Introduction: The Conclusion of Chapter 6 - Two Great Questions
At the conclusion of Chapter 6, King Solomon sums up everything he has built up to this point in two short statements: first, that an abundance of things in this world is nothing more than an abundance of vanity; and second, an open question: who truly knows what is good for man in his life? Shlomo's way in Kohelet is not to spoon-feed us. He presents the data before us in the form of a question, trusting our intelligence to draw the conclusion ourselves. Let us proceed in the order of the verses.
Verse 11 - Multiplying Words Before the Holy One, Blessed be He
כִּי יֵשׁ־דְּבָרִים הַרְבֵּה מַרְבִּים הָבֶל מַה־יֹּתֵר לָאָדָם׃ - For there are many words that increase vanity; what advantage is there for man?
Pesikta Zutreta explains: If a person comes to multiply words before his Creator, he multiplies stumbling and sin. The more a person talks before the Holy One, Blessed be He, the more he exposes himself to failure. As Chazal have already stated regarding this, "In a multitude of words, transgression does not cease."
And so we find with Chanah. When she prayed before the Holy One, Blessed be He, she said that she would dedicate her son to Hashem "forever" (ad olam). Chazal ask: How long is the "forever" of the Levites? Fifty years. And he was two years old when he was brought to the Mishkan - and indeed, he lived fifty-two years. This teaches you that it would have been better for her had she not uttered those exact words. When a person multiplies words before Hashem, he can easily stumble into sin. Shlomo already mentioned this concept on several occasions, and we have learned this in Mishlei as well.
According to this, "what advantage has man" means: What is left for man to say before his Creator? Nothing remains for him but to walk in His ways and observe what He commanded. Why multiply words when multiplying words only brings you harm?
What More Could You Ask For?
Another explanation is cited in the sefarim: "What advantage has man" - for the Holy One, Blessed be He, placed all creatures into his hand and under his dominion, as it is written, "The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth." In plain terms: What more could you possibly demand? Hashem gave you everything; He gave you superiority over all of creation - what more than this could you wish to receive?
The Amusement of Kings - Rashi and the Midrash
Rashi cites the Midrash: There are many pursuits that a person busies himself with during his life, such as the amusement of kings - monkeys, elephants, and lions, which they gather in great numbers. But what advantage does he have once he dies? That is, what remains for him from all of this? Kings had an abundance of leisure time, so they sought entertainment. And the Midrash adds: like those who raise female monkeys, cats, weasels, squirrels, creatures of the field, and seals - what pleasure does one derive from them? Either a sting, a bite, a wound, or a bruise. You brought them in to play with them, and in the end, you get bitten.
The Nature of the World Is the Same Everywhere - Today We Are All Princes
Consider the calculation: a home such as the average person has today used to belong only to a king. The floor of ordinary people was dirt; who had ceramic or porcelain tile? Only kings had paved palaces. If one needed to clean - one would clear away a little dirt, sprinkle some water to settle the dust, and that was it. A bathtub and toilet inside the house? Even a king did not have that; it was located in a distant wing, for there were no sanitary conditions or running water. Instant hot water - who could even imagine it. A vehicle - only a king had swift chariots, whereas today everyone has a beat-up car in which he travels faster than a king did in his time. It turns out that all of us today are like royal princes. And since this is so, a person has a great deal of free time - and what did the kings do with their free time? They raised monkeys, cats, and squirrels. Today, people fill that time with entertainment.
And if you say that entertainment cannot accompany him all the time - they say to him: No problem, we will miniaturize it for you. We will put it in your pocket: third generation, fourth, fifth, seventh. You do not need to go to a cinema, which is far away, takes time, and costs money - you have a pocket-sized cinema, idolatry right in your pocket, whenever you wish and at any moment you desire. All of Gehennom is found there. And about this Shlomo says: There are many things a person occupies himself with - what advantage does he have once he dies? What will remain for you from all of this?
And even if we assume that he does not stumble into any sin - that there is no lashon hara and no forbidden sights - how much time does a person waste on it? A person once related that he decided to get rid of his smartphone. He discovered an option in WhatsApp to view how much time he spent on the app, and it turned out that on average he was there for two hours a day. And what is there? Ninety-eight percent foolishness and vanity: this one announces this, that one replies that, each with his own nonsense. And it does not happen all at once - three minutes here, ten minutes there - until it became clear to him how much of his life he was burning away. He said: 'I got rid of it, took a kosher phone, and the matter was done.'
