Chapter 8 of Kohelet opens with a profound question: Who is truly wise, and who knows how to solve the riddles of the world? Here, King Solomon presents the figure of the complete sage - identified by the Midrash and commentators as Moshe Rabbeinu - and contrasts him with his own conclusion: whoever has not reached that lofty level had better heed the king's command and avoid excessive philosophical inquiries. From this, we will also arrive at major foundational principles in the methodology of Torah study and in the leadership and conduct of the Jewish people in exile.
מִי כְּהֶחָכָם וּמִי יוֹדֵעַ פֵּשֶׁר דָּבָר חׇכְמַת אָדָם תָּאִיר פָּנָיו וְעֹז פָּנָיו יְשֻׁנֶּא׃ - Who is like the wise man, and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man's wisdom illuminates his face, and the boldness of his face is transformed.
Rashi explains: Who in the world is as esteemed as a wise person? "And who knows the interpretation of a matter" - the resolution of a matter, meaning that through his wisdom, he knows how to elucidate and solve complex matters. We find this similarly with Daniel: because he was uniquely wise in heavenly matters, heavenly mysteries and interpretations were revealed to him, and he interpreted dreams through the power of his wisdom.
The word pesher also carries the connotation of compromise (pesharah). The Midrash, as well as Rashi, homiletically interprets: Who is like Moshe, who mediates compromises between Israel and their Father in Heaven? As it were, there was a dispute between Israel and the Holy One, Blessed be He; Hashem was angry with us and said, "Leave Me alone, that I may destroy them" - and who brokered a compromise between them? Moshe Rabbeinu. There are numerous Midrashim that interpret "Who is like the wise man, and who knows the interpretation of a matter" in various ways regarding Moshe, but we will not elaborate on them here, as they diverge somewhat from the literal meaning of the verse.
The verse continues: this wise person, namely Moshe who knows the interpretation of a matter - "a man's wisdom illuminates his face," his face radiated light; "and the boldness of his face is transformed," people were afraid to approach him because the skin of his face shone with beams of light. All of this stemmed from Moshe's immense wisdom and his deep attachment to Hashem.
In the Gemara in Berachot (10a), Rabbi Yochanan says: What is the meaning of the verse, "Who is like the wise man, and who knows the interpretation of a matter"? Who is like the Holy One, Blessed be He, who knows how to make a compromise between two righteous figures, between Chizkiyahu and Yeshayahu. Chizkiyahu said: Let Yeshayahu come to me, for we find that Eliyahu went to Achav - demonstrating that the prophet comes to the king. Yeshayahu argued the reverse: Let Chizkiyahu come to me, for we find that Yehoram the son of Achav went to Elisha - demonstrating that the king goes to the prophet. Each cited his proof, so what was to be done?
What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do? He brought illness upon Chizkiyahu and said to Yeshayahu: Go and visit the sick. Hashem found a compromise. Now it was no longer a question of honor - who visits whom - but a matter of the mitzvah of visiting the sick (bikur cholim), and this indeed led Yeshayahu to go to Chizkiyahu.
One must understand that the issue here was not petty personal pride: "It is beneath my dignity to go to him." Rather, it was about the honor of royalty versus the honor of prophecy. The king is commanded to uphold the honor of the monarchy, and the prophet is commanded to safeguard his honor as a prophet. After all, the prophet conveys God's word to the people; if his dignity were diminished, people might assume the king stands above the prophet, potentially undermining the authority of prophecy. On the other hand, the king had the exact same concern for the crown. Therefore, a compromise was necessary. At first glance, it might appear that Chizkiyahu won the dispute, but it was a Pyrrhic victory: another victory like this and we are lost. He won in the sense that Yeshayahu came to him, but for that to happen, Chizkiyahu had to become gravely ill. That is hardly the kind of victory one desires.
The Midrash offers another interpretation: "Who is like the wise man?" - this is a talmid chacham. "And who knows the interpretation of a thing?" - one who knows how to explain his teaching. "A man's wisdom illuminates his face" - when he is asked and can answer; "and the boldness of his face will be changed" - when he is asked and does not know how to answer.
