Introduction: One Verse - A Whole World of Explanations
As already noted, the Malbim did not compose a complete commentary on the Book of Kohelet, but in his work Eretz Chemdah, he explains several verses from the book. He expounds upon the verse before us at great length, opening an entire gateway to understanding man's ultimate purpose in his world. We will follow his path, adding to it the insights of the Zohar, the Midrashim, and the commentators on this very verse.
וְשַׁבֵּחַ אֲנִי אֶת־הַמֵּתִים שֶׁכְּבָר מֵתוּ מִן־הַחַיִּים אֲשֶׁר הֵמָּה חַיִּים עֲדֶנָה׃ - And I praise the dead who have already died, more than the living who are still alive.
The Purpose of the Soul - Death
The Malbim explains: The soul enters this world in order to serve Hashem. And what is the soul's ultimate purpose in the world? As strange as it may sound, its purpose is to die. Life is not the ultimate purpose; death is the purpose. The soul's primary purpose is to return to her father's house, as in her youth.
How does the Malbim prove this? Everything in the world moves toward its purpose and acts in the direction of its goal. A person who leaves his house walks toward the purpose for which he left - the beit midrash or his workplace; a person who gets into his car drives toward his destination. Everything that progresses in this world progresses toward its purpose. And what happens from the moment a person is born? From that very second, a countdown begins, and he progresses toward death. It must be, therefore, that this is the purpose.
Through this, the Gemara in Berachot (17a) is explained: Rabbi Meir would conclude the Book of Iyov and say, "The end of man is to die." What is an "end" (sof)? An end is a purpose - the purpose of a thing is its end. If so, the ultimate purpose is death, and this is what our Sages meant by "for all are destined to die": man is designated to depart from this world. Yet death is not an end in itself; rather, it signifies the departure of the soul from this world and its cleaving to the Infinite (Ein Sof) - this is man's ultimate purpose.
A further proof: If this life were the ultimate purpose, why has no one ever attained it or grasped it permanently? Even if you point to Chanoch or Eliyahu - where are they? What kind of purpose is it that no one ever reaches? Perforce, the purpose is death, and toward it everyone ultimately arrives.
A Good Name Is Better than Good Oil
According to this, the Malbim explains, one can understand the Sages' teaching: "Fortunate is he who grew up in Torah and departed with a good name." Concerning this, Shlomo said, "A good name is better than good oil." Were the primary purpose the preservation of the body, man would not be advancing toward death at every single moment; perforce, the primary purpose is the existence of the soul. "A good name" refers to the eternal existence of the soul, the eternal name that remains of him in the World to Come. And "good oil" refers to balsam oil, with which they used to embalm the dead to preserve the body. It is better for a person to depart this world leaving behind an eternal good name than to have his body preserved here with good oil.
And the proof that the ultimate purpose is departure from this world is the continuation of the verse: "and the day of death than the day of one's birth." When does the day of death begin? Already from the day of one's birth. From the moment he is born, the countdown begins - another day, another year, and with each passing day he draws closer to death.
Man Goes to His Eternal Home - Why Then the Mourners?
According to this, the Malbim explains, a person should not grieve when someone passes away, and certainly not when a talmid chacham departs the world with a good name - on the contrary, he is returning to his resting place and reuniting with the blessed Creator. Yet Scripture states, "For man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets," which seemingly presents a contradiction: if man goes to his eternal home, to his natural place, why "and the mourners go about the streets"? Why the weeping and the sorrow? Regarding this, Chazal said, "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting." To explain this, the Malbim introduces a parable.
The Parable of the Merchant Who Married for a Month
A man traveled to distant islands to trade there for a month and then return home. Upon arriving, he betrothed a woman there and married her for the duration of his stay, hosting an engagement feast with great joy. A wise man passed by and saw the great celebration and dancing at the feast. He took the wedding guests and led them to the seashore, showing them how the other merchants who had arrived a month earlier were already returning to their destinations - and that this man, too, at the end of a month, would return home. His entire permit was only for one month, after which he must go home. "And of joy, what does it accomplish?" - and their joy turned into mourning.