And if he also arrives at forbidden things there - woe, how many stings and bites, wounds and bruises, and 'that which is crooked cannot be made straight.' All the sights he saw and all the filth he absorbed, how will he cleanse them afterward? The Chafetz Chaim said: The soap has not yet been created that can cleanse a person of a forbidden sight he has seen. Therefore Shlomo says: Distance yourself from all these things. 'There are many things that increase vanity' - he who guards his soul keeps far from them, and through this he will not come to temptation at all. And if a person argues that he absolutely needs the device for travel and navigation - after all, today there is a completely kosher navigation device, which even if you bring it to an expert, he can make nothing of it; the SIM card accesses nothing but navigation. That excuse falls away as well. Why is it so essential to you? You are not the prime minister. A person does not need it - it is only the yetzer hara. And what will remain for him once he dies? A sting, a bite, a wound, or a bruise.
What the Eye Sees - the Heart Desires
One of the commentators explains further: 'There are many things that increase vanity' - these are all the matters in which a person is drawn after the desires of his heart. And notice how closely this connects to what was said: if a person does not see them, he will not be drawn after them. But if he sees them, it is a case of 'he gazed and was harmed,' and extracting him from there afterward is exceedingly difficult.
A person who has no television at home is not drawn to the foolishness found there at all. But one who already has one - go try to take it out, for he is in the middle of a series and cannot stop; he will 'finish the series' and start it again. A story is told of a man who had a television at home, and he began to grow significantly in his observance while his wife did not. One day the television broke down, and the technician arrived. The husband approached him and whispered in his ear: 'If you fix it, I will take your head off; take two hundred shekels, say it cannot be repaired, and leave.' And so it was. The technician took the money, said there was nothing to be done, and left pleased. The man later recounted: 'My wife went without a television for a week or two - and that was it, she lost the taste for it and no longer looked for it.'
This is the reality: when a person is immersed in desire, extracting him is very difficult. But when he disconnects for a period of time, he suddenly sees that it no longer speaks to him and he is no longer eager for it. And this is what he said: if he does not see them, he will dwell securely and not desire them. None of us desires drugs, because none of us has tried them. Why would I desire something I have never tasted? But one who experiments - look at what happens on the street, people who are drugged and addicted who have lost control, and it is no longer up to them. Therefore, if a person understands this secret, he will distance himself in advance and not say, 'I will just have a taste.' If you taste - you will be drawn in, and afterward, who will rescue you from there? But one who does not taste and does not touch from the outset keeps himself far from all trials and temptations. And this is: 'There are many things that increase vanity, what advantage is there to man' - what will remain for him from all this? Therefore, let him disconnect from them in advance.
"What Advantage Is There to Man" - Over Inanimate Matter
He further explains: 'What advantage is there to man' - what is your advantage even over inanimate matter? When you are drawn after vanities, even the inanimate is better than you. Why? Inanimate matter was created by the will of Hashem and fulfills what it was created for - to be inanimate. An animal was created by the will of Hashem and fulfills its role: it eats grass and gives milk. But when man does not fulfill his role, he is worse than the inanimate, the plant, and the animal.
Pasuk 12 - Who Knows What Is Good for Man
כִּי מִי־יוֹדֵעַ מַה־טּוֹב לָאָדָם בַּחַיִּים מִסְפַּר יְמֵי־חַיֵּי הֶבְלוֹ וְיַעֲשֵׂם כַּצֵּל אֲשֶׁר מִי־יַגִּיד לָאָדָם מַה־יִּהְיֶה אַחֲרָיו תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ׃ - For who knows what is good for man in life, during the counted days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?
The Pesikta Zutreta explains: Who knows, after a person dies, what will become of his children who are still alive in this world? "The number of the days of his fleeting life" - if a father knew that his children would be well, he would not worry so much over the number of the days of his fleeting life, for he would know that his children are settled and everything will go well with them. But when a person is in constant anxiety over what will become of his children, he consumes his days worrying about it.
