Chapter 3 of Kohelet opens with the chain of appointed times: "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven," listing pair after pair - a time to be born and a time to die, a time to seek and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away, a time to rend and a time to sew. From there, King Solomon continues to the great question: What profit does the worker have in all his toil, and what is the purpose of man's labor in a world from which he takes nothing along? In the present lesson, we will examine the central verses in which Solomon provides his answer.
אֶת־הַכֹּל עָשָׂה יָפֶה בְעִתּוֹ גַּם אֶת־הָעֹלָם נָתַן בְּלִבָּם מִבְּלִי אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יִמְצָא הָאָדָם אֶת־הַמַּעֲשֶׂה אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה הָאֱלֹהִים מֵרֹאשׁ וְעַד־סוֹף׃ - He has made everything beautiful in its time; He has also put the world into their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end.
Rashi explains: In a time of goodness, it is fitting that the reward for good deeds is paid, and in a time of misfortune, it is appropriate that retribution for evil deeds is exacted. Everything has its appointed time. When the time is favorable, there is blessing and abundance, and then the Holy One, blessed be He, dispenses reward to those who deserve good. And when the time is adverse - there are troubles, disasters, and wars, Heaven forbid - that is the fitting time for retribution for bad deeds, and whoever did wrong receives his punishment. This resembles what Chazal taught, that a person should not walk beside a rickety wall or across an unstable bridge, in a place of danger, lest his sins be recalled and scrutinized there. For that represents a time of misfortune, and during a time of misfortune, the Holy One, blessed be He, brings upon a person the adversity he has incurred.
What is the meaning of "He has also put the world into their heart"? Rashi explains: The wisdom of the world that the Holy One, blessed be He, placed in the hearts of creatures was not given in its entirety to any single person; rather, He divided it, granting a portion to each individual. And why? So that man cannot grasp all of God's deeds and understand them completely. For if a person were able, so to speak, to comprehend everything thoroughly, it would not necessarily be to his benefit and could become his downfall; when a person attempts to grasp beyond his capacities and comprehension, it is not only unhelpful but genuinely harmful. This is the meaning of "yet so that man cannot find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end" - without the possibility of a person comprehending everything from beginning to end. Instead, He gave a little to each person, so that everyone understands a modest aspect of God's ways and His governance of the world.
Likewise, man does not know his appointed day of reckoning. He does not know when his soul will be called back, when he will be summoned on High, nor does he know where he might stumble. And what is the reason? So that he may be vigilant and say to himself: today or tomorrow I might die - and thereby do teshuvah continuously. But had he known that he had seventy years left, he would say: there is still plenty of time, what is the rush? And he would not hurry to repent. According to this, "He also placed the world (ha'olam) in their heart" derives from the word he'elem (concealment): the Holy One, blessed be He, concealed the time of death from man, so that he does not view himself as permanent in this world, but constantly strives to mend his ways, knowing he could be called to give an accounting at any moment.
Rashi adds another dimension to the virtue of concealment, this time from the opposite angle: had a person known that his time was near, he would not toil so much for a brief period - he would not build a house, plant a vineyard, or marry a wife. Imagine if Boaz had known that he would live with Ruth for only one night. Boaz is an example of a tzaddik, and there was also an aspect of yibum involved, but any ordinary person who knew such a thing - why would he marry? Yet from that very night, King David descended. From this we understand how much kindness the Holy One, blessed be He, performed for man by withholding knowledge of future calculations, for through this, a person builds a house, plants a vineyard, and invests in this world for future generations. This does not mean material investment is the ultimate goal, but rather that the Holy One, blessed be He, desired His world to be settled, and since man does not know his appointed time, he builds and invests here. How fitting, then, is Rashi's explanation that "He put the world into their heart" means He concealed these matters from the hearts of men.
The Midrash says: Had another person said, "He made everything beautiful in its time," I would have said - this one, who never tasted a decent crust of bread in his life, is the one saying everything is beautiful! We have already seen this concept above in several variations. If someone who has tasted nothing of the world comes and declares, "Everything is beautiful" - what does he understand? A person walks into a nice home and proclaims: "This is a palace!" And you ask him: "Where have you been? Have you ever visited Versailles? You come here and call this a palace?" But when a person possesses standards and perspective, knowing what true palaces look like, and he arrives somewhere and calls it a palace, you know he knows what he is talking about; he is not someone overly excited by something trifling. So too here: of Solomon it is stated, "Solomon's provision for one day was thirty kor of fine flour." For such a man it is fitting to say, "He made everything beautiful in its time." He knows what beauty is, he knows what timeliness is, he knows what true excellence is - and therefore, when he speaks, one must certainly listen, for he truly understands these matters.