So it is, says the Malbim, with man who arrives at the inn that is this world. He does not come for very long, yet he marries a wife here and rejoices - but if he would take to heart that all of this is destined to end and conclude, that the end of joy is sorrow, and that he will ultimately return to his home, he would not rejoice excessively, for he knows that it is all coming to an end.
"Woe to Us for We Shall Die"
This was indeed the authentic perspective of the Sages of Israel. The Gemara in Berachot (31a) relates that the Rabbis said to Rav Hamnuna Zuta at the wedding of Mar the son of Ravina: "Sing for us, master." He stood up and said to them: "Woe to us that we must die, woe to us that we must die!" That was his song at the wedding. And what did he mean to convey by this? To remind them that this joy is not eternal.
The Gemara relates that at times, people would lose their composure in joy, allowing the celebration to slightly exceed the bounds of proper taste. Therefore, it is told of one Sage who took an expensive vessel worth a fortune and broke it - to create a jolt of shock, so that a person would realize: joy, yes, but "rejoice with trembling." So too here: he evidently saw that the celebration had slightly crossed the line of propriety, so he said to them: Gentlemen, do not forget the destination, do not forget that ultimately man must return his gear; we are only temporary here. All this celebration is nothing more than the joy of the merchant who came to marry a wife for a month and then return to his home.
"The Heart of the Wise Is in the House of Mourning"
And this is the meaning of "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." The wise man, even when he is at a wedding, has his heart in the house of mourning: he knows that this will end, that everything here is temporary, and that time must be utilized. The fool, by contrast, is constantly partying - chasing celebrations, pleasures, and desires - completely blind to the fact that everything is about to end. He fails to realize that at the end of every supermarket aisle, there is a cash register. He lives in a perpetual party, oblivious to the fact that the time will come when man must depart from this world.
"Than Going to a House of Feasting" - A Wonderful Explanation
Regarding this, Shlomo says, "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting." The Malbim explains: the phrase implies "from going to a house of feasting" - when you have finished going to the house of feasting and depart from it, go then to the house of mourning. That is to say: do not linger in the house of feasting indefinitely, assuming that life is one continuous party; rather, go to the house of mourning - remember that ultimately man will pass away from the world, and remember that all the pleasures here are temporary.
The Parable of the Traveler to the Place of Pleasures
The Malbim offers a parable: A man heard of a place that contains all the pleasures of the world, where one can delight in every gratification. He left his home and set out for that place to revel in worldly delights. However, he had no money to spend once he arrived. What should he do? Along the way, he must find a livelihood: work as an assistant to the wagon driver transporting him, earn a few coins, and take odd jobs on the road so that he will have the means to enjoy himself there. Just like those backpackers who take a pack after the army and travel to Goa, Kathmandu, and all those places - they have to sustain themselves somehow, selling pictures or engaging in small trades to finance the continuation of their trip. Otherwise, how will they survive there?
Yet this man, traveling to the place of pleasures, did nothing along the journey: he made no effort, did no work, and took on no labor, for his mind was occupied solely with the pleasures awaiting him there. Says the Malbim: he left his home entirely in vain, for he never reached the place of delight and did not merit to see it at all. It is doubtful whether he will arrive at all - after all, reaching it requires money and someone to transport him; and if he does arrive, with what will he pay, and how will he gain entry? As the poet said: "If my journey and stride toward my destination are short, who will guide me across the river crossings when my days there stretch long?" - even for the crossings, even merely to get there, one needs financing and merits.
When a person understands this, he invests diligently here in this world, which is the road. He does not squander his time along the way on vanities and foolishness, when he could be investing here so that when he reaches his ultimate destination - which is the true purpose - he will be able to rejoice and delight there. Thus, we have no interest in longevity for its own sake; rather, everything here is merely a means to reach the place of delight.
And if you ask: what is preferable - to live a short life here and a long life there, or to live a long life here and a short life there? Does anyone have any doubt? It is surely better to live a short life here and merit a complete eternity there, rather than live a long life here and arrive Above with meager merits. It turns out that the main thing is death, which is the closeness to God after one's lifetime, while man's life here is not the ultimate end.