And the Chofetz Chaim already remarked, as we mentioned regarding the previous verses: Every person works, and if you ask him why, he answers - for the children. And then the children work for their children. When someone tells him: Learn Torah, go to a shiur - he replies: Understand, it is just earning a living, and it is only for the children. Said the Chofetz Chaim: I would be interested in seeing the child at the end of all generations, the one for whom generations upon generations worked so that he could be a talmid chacham and occupy himself with Torah - since everyone works for the next generation. And concerning this it says, "the number of the days of his fleeting life."
"And he spends them as a shadow" - he should treat the affairs of this world as nothing. And this is "who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun," whether good or bad. And why does a person pass away in sorrow? Because he does not know what will be after him - what will become of his children and the next generation, and therefore he toils and labors all his days for them. But this outlook is incorrect. The proper outlook is that a person should act in this world for the elevation of his own soul. Certainly, one must care for his children as well, but not invest all his days solely for them; every person must invest his days for himself.
"You Learn for the Elevation of Your Own Soul"
A man once came to the Chofetz Chaim and asked him to learn for the elevation of his soul after one hundred and twenty, since he had no children. The Chofetz Chaim said to him: You learn for the elevation of your own soul. The man asked: How can I learn after one hundred and twenty? He answered him: No, learn now! Take Mishnayot, study, and say: "Behold, I am learning these Mishnayot for the elevation of the soul of Ploni ben Plonit" - for the elevation of your own soul. Do you think this is less effective than what someone else will do after your death? It is far more effective. For when a person learns, he elevates himself - and that is the true reward; he himself is transformed. But when someone else learns for you, it is an external influence bestowed upon you; it is not your own essence. In the former case you yourself are elevated, whereas in the latter, someone else is handing you gifts. Therefore, a person should not invest his entire being only in worrying about others, but should invest in the elevation of his own soul, and through this he will find satisfaction in whatever comes after him under the sun.
Rashi: Short Lives and Great Deeds
Rashi explains: "Who knows" - who is the one that knows good deeds and what a person ought to do in his life, so that afterward he will have a world that is wholly good, a world that is eternal. And life here is short - "the number of the days of his fleeting life," all is vanity, like the vapor that comes from the mouth, having no significance in terms of its quantity. "And he spends them as a shadow" - let him make them, in this fleeting hour like a passing shadow; during this brief time let him perform good deeds.
And Rashi adds from the Midrash: Even though Shlomo said simply "as a shadow" without specifying which shadow - after all, trees cast a shadow and buildings cast a shadow - his father David already clarified in Tehillim 144: "His days are like a passing shadow," and this refers to the shadow of a flying bird. The shadow of a building remains for hours, until sunset, as does the shadow of a tree. But the shadow of a flying bird passes and is gone. So too, the days of man pass in an instant, truly like a fleeting shadow.
"Who Can Tell a Man What Will Be After Him" - The Wealth He Amassed
And Rashi explains: "Who can tell a man" - how the wealth he amassed for his children will endure after him under the sun. If you amassed money through extortion and dishonesty for your children, what will become of that money later? But had you gathered wealth honestly for your own merit, "your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of Hashem shall be your rearguard," you would have attained eternal life through it.
The Midrash of Rabbi Pinchas: Let Him Engage in Words of Torah
Rabbi Pinchas said: Since a person's days are vanity, and they are numbered - that is, counted, "the number of the days of his fleeting life" - and they are like a shadow, if so, what enjoyment does he have in life? Rather, let him engage in words of Torah, which are all life. And this is the conclusion. Notice Shlomo's method: he presents everything in the form of a question, leaving you to draw the conclusion. He does not say outright, "What is good for man in life is Torah," but relies on your intelligence. He merely asks: Well, from all this physicality, what is truly good for man in life? Life is like a fleeting shadow, yet you invest so heavily in the physical - what will become of it after you? The conclusion is obvious: add Torah, increase spirituality.
And since man's days are like a shadow, life is fleeting - yet a person can make himself live forever, and that is through the words of Torah. "Yaakov Avinu did not die," and the holy books explain that this does not apply only to Yaakov: whoever meditates upon the Torah exemplifies the teaching that "the righteous, even in their death, are called living." He is considered truly alive, walking and advancing spiritually. Therefore, let him occupy himself with words of Torah, for that is the true dimension of life.