Rabbi Yonatan explains: "He has also placed the world in their hearts" - He placed the dread of the Angel of Death in their hearts. Seemingly, this too aligns with what we saw earlier, that ha'olam (the world) is related to he'elem (concealment): man lives in constant fear of when the day of death will arrive, for the Holy One, blessed be He, concealed this from him, and through this dread, he will mend his ways.
Rav Acha the son of Rabbi Ze'ira said: He placed in their hearts the concealment of the Ineffable Name (Shem HaMephorash). Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, conceal the secret of the Ineffable Name from us? Because of "so that man cannot find out the work that God has done from the beginning to the end" - for the Holy One, blessed be He, does not want man to know everything and have everything exposed before him. Especially so, as we have seen eras in which people sought to use holy names to act against the Creator's will: at the time of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, they said they knew the holy names and would succeed in preventing the destruction so that the nations would accomplish nothing. Likewise, at the time of the Flood, there were those who claimed they knew the names of the angels and the holy names, and would act to prevent Him from bringing a flood upon the world - and it is written there that the Holy One, blessed be He, scrambled their names and changed the angels' names: someone called to the angel of fire, and an angel of hail came to him. Consequently, all his plans to disrupt the will of the Creator, may He be blessed, came to naught. Thus, it is good that the Holy One, blessed be He, concealed the Ineffable Name from us.
רָאִיתִי אֶת־הָעִנְיָן אֲשֶׁר נָתַן אֱלֹהִים לִבְנֵי הָאָדָם לַעֲנוֹת בּוֹ׃ - I have seen the task that God has given to the sons of men to be occupied with.
The Even Reshef comes to answer a major question here: How is it that people do not despise all the matters of this world, which are toil and futility with no real substance, toil from which nothing remains, since a person takes nothing from this world? How is it possible that people nonetheless toil and invest here? The answer: "The task that God has given to the sons of men to be occupied with" - do not think that man chose it of his own accord; rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, chose this pursuit for him, and ensured that man would have something to preoccupy himself with in worldly affairs.
This is like the parable cited earlier regarding chapter 1, verse 13: A king saw that his subjects were not doing his will and were not fulfilling their duties. He said to them: "Come dig here; there is gold and there are diamonds here, and whatever you dig up is yours." They went, dug, exerted themselves, and toiled for long periods. When they finished the work, he said to them: "Now, everything belongs to the king, and you may go home." And he gave them nothing. This was not deception, for they were his servants who had failed to do his will; he acted this way so that they would fulfill his wish. They did the work with great enthusiasm because they were certain they were doing it for themselves - and in the end, they fulfilled their duty.
This is precisely how the Holy One, blessed be He, runs His world. He placed man in the world and told him: Start working. Whatever you earn, whatever you take, whatever you build - it is all yours. Man reaches the age of one hundred and twenty, and sometimes a bit earlier, and the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: That is it, you are dismissed. Everything stays here; he is shown the door and sent on his way. This is the reality of man in this world: he is certain he is acquiring and working, but in the end he does not remain here, leaving behind everything he toiled for. However, in the parable of the king, the king needed the output, whereas here the King has no need for it. You built buildings - does the Holy One, blessed be He, need them? He has no need for them. Rather, once again: "The task that God has given to the sons of men to be occupied with" - because when a person is busy with something, his mind is not free for nonsense. But when he is not busy, his head fills with nonsense, sins, and wasting time on wicked pursuits. When he is busy earning a livelihood, at least he does not commit sins at that time; he is running after his livelihood and is not free to corrupt his ways. This is the task that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave to man in this world - to occupy him, so that he will not occupy himself with sin.