"The Labor of Fools Wearies Them"
In contrast, concerning the fool who spends all his years on the road without reaching his destination, Kohelet says (10:15): "The labor of fools wearies them, for they know not how to go to the city." What does he do here in this world? He toils, and this toil exhausts him, yet he does not know how to go to the city - he fails to understand that there is a destination, does not know how to get there, and makes no effort to do so. Such is the matter of the soul: it comes here to acquire good deeds, providing provisions for the journey so that it can reach the city, the ultimate destination of Gan Eden; yet man squanders his days in futility and emptiness, failing to reach his destination.
Tzaddikim Who Passed Away in Their Youth
In contrast, the righteous person, even if he fulfilled his mission in a short time - passing away at the age of thirty, forty, or twenty. Indeed, there were such tzaddikim: the holy Arizal passed away young, the Rema passed away young, the Ramchal passed away young, and many great and righteous figures passed away in their youth. And what did they leave us? Timeless treasures for generations. These individuals accomplished in such a brief span what others do not achieve in hundreds of years. Shall we say their lives were deficient because they lived briefly? On the contrary, he completed the work swiftly and can now step forward immediately to receive his reward. Life here is not the purpose; the purpose is there. It is far better for a person to live a short life here that is rich and sanctified with spirituality, than a long and empty life.
This is akin to what the Midrash on Shir HaShirim says regarding Rabbi Bon: "This disciple labored and attained in twenty-eight years what another disciple does not attain in a hundred years." He did not need to live for a hundred years - twenty-eight were enough for him, in which he completed what others require a century to achieve.
Understanding the Pasuk in Light of This
Now we can understand the words of Shlomo. "And I praised the dead" - who are the dead? Those who rightly should pass on now, having already completed their deeds, with no further reason to remain here. "Who have already died" - they are praised "above the living who are still alive," above those who still live because they have not completed their work and still have much left to accomplish. It is far better to die with a shortened lifespan in a state of completeness, than to live a long life simply because you have not yet completed your purpose and are granted another year and yet another year, in the hope that you might finally finish.
Certainly, it is best for a person to live a long life and continually add to his service of Hashem; after all, even Moshe Rabbeinu did not wish to leave the world at the time of his passing, because he could have continued here and added further in the service of Hashem. But when the question is what is preferable - to die after a short life, completely fulfilled, or to live long because you have not yet completed your task - concerning this it is said: "And I praised the dead." More praiseworthy is one who dies after a short life having truly perfected himself, reaching the point where he no longer needs to remain here.
"There shall no more be from there an infant of days, and an old man" - An Old Man Who Is a Youth
Based on this, the Malbim explains a wonderful idea in a verse in Yeshayahu (65:20): "There shall no more be from there an infant of days, and an old man who has not filled his days; for the youth shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed." On the surface, this is difficult to understand: what difference does it make whether he is an infant of days or an old man - after all, the intent is that there will be no one who does not fulfill his days, that everyone will fulfill their days! Furthermore, when examining the cantillation notes, after the word vezaken ("and an old man") there is a zakef gadol, which functions like a pause. Seemingly, the pause should have come after "an infant of days": "There shall no more be from there an infant of days, and an old man who has not filled his days." Yet the verse joins them together: "an infant of days and an old man" - and only then pauses.
The Malbim explains: in our times, one can find an old man who is an "infant of days." How so? As it is written, "And years of life and peace they shall add to you," and Chazal asked: Are there years that are not of life? Rather, there are days of idleness, and these are considered days of death and are not counted. It turns out that there can be an old man who is spiritually a youth: gather all the mitzvot he performed, and he is like a seven-year-old. He is elderly in chronological years, but how much did he truly serve Hashem out of his entire life?