Let us explain. There are many who in raw talent are geniuses, and not merely geniuses, but several levels above all their contemporaries. But like Rabbi Meir, whose colleagues could not fathom the depths of his mind: he was indeed a giant in understanding, grasp, and depth, but if one cannot explain his teaching, not much has been gained, for you are soaring very high while we cannot comprehend. And the Torah was given according to what people can comprehend, according to what the sages of the generation could grasp. Therefore, the halachah is not like him - because they could not fully grasp his reasoning.
The verse is telling you: Who is the wise man? One who knows how to explain his teaching, who is persuasive in his words and arguments, so that the listener accepts what he says. Then, "a man's wisdom illuminates his face" - when he is asked and answers, providing satisfying explanations that put your mind at ease. But when he needs to explain and cannot succeed, when he is asked and has no answer - "and the boldness of his face will be changed": that very confidence and boldness he possessed by virtue of his wisdom undergoes a change, and his countenance falls because he does not know how to answer and cannot elucidate the matter.
This is also what was said concerning Moshe Rabbeinu: "Now these are the ordinances that you shall set before them" - which Rashi explains, like a table set and prepared for a meal. Do not say, "I will explain it once and that is enough"; rather, explain the underlying reasons to them. For the rule is: when a person understands the reason for something, he remembers it. When he does not understand the reason, it remains a mere axiom, like asking him to memorize a sequence of numbers - why does this come before that? It is difficult to remember. But when you convey something rooted in logic, ask him later and he will repeat it, because the reasoning has been internalized and remains clear to him. Such was Moshe, who taught Torah to His people Israel: in every matter, he gave them the explanation and elucidated it so that they would understand.
Incidentally, this offers an important lesson. There is always the dilemma of how much to explain. In a classroom, there are weaker students, and if you explain more so that they understand, the advanced students will be bored; if you explain less, you neglect the weaker ones. Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz was once asked what should be done, and he gave a guiding rule: the majority should understand the majority. For everyone to understand everything you say is quite difficult, but ensuring that the majority of students understand the majority of what you say - that is what you must see to.
Someone once remarked that when giving a shiur, he deliberately leaves a few points obscure. Why? Because if the listeners understand everything, it might be thought that the shiur was not "high-level," whereas if something remains obscure, people think, "Now that was a high-level shiur!" The response was: Woe to one who acts this way! That is doing the work of Hashem deceitfully. You take the Torah of Hashem, and instead of elucidating it, you leave something obscure for your own honor, so people will say your shiurim are advanced? The Holy One, blessed be He, gave you Torah, and just as He told Moshe - elucidate the Torah, spread it out clearly like a garment, so they understand everything you teach. Such a person, instead of caring for the honor of Heaven, cares for his own honor - and his honor comes at the expense of the honor of Heaven, for the listener walks away with things left unexplained.
The Midrash states further: "Who is like the wise man?" - this is Moshe, as it is written, "A wise man scales a city of mighty warriors." "And who knows the interpretation of a thing?" - for he explained the Torah to Israel. "And the boldness of his face will be changed" - at the moment when he inquired of the Holy One, blessed be He, and was not answered. Here it does not specify what he asked, but in another Midrash it is explained that he asked how the kohanim would be purified. Ultimately, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: As for what you asked then and I did not answer you - the answer is, "that they take to you a red heifer without blemish," and through it their purification shall be accomplished.
In the Gemara in Taanit (7b), Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak expounds: Anyone who displays brazenness, it is permitted to hate him, as it says, "and the boldness of his face yeshuneh (will be changed)" - do not read it as yeshuneh, but rather yisanei (he shall be hated). And why is it permitted to hate him? A story is told of the Chafetz Chaim, when a student acted insolently toward the dormitory matron. When the Chafetz Chaim heard of it, he expelled him from the yeshivah. They asked him, "Perhaps he will do teshuvah?" He replied, "He will not do teshuvah." They asked, "Does the Rosh Yeshivah say this through Ruach HaKodesh?" He told them, "No, we recite it every day: 'The brazen are destined for Gehinnom.' Why did the Tanna not say that the brazen should do teshuvah? To teach you that an insolent person does not do teshuvah."
And the reason is: a brazen person is defiant even toward his Creator, as Scripture puts it, "Yet you had the brow of a harlot." After all, the very foundation of teshuvah is humility and submissiveness, as taught in Chovot HaLevavot, which placed the Gate of Repentance immediately after the Gate of Submission - because in order to repent, one requires submission. One who will not submit and whose face is brazen, how can he repent? Such a person will never do teshuvah.