According to this, the Even Reshef explains "He has made everything beautiful in its time": although everything is made beautiful, it is "in its time" - during the time that a person is in this world, it attracts him greatly. He is certain that he is currently building for himself, achieving for himself, and investing for himself, never taking into account that this enticing beauty is only temporary. For if you approach a person moments before his death and offer him: "Let us give you this, let us do that for you," he will say to you, "Why would that interest me now? What will that give me?" And we know that we will all reach that stage; nonetheless, in the moment of action, when a person is doing and striving, he is certain that it will provide for him, reward him, and make him happy. "In its time" - it is beautiful. While at work, a person is certain he has reached the pinnacle and is doing the right thing, taking great pleasure in it at that moment. And what divine wisdom there is in the fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, planted within man's heart the feeling that he will find joy in this temporary thing! For were it not so, he would not pursue it nor invest in it, and he would seek out sins. The Holy One, blessed be He, gave him the feeling that he is gaining and profiting, and "You neglected the Rock Who begot you" - He causes him to forget that soon he will have to return his equipment and that nothing will remain here.
He provides an example of this from a person during a simchah. Consider someone marrying off his child - the groom and his parents are kings for a day. For just one day; after that, it is all over and real life begins. But at that moment, he is on top of the world: strike a pose, flash a smile, "a groom is like a king." That is how man stands in this world - he goes through stages of celebration, celebrating and feeling good, unaware that it will soon end and real life will begin. Everything you see here is merely a starter, and right away one must start living with a spouse, supporting a home, worrying about the mortgage - in short, life is not simple. Yet in its time, He made everything beautiful: at that moment, a person is deeply drawn in, feels like a king, and senses joy in his existence. This is one aspect of wisdom that the Holy One, blessed be He, performed in His world.
And the second thing: "He has also placed the world in their hearts." Ha'olam (the world) here is an expression of eternity - the Holy One, blessed be He, planted eternity in man's heart. That is, man lives here and is convinced he is eternal. Beyond the fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, made everything beautiful in its time, attracting man while he is engaged in it, He also gave him the sense that this will remain his forever.
A poignant story illustrates this reality: a man who regularly attended shiurim became terminally ill, Hashem spare us. At that very time, having obtained building permits, he was busily demolishing his parents' home where he lived. The man gave himself no rest until he completed the construction - a three-story building. When a visitor came to his home, he proudly pointed out: 'Here is the kitchen I built; here the stairs lead up to the second floor; here leads there.' Yet he was a bachelor, roughly seventy years old. Not only that, but he refused medical treatments; he knew full well his life would not last, and he did not even wish to prolong it only to suffer. This leaves a striking impression: how deeply a person lives in this world with the feeling that he is never leaving, even when the truth is staring him in the face, undergoing tests and knowing the outcome. And the most painful part of the story: he was estranged from his nephews, yet never wrote a will in favor of his niece who had devotedly supported him throughout his illness. Consequently, his estate was divided among those with whom he had feuded, and they inherited him. From this we can appreciate how intensely man invests here, because the Holy One, blessed be He, instilled in him the reality of 'He has placed eternity in their hearts' - convinced he will remain here forever, even when the facts show entirely otherwise.
All this stems from what was mentioned earlier: Hashem concealed man's end from him, and as a result, he continues investing, confident that he will live here for many more years. Yet here the matter differs from the king in the parable, for, as it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, is far more fair with us. That king said: 'Work, it is all for you' - and in the end they were kicked out empty-handed. But the Holy One does not conceal this from us; He announces: 'Know that in the end, everyone departs and takes nothing.' Had that king revealed this, who would have worked? Here, however, the King reveals it: go for a walk, attend a funeral, look closely and see if the deceased took anything with him - his hands are open, he took nothing. Thus, the Holy One treats us with far greater fairness, showing us that in the end no one takes anything, saying: 'I give you an occupation to engage in here, but do not be drawn after it excessively, and know that ultimately everything is left behind and nothing here is eternal.' Yet despite all this - 'so that man cannot find out the work that God has done from the beginning to the end' - all this was designed so that man would not dwell on foolish vanities, would not contemplate sin, and would not idle away his time in vain. The Holy One did all this and even hinted to him about his future, yet man fails to take the hint; he throws himself entirely into material pursuits and turns a deaf ear to the message Hashem conveys to him, even though Hashem informed him in advance that no matter how hard he toils, he will take nothing with him.
יָדַעְתִּי כִּי אֵין טוֹב בָּם כִּי אִם־לִשְׂמוֹחַ וְלַעֲשׂוֹת טוֹב בְּחַיָּיו׃ - I know that there is no good in them, except for man to rejoice and to do good in his life.
'There is no good in them' - meaning in the deeds of man. The Pesikta Zutreta explains: 'Except to rejoice' - in the ways of his Creator, 'and to do good in his life' - to engage in Torah and mitzvot, which are good for him in his lifetime, for once a person dies he becomes free from the mitzvot. There is no enduring good in all those earthly matters or in whatever he toils and labors for here, except only to do good in his life.