This is like the story of a man who arrived in a town and visited the cemetery. He looked at the gravestones: this person died at age eight, this one at age twelve, another at six, another at five. He said, "There must be terrible plagues here; this is a city that consumes its inhabitants!" They said to him, "Not at all. What we inscribe on the tombstone is not the chronological age at which a person died, and we do not count years lived in vanity. Who cares how much a person ate, drank, and slept - is that called living? Rather, we record how many years he truly lived: how much he prayed, how much Torah he learned, how many mitzvot he fulfilled. That is what we count. Therefore, this one lived seven years, that one twelve, and another fifteen - that is what is worthy of being counted."
Thus, in our times, it is possible for an old man to be an "infant of days": elderly in years, but in terms of merits and mitzvot, he is still a youth. But the prophet says: in the future to come, it will not be so. There will no longer be an "infant of days and an old man" - meaning an old man who is merely an infant of days. There will be no situation where a person is advanced in age yet impoverished in mitzvot. Whoever is old in years will be full of Torah and mitzvot, for "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Hashem" and everyone will be a true servant of Hashem. Moreover, "the youth shall die a hundred years old": even a youth who passes away will be said to have died as a hundred-year-old, just as was said of Rabbi Bun, who at twenty-eight years old attained what others could not attain in a hundred years.
Similarly, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said, "Behold, I am like a man of seventy years." What does "like a man of seventy" mean? The Rambam explains that he labored, toiled, and exerted himself in Torah, so that by the age of eighteen he already had white hair like a man who had grown old and reached seventy. Thus, a person can be very young chronologically and yet already be like an elder in his merits; on the other hand, one can be elderly in years and yet still a youth in merits.
The conclusion of the matter is: "And I praise the dead who are already dead" - I praise those who have already completed their spiritual tasks and passed away, even if their days were shortened, "more than the living who are still alive" - who continue to live extended lives only because they have not yet finished their work. With this, Scripture comes to tell you: the ultimate purpose is not physical life in itself, but the transition through death to true eternity; the purpose is attachment to God.
Why Man Was Expelled from the Garden of Eden
Based on this, the author of Nefesh HaChaim explains the question: What was the concern that led the Holy One, blessed be He, to expel man from the Garden of Eden after he ate from the Tree of Knowledge - "lest he put forth his hand, and take also from the Tree of Life, and eat, and live forever"? On the surface, was the Holy One, blessed be He, begrudging him eternal life? What would be wrong with that? Rather, in such a state, he would never reach his rectification (tikkun). Once man became corporeal, his rectification requires that he shed his physical body and the body decay in the dust, and then the spirit shall return to God who gave it. If he were to eat from the Tree of Life, he would never complete his rectification, for his soul would never reach its ultimate purpose - and that purpose, as the Malbim explains, is death, arriving at attachment to Him, blessed be He. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, prevented him from eating of the Tree of Life, so that he would ultimately achieve his purpose upon passing away.
The Three Reasons for the Passing of a Tzaddik
The Malbim offers an additional explanation of the verse. Chazal revealed to us that a tzaddik passes away for one of three reasons. The first reason is to atone for the sins of the generation. When there are sins in the generation and atonement is needed, the Holy One, blessed be He, takes a tzaddik, in the manner of "He crushed a head over a vast land." As we have already mentioned: "He executes judgment among the nations, full of corpses" - when the Holy One, blessed be He, judges the nations, it is full of corpses, a small tsunami and three hundred thousand people perish. But with the Jewish people - "He crushed a head": the Holy One, blessed be He, takes one head, one righteous person who is equivalent to thousands and tens of thousands.
And as is well-known, the Baba Sali said that he was promised from Heaven that he would merit to see the coming of Mashiach. Before his passing, those close to him asked: "Did not the Rav say that he would merit to witness the coming of Mashiach?" He answered them: "That is true, but they asked me from Heaven: 'Do you want a third of the world to die?' For Mashiach to come right now, a third of the world would have to die. I told them: 'No. I prefer to depart from this world rather than have a third of the world die.'" Here you have: "He crushed a head over a vast land."
The second reason: even if this is not an atonement for the generation's iniquity, at times the tzaddik is taken so that he will not see the generation's distress. Since a great misfortune is about to arrive, the Holy One, blessed be He, takes the tzaddik beforehand, so that he will not witness the tragedy befalling Israel.