The holy Ari said of his generation that brazen people had multiplied in it. He explained that those brazen people you see - know that they are reincarnations of impure beasts and wild animals; they are "and the dogs are brazen of soul," and the very same brazenness they possessed in their previous incarnation, they carry now as well. Truly, one need not look far, but anyone who listens and observes a bit can see an entire zoo walking among us from prior reincarnations. In fact, it is sometimes an insult to the animal kingdom to describe them as animals, for animals are often far more humane than some of the creatures walking among us - especially in the Knesset and in the media - whose brazenness and hatred toward anything holy are, unfortunately, horrific and terrible.
Ibn Ezra notes the precise wording of "Who is like the wise man (ke-he-chacham)?" The definite article hei following a prepositional kaf is uncommon; grammatically, it should have simply said "mi ke-chacham" without the definite article. Rather, the hei comes to designate the renowned, famed sage known throughout the world - and as we saw in the Midrash, this refers to Moshe Rabbeinu. Regarding him it is said: Who is like this celebrated, famed sage, and who knows the explanation of a matter like him, and who knows the solution to the riddle concealed from all eyes like this sage?
For Moshe Rabbeinu asked Hashem for the solution to this mystery - "Make known to me, please, Your ways" - and the Holy One, blessed be He, did not turn him away empty-handed, but told him, "I will make all My goodness pass before you." Through this, He revealed to him the full measure of His goodness and His governance of the world. All the questions that arise in every generation were resolved for him, just as the commentators explain the various reasons why the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper. If so, who is it that knows the answer to the riddle asked throughout all generations - why the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper, and why the treacherous live in tranquil ease, questions that the prophets asked across the generations? Scripture tells you: "Who is like the wise man, and who knows the interpretation of a matter?" - this is Moshe Rabbeinu, to whom alone the hidden mysteries were revealed.
Therefore, "a man's wisdom illuminates his face, and the boldness of his face is changed": the wisdom a person acquires illuminates his face, and in proportion to the greatness of his wisdom, so is the brilliance of his light. And that sage, Moshe Rabbeinu, who was exalted in his wisdom above all sages - the boldness of his face was transformed more than anyone else's, to the point that people were afraid to approach him, because the skin of his face shone rays of light (karan). And what does karan mean? Two beams of light emanated from him like rays. Some misunderstood this and depicted Moshe with actual horns, such as Michelangelo, who thought it referred to animal horns used for goring. And only this sage could attain such clinging devotion in the service of Hashem, for he knew the reason and root of every mitzvah and the governance of the worlds, perceiving everything in its inward depth. "One man in a thousand I have found" - and who truly can attain perfection? Only Moshe Rabbeinu.
אֲנִי פִּי מֶלֶךְ שְׁמֹר וְעַל דִּבְרַת שְׁבוּעַת אֱלֹהִים׃ - I say: Keep the king's command, and that on account of the oath of God.
Ibn Ezra continues: I have not attained the level of this champion of sages. The reasons for the mitzvot, their underlying rationale and logic, are concealed from me, and I do not seek out many calculations, as we saw at the conclusion of the previous chapter. I seek to "keep the king's command" - without questioning and without overcomplicating. Even though Shlomo himself did investigate and contemplate, we have seen that he arrived at grave misjudgments: "he shall not multiply wives for himself," "he shall not multiply horses for himself," "he shall not multiply silver and gold for himself" - in each of these he investigated and rationalized. It is very likely that he writes these words here after that bitter experience, once the consequences had already manifested. And so he says: What is my conclusion? Keep the king's command. Do not engage in excessive investigations; rather, whatever Hashem has commanded - do it, without trying to be overly clever.