Rashi explains: Now I know - since the appointed time of visitation is hidden, as the Holy One concealed from man when he will depart from the world, what is good for mankind? Only to rejoice in his portion and do what is good in the eyes of his Creator as long as he lives. A person must utilize his time while he is alive to do what is good in the eyes of Hashem.
The Even Reshef adds: Since the Holy One desires that man engage in his true purpose - in the service of Hashem and clinging to Him - and not become consumed with material pursuits and acquisitions that are not the divine will, 'I know that there is no good in them, except for man to rejoice and do good in his life,' meaning that one should live a life of joy from his possessions. For if one merely gathers and gathers, what happens in the end? Man departs from here and everything remains behind. Why, then, did the Holy One grant us abundance in this world? Because Hashem wants man to experience good. There are elevated levels of asceticism and individuals who live above nature, but that is not the standard; the Holy One wants a person to eat well, sleep well, and learn well. This is what roshei yeshivah and mashgichim have always taught: this is man's role in the world. What is a matmid (a diligent student)? One who learns sixty minutes in an hour - not necessarily someone who studies more hours, but someone who utilizes his time fully. Hashem granted goodness to man in this world and desires that he enjoy it.
Chazal describe one who does not enjoy what Hashem has granted him as 'a mouse lying on gold dinars' - he lives like a mouse, wretched as a rodent, while lying atop millions. What good is lying on millions if you live the life of a mouse? If the Holy One has blessed you, live from what He gave you. This does not mean one should run wild and abandon himself to endless desires, but neither should he live an ascetic life if he is not on that level. If one is on that spiritual level, by all means; but if not, on the contrary: 'there is no good in them, except to rejoice and do good in his life.' If you amass wealth knowing full well you will leave it all behind, at least enjoy it during your lifetime. Do not be like those servants in the king's parable who left with nothing. Why? Because they hoarded more and more wealth, thinking: 'If I spend this and enjoy it, I will lose it; let us work more and take the maximum away with us.' Had the king revealed to them that they would leave empty-handed, they would have enjoyed what was there. The Holy One says: 'I am telling you openly that you will leave everything behind. Therefore, from what I have given you - enjoy, rejoice, and do good: perform chesed with it, benefit others, perform good deeds - for that is the purpose for which the Holy One gave you good in this world.' It was not given so that you amass wealth for strangers, or in the words of the Chovot HaLevavot, for his wife's next husband. A man scrimps and saves, only for his widow to marry someone else after his death, who will say: 'Kudos to your first husband, he worked properly!' Is this what you toil and labor for all your days? At least enjoy what Hashem has given you.
The Kol Ephraim explains that here we are given a comprehensive answer to the entire inquiry of the book - what is man's role, what is his purpose, and why was the world created. Know that everything created here has the sole purpose of enabling man to find the appropriate means with which to serve the Holy One, blessed be He. All worldly matters and all physical phenomena exist so that through them man may arrive at the service of Hashem. This is the meaning of 'except to rejoice': 'to rejoice and to do good' means serving God, for that is the true good. The true good is Torah study, mitzvah observance, and the service of Hashem. Hashem wants you to enjoy what is here, to rejoice in all the goodness, and to serve Him with what He has given you.
And how does one attain this joy? The Kol Ephraim shares a wonderful insight: a person who actively searches for joy will not find it. If someone constantly walks around with a 'joy meter' - measuring whether he is happy or not - he will never be happy. Joy is not something one hunts for or constantly inspects to see if it is there; one simply does the right things, and from that, one feels fulfillment and joy. Joy comes when one's mind is elsewhere. The moment you fill your life with spiritual substance, your life naturally becomes happy and good. If not, you search for other gratifications and thrills: one finds it in drugs, another in alcohol, and another in various desires, seeking stimuli to bring him happiness because he lacks genuine joy and lacks something that fulfills him. But a person who wakes up in the morning with a purpose in life, who knows what he must do and applies himself to the service of Hashem with seriousness and devotion, feels fulfillment and wholeness in his actions - and as a natural result, he has joy.