The third reason: so that the tzaddik will not shield the generation. This reflects what is written in Yeshayahu: "You meet him who rejoices and acts righteously, those who remember You in Your ways; behold, You were angry, and we sinned; in them is eternity, and we shall be saved. And we have all become like an unclean person, and all our righteous deeds like a soiled garment, and we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away. And there is no one who calls upon Your name, who rouses himself to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and melted us by the hand of our iniquities." The Holy One, blessed be He, sought to bring afflictions upon Israel - what did He do? "And there is no one who calls upon Your name, who rouses himself to take hold of You": He took the tzaddik, so that there would be no one to arouse himself in His name and avert the harsh decree. "For You have hidden Your face from us, and melted us by the hand of our iniquities" - Hashem wished to hide His face and deliver us into the hand of iniquity, for iniquity itself afflicts a person. Therefore, He took the tzaddik, and in doing so, they could be handed over to their sins.
And now, the Malbim explains, you can understand the words of Shlomo: "And I praise the dead who have already died" - these are the tzaddikim; "more than the living who are still alive" - meaning on account of the living. They died because of the living, because of the generation. Whether they died to atone for the sin of the generation, or whether they died so as not to witness the generation's suffering - like Avraham Avinu, whose life was shortened so that he would not see his grandson stray into evil ways - or whether they died so that they would not shield the generation. All of these reasons explain: the dead who have already died - for what reason did they die? "Because of the living who are still alive."
The Zohar: One Who Kills Himself for the Torah
The holy Zohar in Parashat Acharei Mot asks: what is the meaning of the repetitive phrasing, "the dead who have already died"? It explains that this does not refer to physical death, but rather to dying in the service of their Master - as "the Torah endures only in one who kills himself over it." "And I praise the dead who have already died" - referring to those who died while still alive, who exhausted themselves in the tent of Torah, living as though they were no longer part of this mundane world and devoting their very souls to Torah.
Therefore, the Zohar says that one may pray at the graves of true tzaddikim, and this does not violate the prohibition of "inquiring of the dead" (doresh el hametim). "Inquiring of the dead" applies to the wicked and to idolaters, who are called dead even while alive; but regarding the righteous - "and I praise the dead who have already died more than the living" - they are more exalted than the living, and a tzaddik in his death reaches an even higher spiritual level. When you go to pray at the grave of a tzaddik, your prayer is on a higher level than praying near the living. In contrast, turning to the grave of a wicked person, who was considered dead even in life, is all the more so in death, and there it certainly constitutes inquiring of the dead.
The Zohar further explains that gentiles approach their dead through sorcery, whereas Israel, when they go to pray at the graves of tzaddikim, come with repentance, fasting, and a broken heart, so that the holy souls will intercede for mercy on their behalf before Hashem, and the Holy One, blessed be He, has mercy on the world for their sake.
A Caution Regarding Prayer at Graves of Tzaddikim
From here stems an important caution: when visiting a grave, one must be extremely careful not to ask the individual to save him. One must not say, "Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, save me!" or "Rabbi Meir, save me!" - absolutely not, for that would mean seeking salvation from the deceased, when "there is none else beside Him." Rather, one should approach it in one of two ways: either ask the tzaddik to intercede on one's behalf before the Throne of Glory, since he has access and is close to Hashem, blessed be He; or ask Hashem, blessed be He, to act in the merit of the tzaddik who dwells in the dust buried here. But to say, "You accomplish this for me, you do it" - Heaven forbid; he is not the worker of salvation. Only, "Pray for me before Hashem, blessed be He" - that is permissible.
Visiting the Graves of One's Parents
Regarding those who visit the graves of their parents and ask that they pray for them: under ordinary circumstances, we seek blessings from our parents, and on Shabbat, parents bless their children. Why? Because no one cares for and loves a child more than his parents, and the primary virtue of a blessing is when it flows from a loving heart - "And I will bless you, for it is fitting for me to bless" - and as it is written, "One who has a generous eye shall be blessed (yevorach)" - do not read yevorach, but yevarech, he shall bless. And who has a more generous eye toward children than parents? Therefore, parental blessings possess a distinct virtue, exceeding the blessing of anyone else. In that same vein, there is no impediment to asking parents to intercede on one's behalf when visiting their graves.