The Bridge to the Next Chapter: A Good Name Is Better Than Good Oil
It is fascinating that the Midrash connects the conclusion of our chapter, "Who can tell a man what will be after him," directly with the opening verse of the next chapter: "A good name is better than good oil, and the day of death than the day of one's birth." It is as if Shlomo is saying: You ask who will tell you what will be after you? I will tell you what is best of all - the good name that a person leaves behind through his good deeds, his fear of Heaven, and his toil in Torah. A good name is better than fine oil. Thus, this is the most worthwhile pursuit for a person, and the next chapter serves as the answer to the question posed at the conclusion of our chapter.
The Lengthening Shadow - A Deep Insight into "And Spends Them as a Shadow"
One of the commentators explains: "For who knows what is good for man in life, the number of the days of his vain life" - how much goodness and success can a person accumulate in his few days of life? How much can he really earn, and what can he really accomplish in these brief days? The day is short, the work is vast, the reward is abundant, and the Master is pressing.
And what is the meaning of "and spends them as a shadow"? Consider this: when the sun is at the zenith of the sky, objects cast almost no shadow at all. As it begins to tilt slightly - suddenly there is an amah of shadow. Tilting further - ten amot. And so on: the lower the sun sinks, the larger the shadow cast by objects, buildings, and people. A wise man once made a sharp observation in this regard: when small men cast long shadows, it is a sign that the sun is setting. When you see a reality where small people suddenly become prominent - one becomes prime minister, another a minister, and another a judge - it is a sign that we are in a state of sunset.
The commentary continues: Is there any benefit when a shadow lengthens? At midday, its length is half an amah, and a few hours later it lengthens - but have you gained anything? So it is with human life: when it lengthens, of what real value is it, and what has man achieved through it? For the shadow itself stems from distance from the sun. What is a shadow? A place where the sun does not shine. A shadow is an expression of distance from the sun, and the further the sun recedes, the larger the shadow grows. When there is no shadow at all, it is a sign that the sun is directly above your head.
And such is the life of man: as the sun rises, the shadow diminishes, and as it sets, the shadow grows. The earth abides forever, while man rises and falls. When he is an infant, he is incapable of doing anything; then he grows, speaks, gains understanding, becomes a young man, and continues to rise until the sun is directly above him. But will it remain there forever? In the end, there is also sunset. The life of man is sunrise and sunset, and nothing of it remains.
Two Deficiencies of the Shadow
Now, you might ask: Did man truly accomplish nothing here? A shadow may leave no lasting impression, but a person performs deeds during his lifetime! To this he responds: Consider that even a shadow has an advantage - someone who is hot sits in the shade, as the ancient saying goes, "Eat onions and sit in the shade." Shade is a comfortable place where one can cool down. Yet here lie two deficiencies.
The first deficiency: when a person casts a shadow, it does not benefit himself at all - it benefits only another who sits beside him. And does that other person thank the shadow? The shadow leaves no imprint. And so it is with man's toil: "For who can tell a man what will be after him?" To what can this be compared? To a person banished for life to a penal colony, a distant continent from which he will never return. In earlier times, Australia served as Britain's penal colony, the place where convicts were sent. If someone were to say to that exile: "Be aware that your house back home has a leak, and a wall has cracked" - would that interest him in the slightest? What does he care? He is not there; he is here. Even if his family were to send him updates and he saw what was happening, it would no longer concern him.
And this is precisely what a person leaves behind here: a reality that will not concern him in the least once he is Up Above. For after all, there he will despise all his wealth and possessions for which he toiled, and he will not worry about them, since he will never see them again. If so, how can you rejoice in the acquisitions you acquire here in this world, when in truth they will not interest you at all? What is more: in the parable of the penal colony, it might still be possible for him to receive video calls and letters and know what is happening in his home, and even so, it does not genuinely matter to him. But when a person departs to the true land of exile, to the World to Come, they will not even send him letters - all the more so will it not concern him.
The Deceased Are Occupied with Their Own Matters
From here we can understand an important principle. People often ask why deceased relatives do not come to them in dreams. One must realize: the departed are not concerned with what occurs down here, because they are preoccupied with what is happening with them above. Therefore, it is a great mistake when someone loses a relative who was not a great tzaddik and asks him to be an intercessor (melitz yosher) on his behalf. Who will plead for your relative? He himself is undergoing a full year of judgment.