It turns out, then, that "there is no good in them but to rejoice" - and how? "And to do good in his life", by doing what is good and proper. It has already been explained that osher (happiness) shares a root with me'ushar (approved, affirmed): Who attains true happiness? One who has approval for every deed he performs. You wake up in the morning and wash your hands - approved! The Holy One, blessed be He, says: This is what I asked of you. You recited Birkat HaShachar - approved. You ate, and recited a blessing before and after - you received approval. You went to learn Torah - you received approval. You went to commit a transgression - you did not receive approval, and that strips away your happiness. What is happiness? Knowing that I am doing the right thing. Every action one does in accordance with Hashem's will makes a person truly happy, for his deeds are right and proper. But one who constantly searches for how to be happy and how to rejoice - that is not the path through which one finds joy and happiness.
וְגַם כׇּל־הָאָדָם שֶׁיֹּאכַל וְשָׁתָה וְרָאָה טוֹב בְּכׇל־עֲמָלוֹ מַתַּת אֱלֹהִים הִיא׃ - "And also that every man should eat and drink, and see good in all his labor - it is a gift of God."
The Pesikta Zutrata explains: "That every man should eat and drink" - that alone is not enough; rather, "and see good in all his labor", meaning that he engages in Torah and acts of loving-kindness (gemilut chassadim); and know that all of this is in the category of a gift of God. A distinction must be noted: earlier, Shlomo investigated human endeavors - what their ultimate purpose is, whether one gathers for himself, gathers for his relatives, or gathers for the world in order to improve it, and what necessity there is in all of this; and there he showed us that in most cases, a person does not enjoy what he gathered and toiled for, but rather others enjoy it. Thus, these are two distinct inquiries dealing with two different matters.
The Ateret Shmuel explains the verse more from an ethical perspective, continuing what was said earlier: "I know that there is no good in them, but to rejoice, and to do good in his life." When the Holy One, blessed be He, gave man a livelihood, He gave it to him so that he would rejoice - Hashem wants you to feel good, and He gives man abundance so that he will have a good life. Yet he adds, "and to do good in his life": when Hashem gave you something, it was not for you alone. As the masters of Mussar say, echoing the words of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, man was not created for himself, but to benefit others. If Hashem granted you the ability to rejoice - rejoice, and once you have rejoiced, bring joy to others as well. And that is "and to do good in his life": that from what you have, and from what you eat and drink, you also give to others. And for this purpose, "it is a gift of God" - why did Hashem give me all this? It is a gift from Him, blessed be He, so that I may use it to do good for His creations, and thereby be able to properly enjoy the good world He has bestowed upon me.
Ibn Latif adds that Hashem instilled within man the right temperament to properly enjoy life. That is, the Creator could have created pleasant things that do not speak to us at all - like a donkey trying to appreciate fruit salad, or giving nuts to people who have no teeth. But the Holy One, blessed be He, implanted within man the capacity to derive full enjoyment from what He has given and granted him, a proper enjoyment in life.
Rabbi Avraham, cited by the Me'am Lo'ez, interprets this in the opposite direction: know that sometimes a person's eating, drinking, and seeing good in all his labor actually stems from the attribute of strict justice (Middat HaDin), in order to pay him his reward for the World to Come here in this world. Therefore, the verse emphasizes "a gift of Elokim" - a gift from the attribute of strict justice. Had it said "a gift of Hashem", I would have said it is a gift of loving-kindness; but "a gift of Elokim" is akin to what is said, that the Holy One, blessed be He, pays the wicked here in order to destroy him from the life of the World to Come. It turns out, then, that sometimes this gift is not for good, but for detriment. Therefore, a person can never know whether he is merely receiving his portion in this world through what is given to him here. What he must do, then, is strive to use that wealth for acts of chessed and to do good for others; then, even if his reward is being paid in this world, at least with that very same money he is performing chessed and acquiring life in the World to Come.
"He has made everything beautiful in its time" - the Holy One, blessed be He, endowed everything with beauty and charm in its proper time, and concealed from man his end and the final reckoning, so that he will settle the world, work for his livelihood, and not waste his time in transgressions. "He has also placed the world in their heart" - He instilled within man's heart a sense of eternity, yet at the same time explicitly reveals to him that one takes nothing from here, thereby treating him with far greater fairness than the king in the parable. From this follows the conclusion: "There is no good in them, but to rejoice, and to do good in his life" - to enjoy what Hashem has given you, and to channel it toward Torah, mitzvot, and acts of kindness toward others. Joy is not found by one who chases after it, but by one who fills his life with spiritual meaning and deeds that bear the Creator's stamp of approval, and through this he becomes truly happy.