However, one must be aware: if the parents were, let us say, far from righteousness, they themselves need someone to intercede on their behalf. Before we ask them to pray for us, they themselves are undergoing severe judgments and do not know how to contend with them. This is why during the first year, which is a year of judgment for parents, we say, "May I be an atonement for his resting place," because that year is not simple. If the parents were truly God-fearing individuals who served Hashem, one may do so. But if it is known that they were distant from fulfilling Hashem's will, such a soul needs others to pray for him long before he can pray for anyone else.
The Zohar in Parashat Vayeishev: An Allusion to Reincarnation
In the Zohar on Parashat Vayeishev, it is explained that the verse alludes to the concept of reincarnation: I praise those who have died and experienced renewal through reincarnation via the living - through the brother-in-law performing yibbum (levirate marriage) with the widow and fathering a son. As we have already learned from Sefer Pele Yoetz, there is only one case in the world where we can know with absolute certainty who is a reincarnation of whom today, aside from what the Ari z"l revealed: in the case of yibbum. When a man passes away childless and his widow undergoes yibbum, with complete certainty - in the words of the Pele Yoetz - the deceased's soul is now present in the child born to his wife. We elaborated on this at length in Mishnat HaGilgulim, explaining the entire dynamic of yibbum according to the concept of reincarnation, how the rectification is achieved, the nature of chalitzah, and how "one spirit departs and another enters." In any event, this is what the Zohar means: I praise those who died childless, who are "alive still" - experiencing renewal when they return to life - and they are more praiseworthy than the dead who passed away and did not merit the renewal of returning in a gilgul.
Sefer Chassidim: Moshe and Aharon
Sefer Chassidim explains that "And I praised the dead who have already died" was said concerning individuals like Moshe and Aharon. Moshe and Aharon should have lived longer, so why did they pass away? "Hashem was angry with me on your account" - the reason for Moshe's early passing was because of the people, as he explicitly stated: Hashem became angry with me because of you. If so, I praise Moshe and Aharon - the dead who have already died - more than the wicked who are alive still. The living wicked person thinks to himself: look, I must be doing fine, for I am alive while the righteous man has died! An upside-down world: the tzaddik dies because of the sins of the wicked, while the wicked person remains here alive. But in truth, the opposite is true: the fact that you are alive is worse, for Hashem is paying your reward here in this world, which is why He left you alive. Therefore, the dead are far more praiseworthy.
Shevet Reuven: In a Witty Vein
The book Shevet Reuven explains in a witty vein: "And I praised the dead who have already died" - more than those who are likened to the dead. For there are two types of "dead": one who is actually dead, and those of whom Chazal said, "a pauper is considered as dead," "a metzora is considered as dead," "a blind person is considered as dead." And who is more praiseworthy? Shlomo says: those who have actually died, rather than those who are merely considered dead while "they are alive still."
Yet this is somewhat surprising to suggest, for "a living dog is better than a dead lion," and it is better for a person to live even if he is afflicted with boils, even if he is blind, and even if he is poor. As long as a person remains connected to life, there is hope, as King Shlomo himself says. Therefore, this can only be interpreted in a witty vein, but it is very difficult to suggest that Shlomo meant it is truly better to be dead than to live in poverty. We certainly do not go that far, for as long as a person is alive, he can still rectify and advance spiritually.
Amtachat Binyamin: What Should a Person Do to Live?
In Sefer Amtachat Binyamin, this is explained based on the words of Chazal: What should a person do to live? Let him put himself to death. What should a person do to die? Let him keep himself alive. A person who wishes to live eternal life must put himself to death here in this world: he should minimize his pleasures, refrain from chasing money and vanity, and thereby live. And what should a person do to die to the World to Come? Let him keep himself alive - seeking only to "live it up" in this world; that is the surest recipe for killing oneself from eternal life in the World to Come.