It is related about Rav Shteinman zt"l, who passed away on the 24th of Kislev, that he noted several times during his lifetime: It is written that the first year in the World of Truth is a period of severe judgment. For that reason, a body is not moved from its grave during the first year to reinter it elsewhere, for the soul is deeply agitated and undergoes harsh judgment. He added: If a person had true understanding, he would pray to receive suffering here in the year before his death, so as to endure it down here rather than facing the judgment up above. And when was he himself hospitalized for the first time, when he fell and suffered all that happened? On the 24th of Kislev, exactly one year before his passing. From that point on, he was in and out of hospitals, enduring severe afflictions during the last year of his life - exactly as he had said. He asked from Heaven, and Heaven assisted him.
Similarly, it is related of a righteous man who requested that the four judicial executions (arba mitot beit din) be performed upon him at his funeral, including allowing his bier to fall to the ground as a semblance of stoning (sekilah). They came to consult Rav Elyashiv, who ruled that this is forbidden due to the desecration of the deceased (bizayon ha-met). And it is recounted that at the funeral, when they came to carry out the bier, it slipped and fell to the ground on its own. Everyone began crying out: How could you not be careful! They were told: He had requested this, and Heaven fulfilled his wish - "He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him."
Burial and Requests of the Deceased
For this reason, when a departed person appears in a dream, it is usually for his own personal requests: that they study Torah for the elevation of his soul (le'ilui nishmato), perform mitzvot on his behalf, or understand his plight. Several such accounts are recorded in the sefer Mishnat HaChalomot. In one instance, a deceased man asked that a Torah scroll be written for the elevation of his soul - nothing less. A scribe related that his grandfather appeared to him with this request, yet writing a Sefer Torah requires a full year of labor, and this was his livelihood. He went to consult Rav Mordechai Eliyahu, who told him that this was not necessary. But the grandfather had asked for another matter: to move him to a different grave, because he had been buried next to a wicked person, and this caused him great distress.
Indeed, this is what is written in the sacred texts. The Gemara derives from the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings that a righteous person is not buried next to a wicked one. And in Sefer Chasidim it is written that the smoke from the grave where the wicked person is being punished enters the eyes of the righteous person - certainly this is not physical, but it causes him great anguish. The Rav answered him: Within the first year, there is no question of moving a grave, as the flesh has not yet decomposed, which would cause disgrace, and the deceased is also undergoing the terror of judgment. After a year, there is room to consider it, and even then, in most cases the body is not moved; rather, a wall or partition is constructed between the deceased and the wicked person, and that suffices. From here we see that care must be taken to bury Shabbat-observant Jews in sections designated for Shabbat observers, and never to bury a tzaddik beside a rasha.
The Second Flaw of the Shadow
And the second flaw: even others who benefited from the shadow derived no lasting benefit from it. How long does a shadow last? Until sunset. Once the sun sets, there is no longer any need for a shadow, for it is dark anyway. So it is with the wealth you leave behind down here: to yourself you brought no benefit from it, and those to whom you gave it are also finite mortals who will leave this world, and their benefit from it is minimal.
If so, you gained nothing from it, and for them the benefit is fleeting - why should a person squander all his days on a transient reality, "the days of the life of his vanity," which are like a shadow? Invest in spirituality, which is eternal.
In Summary:
The conclusion of Chapter 6 brings us face to face with the simple truth: "There are many things that increase vanity" - whether it refers to an excess of words before the Holy One, blessed be He, which yields only stumbling and sin, or an excess of trivial pursuits with which a person fills his days, leaving behind nothing but "a sting, a bite, a wound, or a bruise." One who does not see does not covet, and therefore the only way is to keep one's distance in advance. And "who knows what is good for a man in life" - his days are numbered and like a passing shadow, a shadow that offers no real benefit to its owner, leaves no trace, and vanishes with the sunset; and everything he amassed down here will not interest him in the slightest "after him under the sun." The conclusion toward which Shlomo leads us without stating it explicitly is the conclusion of the Midrash: let a person occupy himself with words of Torah, which are all life - let him study for the elevation of his own soul, acquire a good name which is better than fragrant oil, and transform his fleeting days into an eternal acquisition.