What is the meaning of "ve'al dibrat"? If we follow the cantillation marks (trop), the word "ve'al" bears a zakef gadol, and it is well known that a zakef gadol is a disjunctive accent that creates a pause. As has been noted more than once: the cantillation melodies certainly differ from community to community - there is an Ashkenazi reading, a Moroccan reading, a Yerushalmi-Sephardic reading, a Yemenite reading, and each community chants with a different tune - yet the syntactic function of the marks never changes. There is no tradition in which an etnachta functions as a conjunctive accent; for all of them it is a disjunctive accent, marking a major pause in the verse, almost like a full stop (sof pasuk). So too with the revia, and so too with the zakef gadol - they are disjunctive pauses across all communities, regardless of whether one chants in Moroccan, Ashkenazi, or Yemenite melody. Thus, in this respect there has been no corruption of tradition; the variation lies only in the melodies. And the cantillation marks carry grammatical and interpretative meaning.
Therefore, Ibn Ezra explains: "Ve'al" is a standalone word followed by a major pause; it does not simply mean "concerning the matter of [al devar] God," which would have required a conjunctive accent. Rather, "al" here means "the Exalted One" (Elyon), as in the verse, "they call upward to the Most High [ve'el al yikra'uhu]." That is to say: that which Hashem spoke - "and He called the earth," establishing all the orders of nature; that which He swore after the Flood that He would never again destroy the world; and that which He adjured us to fulfill His commandments - all these matters are exalted and far above us, beyond our comprehension no matter how deeply we investigate them. Therefore, Shlomo's conclusion is: do not excessively probe the underlying reasons for the mitzvot; fulfill them as the decrees of a King. Only Moshe Rabbeinu, the wise man who knew the interpretation of the matter, attained these insights in their ultimate perfection.
The Pesikta Zutarta explains that "the oath of God" refers to the oath Hashem swore to redeem us from the exiles. As it says in Yeshayahu, "By Myself I have sworn, righteousness has gone out of My mouth, a word that shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear," and likewise, "Hashem has sworn by His right hand... for those who gather it shall eat it" - this, too, is an oath. It tells you: regarding the oath of God, believe in this oath and anticipate it; believe in the Redemption and wait for it.
And this is the meaning of shemor ("keep" or "observe") - in the sense of waiting, as in "and his father kept (shamar) the matter," which Rashi explains: he waited and looked forward to its fulfillment. Similarly, "those who wait for the morning" - some think this refers to watchmen standing guard, but that is mistaken; it means those waiting for the morning. And as Chavakuk says, "Though it tarry, wait for it," and as Daniel says when revealing the end of days, "Fortunate is he who waits." Know that there is an oath of God, that Hashem swore to redeem the Jewish people, and He swore to us with multiple oaths - and even what you have not yet seen fulfilled, wait, anticipate, it is still destined to come to pass.
Rashi explains: "I say: Keep the king's command" - I must observe and fulfill the command of the King of the Universe, which is the best thing of all. "And that because of the oath of God" - not an oath that Hashem swore to us, but that Hashem adjured us; we swore to Him at Chorev to keep the mitzvot. This is what Chazal say in numerous places: a person stands under an oath from Mount Sinai to observe the commandments of Hashem.
In another interpretation, Rashi offers a wonderful explanation: the "king" here is the king of the nations who rules over us - I am prepared to observe the command of the kings of the nations who govern us through poll taxes and property taxes. "And that because of the oath of God" - on condition that he does not force us to violate the oath sworn to God. That is: I obey what they say in everything that does not conflict with the oath to my God, but in whatever touches upon the oath to my God, I place it above the decree of the king.
Here Rashi brings the famous incident of Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah, who said to Nevuchadnetzar in Daniel Chapter 3: "We have no need to answer you concerning this matter." The Gemara asks regarding their wording, "O King Nevuchadnetzar": why did they double the title? If you address him as Nevuchadnetzar, why "king," and if "king," why Nevuchadnetzar?
Rather, this is what they told him: you are king over us for labor, levies, and taxes - in whatever you command us as king that does not pertain to the mitzvot of Hashem, "you are king." But regarding your demand that we worship idols - you are merely Nevuchadnetzar, not a king. And if you have not grasped the message: "You and a dog are equal." In truth, they could have told him that a dog is better than him, for a dog fulfills the will of its Maker and does not rebel against Hashem, and even sings praise daily, whereas you do not fulfill the will of your Maker. Yet they still wished to show some respect for royalty, so they did not say he was worse than a dog, only equal to one - and presumably they were not overly concerned about insulting the dog.