This is what Shlomo means: "And I praised the dead who have already died" - who have already "died" in this world. For those who merely passed away cannot be praised simply for dying; perhaps he was wicked during his lifetime, so why praise him when he is now facing judgment? Rather, I praise the dead who have already died here in this world - those who disciplined themselves and gave their lives over for Torah. These are more praiseworthy "than the living who are alive still," than those who are here simply "living it up," failing to realize that they are heading toward absolute death.
Ohr Shraga: "What, He Already Died?"
Another explanation in a witty vein is cited by the Me'am Loez in the name of the book Ohr Shraga. Sometimes a person meets someone from his hometown, which he left years ago. "Shalom, how are things? What became of so-and-so, what about that person?" One got married, another passed away, this one is here and that one is there. He asks, "And what about that righteous person who lived there?" They answer, "You don't know? He already passed away." "What are you saying, oh no, he already died?!" Then he asks, "And what about that wicked man, that criminal?" They answer, "Don't ask, he's thriving." He exclaims, "Woe is me, what, he is still alive?!" Just as Rashbi said about that person: "Is he still in this world?"
And this is what Shlomo means: "Wherefore I praised the dead" - regarding whom people ask in disbelief, "Have they died already?"; "More than the living who are yet alive" - regarding whom people ask, "What, are they yet alive? Still living? Is this person still in the world, when he should have departed long ago?"
Chotam Anach: The Children Bear Witness to the Father
The Me'am Lo'ez cites another explanation in the name of the sefer Chotam Anach: Sometimes a person is praised according to the children he leaves behind. If they are God-fearing, it is a sign that the father raised them for Torah and mitzvot; and if not - sometimes that is due to the iniquity of the generation.
There was once a great man whose son strayed from the path. An insolent man approached him and said: "The apple does not fall far from the tree" - hinting to him that he, too, was not internally what he appeared on the outside, pointing to his son as proof. The Rav replied: When there is a stormy wind and a tempest - the apple falls far from the tree. And we, amidst the storm of our times, know the reality and the severe trials of the generation. Do not wonder if the apple is far from the tree. Nevertheless, when one sees children who walk in the path of Hashem and cling to Him, it is often a testament to the parents. And this is "Wherefore I praised the dead" - by virtue of what? By virtue of the living who are yet alive, from the living he left behind: through them one can perceive who the deceased was, and how much effort he invested in raising them to Torah and good deeds.
Based on this, commentators explain what is written regarding Sarah Imeinu: "And Avraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her." Chazal ask, as cited by Rashi: From where did he come? He came from the Binding of Yitzchak (Akeidat Yitzchak). And in the Chassidic tradition, this is explained homiletically: "From where did he come" - from what vantage point did Avraham come to eulogize Sarah? What point of praise did he find with which to glorify her? He came from the Akeidah of Yitzchak. If this noble woman raised a son prepared to sacrifice his life like Yitzchak Avinu and be bound on the altar for the honor of the Creator, blessed be He - there is no greater praise than this. That itself was the eulogy, and that is the touchstone for recognizing the greatness of Sarah, who nurtured such a son.
In Summary:
"Wherefore I praised the dead that are already dead" - the Malbim teaches us that man's ultimate purpose is not physical life in this world, but death, meaning the soul's return to its Creator and cleaving to Him. This world is the journey, the roadside inn, given to us so that we may acquire provisions for the journey toward our ultimate destination. Therefore, one who has perfected himself and completed his service, even in a shortened lifespan, is more praiseworthy than one who lives long yet remains unrefined; thus, an elder can be spiritually an infant, while a youth can be considered a hundred years old. The commentators added to this: the tzaddik is taken for the sake of the generation, and the Zohar taught us that the most praiseworthy is one who slayed himself over the Torah during his lifetime. From here, too, stems the proper approach when praying at the graves of tzaddikim - not to ask them for salvation, but that they intercede on our behalf, or that Hashem act in their merit. And the practical conclusion is one: "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning" - to remember the destination, utilize our time, and invest along the way, so that we have that with which to delight in the place of true delight.