely impossible.
This is why the Rambam writes regarding the scales of judgment on the Day of Judgment that human beings cannot weigh mitzvot; rather, this assessment belongs solely to the reckoning of the God of knowledge, Hashem, Knower of all secrets, and not to our calculations. There is a single mitzvah that can outweigh many mitzvot, and conversely, a single sin that can outweigh many sins. Here too, the matter depends on intent, inner thought, and numerous other factors. For this reason, grasping the true reward of mitzvot is extraordinarily beyond reach.
The Imrei Shefer: The Greatness of the Work
The Imrei Shefer explains that here the text comes to describe the greatness of the work itself. Sometimes an author is a great sage, yet his work does not reflect the full breadth of his wisdom, because he did not apply his complete concentration to it. He authored a book - let us say - in his leisure hours: having a bit of spare time, he wrote a few pages; another free moment, a few more pages. He did not invest his entire essence into it.
As is well known, the author of the Shach, author of Siftei Kohen and Shev She'mateta, was asked through what merit his works became so beloved. He asked his questioner: Tell me, when you finish a sugya and have already committed your thoughts to writing, what do you do the next day? He replied: I start the next sugya. He said to him: The next day, I begin learning the sugya anew, and review what I wrote to make sure everything is true and precise. And who is capable of this? Tell a congregation that just completed a tractate in Daf Yomi: "Gentlemen, instead of moving on to the next tractate, let us review the current one" - how many are capable? And to distinguish between holy and mundane, how many are capable of re-reading a book they have already read? A person faces great difficulty in reviewing and repeating what he has already learned.
If so, the verse comes to tell you: know that in this composition, Shlomo invested his entire being, his very blood and fat. Do not think he wrote it superficially. Rather, he sought and searched to find "words of delight" - words of pleasantness, words of grace, words that find their way into the heart. And anything undesirable - he distanced and did not include in his work. His entire purpose was "words of truth written uprightly": upright words, with nothing crooked or perverse in them, all words of truth without falsehood or deceit.
According to this, the phrase "Kohelet sought to judge matters of the heart" is also explained in this manner: Shlomo wanted his words to be accepted by the heart, so that whoever hears them will have them penetrate their heart - words of delight, words that are truly desired.
Therefore: Receive the Words with Due Seriousness
And since this is so, receive these words accordingly: with due seriousness and requisite depth. This is not someone who composed something offhandedly, nor is it merely another book among the works of the sages of the nations, but a book into which King Shlomo poured all of his wisdom and the core of his heart. Therefore, contemplate it and delve deeply into it.
This resembles what the Rambam wrote: if you see a contradiction in my words, do not dismiss it lightly. I have invested immense effort and thought; and if you do not understand - review the words again and again until you understand. The Rambam weighed his words in gold, and his statements are exceedingly precise. There is hardly any work on which as many commentaries have been written as on the Rambam. It was once related of Rabbi Fadida, from "Or Gaon", that he had an entire hall of books collected on the Rambam. Today that is no longer necessary - whoever has Otzar HaChochmah at home possesses eighty thousand books, including thousands on the Rambam. Perhaps only Rashi merited a comparable multitude of commentaries. And all this is because people examined his phrasing meticulously, knowing that every single word and letter is exact.
If so, what shall we say of the wisest of all men? After all, the Vilna Gaon testified concerning the Ramchal's work, Mesillat Yesharim, that up to chapter 13 there is not a single superfluous word. It is not known what he found after chapter 13, but in any event, this is what he testified. And when the Vilna Gaon testifies, it indicates that he scrutinized every single word and letter, not merely studying the work casually. If so, what shall we say of King Shlomo? Certainly in his words there is not a single superfluous word or letter. Everything you see - know that these are "words of delight", matters into which Shlomo invested his very blood and fat, and not words dashed off casually.
Unlike the Way of the Maskilim
The Maskilim in their day did not outwardly appear as they truly were. Once, one of them approached the Vilna Gaon with twenty-some questions - as is known, the Maskilim were always searching for various grammatical technicalities. The Gra glanced over the list in a single sweep and told him: There are only six questions here in total. Questions seventeen, thirteen, and twenty-four are the same question; questions twelve, eleven, and six are the same question. All from a single reading. He began answering him briefly: Take this, Rashi states in such-and-such a place thus and so. That man said to him: Rashi says so, but who says that what Rashi says is correct? It is related that the Gra handed him back the page, turned around, and walked away; he refused to speak with him at all.
Afterward, the incident became known throughout Vilna, and that man recounted what happened to him that day: they bound him at the entrance of the synagogue and administered forty lashes, and everyone who entered spat on him and humiliated him. Yet he himself came away in great awe of the astounding genius of the Vilna Gaon. But see: do you dare speak against the holy Rashi? Do you criticize the text of Scripture? How dreadful! At that moment the Gra understood who stood before him. For the Maskilim in their day still looked like God-fearing men, yet "within him he sets his ambush" - deep inside lay their destructiveness. And this is far more dangerous: on the outside they appeared as people who even studied Torah, yet they were drawn to the Haskalah, obsessing over grammar, abandoning the Torah, and expressing corrupt opinions about the sages and giants of Israel. It was a terrible thing, and history has shown where it led.
Therefore, Scripture tells you: examine closely. Shlomo sought to find words of delight - and found them; and everything that is written is upright, words of truth. There is nothing crooked or perverse in them, no superfluous words, and no statement that is not meticulously precise. Scrutinize the words, and in this way you will arrive at the true conclusion and an understanding of Shlomo's wisdom.
In summary:
"Kohelet sought to find words of delight" - a seeking that stems from the very yearning of the heart. Chazal and the commentators interpreted this along many lines: to discern the End of Days, to judge cases based on the secrets of the heart, to grasp the supreme wisdom and the Halachah le-Moshe mi-Sinai, to know Hashem's desire in every creation, to comprehend the secret of the Red Heifer as Moshe did, and to know the reward of the mitzvot. And to all these he was answered: "and what is written is upright, words of truth" - there are matters transmitted to Moshe alone, there are matters hidden away for those who fear Him, and there is judgment that may only be rendered through witnesses and the uprightness of the Torah. On the other hand, what Shlomo did find - he found from within the Torah, not from external wisdoms, and he invested his very essence into it: pleasant words that are readily received by the heart, upright and true, without a single superfluous word. Therefore, our duty is to receive his words with full earnestness, to delve deeply into them, and to scrutinize every single letter, in the manner of the giants of Israel who carefully analyzed every utterance of our Sages.