We learn from here an immense principle, an absolute truth, which has always served as a cornerstone in the conduct of Klal Yisrael and its relationship with the rulers among whom it lives. The Jewish people were adjured with Three Oaths - not to ascend like a wall and not to rebel against the nations of the world. We are in exile, and whoever is in exile must heed what the nations of the world say. And even if chirps of independence are occasionally heard here, Uncle Sam comes along and explains that it is best to calm down, that you are not independent at all. Some have even gone so far as to call us the 51st state of the United States, the 51st star on the flag. You can scoff and dismiss the UN, but if the United States turns off the tap tomorrow, you are left helpless. Reality proves that we are still dependent on them, still in exile.
Since this is so, in everything related to material matters we accept what they say, and on the contrary - there is an imperative not to provoke the nations, for when one provokes the nations, severe blows follow. The path we choose is the path of Yaakov Avinu: "And he bowed to the ground seven times until he came near to his brother." There is nothing else to be done; the kingdom of Edom is the final and harshest kingdom, and as long as it rules, one must bow. This serves as a symbol and instruction for all generations: with Esav, you do not engage in arm-wrestling; if you try to use force, you will not succeed.
As has already been discussed, there were those who struggled with the narrative of the Holocaust, and therefore glorified the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, to say: do not think everyone went like sheep to the slaughter; there were those who fought, rebelled, and rose up. Without entering the debate over whether it was necessary or not, the facts proved that the entire Warsaw Ghetto was wiped out. While from many places people survived, the Warsaw Ghetto was completely obliterated. When power is not in your hands, what is this? Suicide. And suppose you succeed - what is the next step? Are you going to conquer Germany? To remove Hitler from power? Is there even a one-in-a-million chance of rebelling against the Fuhrer? Rather, the whole point was to show that we did not go like sheep - and that is merely a matter of pride.
This is why it has been noted more than once that Masada is not mentioned in our sacred sources at all: neither in the Gemara, nor in the Talmuds, nor in the Midrashim. And why? Because the episode of Masada is not a Jewish deed. There, they fought to their last drop of blood and refused to surrender and go into exile; in The Jewish War, it is related that the emperor told them that if they surrendered, he would exile them - and they said: We will fight and die, "It is good to die for our country." But that is not Jewish. Whether that was really what was said then, or as some say, Trumpeldor uttered a curse in Russian - even if he did say it, this is not a Jewish concept. "It is good to die"? No. "I shall not die, but live, and recount the deeds of the Lord." It is never good to die. To die for a sacred principle - idolatry, illicit relations, and bloodshed - there it is written that one must be killed rather than transgress, and be willing to give up one's life. But "for our country"? Be a Jew here, be a Jew in exile; the main thing is to be a Jew, observing the mitzvot. We did not receive the Torah here, but in the desert, to teach you that a person must fear Heaven in every place.
And what are the youth educated on today? On the pantheon of heroism, on those who were unwilling to yield, on tours to Masada. This is not Jewish. If the option exists to live as an observant Jew - stay alive and observe the mitzvot, even humiliated, even expelled, even in exile, and do not say, "I died as a hero." To whom did you give anything, what did you accomplish by this, and who commanded you to do so? That is why Masada was completely erased from Jewish memory, so that it would not be held up as a banner or used as a model to say that this is how one should act. This is certainly not the way. And this is precisely what Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah said: If you command us as a king regarding taxes and levies - that we will give; but if you think that by virtue of your royal authority we will obey you to worship idols - to us, you and a dog are equal.
The chapter opens with the question, "Who is like the wise man, and who knows the explanation of a matter?" - and answers that the consummate wise man, who knows the interpretation of riddles and mysteries, is Moshe Rabbeinu, whose wisdom illuminated his face to the point that "the boldness of his face was transformed" and they were afraid to come near him. From this we learned that the true sage is one who knows how to clarify his teaching and elucidate it for his students, like a set table, and that one who leaves matters obscure for his own honor performs the work of Heaven deceitfully. We also learned that it is permissible to hate an impudent person, because he will not come to repentance, as he possesses no submissiveness. And since we are not on the level of Moshe, Shlomo's conclusion is "Keep the king's command": to fulfill the mitzvot of the King of the Universe without over-investigating, to wait and yearn for the oath of redemption, and regarding the kings of the nations - to obey them concerning poll taxes and levies, but not in anything touching upon the oath of our God.