In this part of the chapter, King Solomon addresses one of the greatest difficulties facing a person of faith: the sight of the wicked succeeding, gaining fame, and ruling, while the righteous are forgotten. The verses before us are difficult in their literal meaning, and the commentators open many gateways into them - literal meaning (peshat), homiletical interpretation (derash), historical allegory, and mystical secret (sod). Let us preface: all of these sights are called here "hevel" (vanity or futility), meaning phenomena that mislead a person and cause him to err concerning Divine Providence.
וּבְכֵן רָאִיתִי רְשָׁעִים קְבֻרִים וָבָאוּ וּמִמְּקוֹם קָדוֹשׁ יְהַלֵּכוּ וְיִשְׁתַּכְּחוּ בָעִיר אֲשֶׁר כֵּן עָשׂוּ גַּם זֶה הָבֶל׃ (י) - And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come, and from the holy place they walked, and were forgotten in the city where they had done so; this too is vanity. (10)
The verse is difficult to understand in its simple meaning. "I saw the wicked buried" - that is still understandable. But "and they came" - did they return after being buried? "And from the holy place they walked" - the place of the wicked is in an impure place, in Gehinnom, so how do they walk from a holy place? "And were forgotten in the city where they had done so" - an obscure sentence. The only clear phrase is "this too is vanity," yet even with that, it is unclear what the vanity is.
The Pesikta Zutreta explains: "I saw the wicked buried" - I have often seen wicked people die. "And they came [vava'u]" - like "the sun set [ba hashemesh]," their sun has set. It does not mean they returned here, but that they departed from the world. "And from the holy place they walked" - during their lifetimes, they made themselves appear holy, like those of whom it is said: "Who say, 'Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am holier than you'" - do not touch me, I am holy, so you do not defile me. "And were forgotten in the city" - and because of those wicked people, the righteous were forgotten from the city.
This seems puzzling: where is a righteous person mentioned here at all? Rather, the method of the Midrash is that "and from the holy place they walked" applies both to what precedes it and to what follows it. To what precedes it - the wicked who pretended to be holy; and to what follows it - the righteous who truly "walk from a holy place," and they are the ones who were forgotten in the city. And why? Because the wicked who portrayed themselves as righteous seized the spotlight, the stage, and the media, while the truly righteous are no longer heard or seen, and people forget them.
"Where they had done so" - this is what they used to do to Israel. "This too is vanity" - seeing how the wicked prevail over the righteous is one of the vanities in the world, that is, one of the negative phenomena. As it is written in Chavakuk: "Therefore the Torah goes numb... for the wicked encompasses the righteous." What causes the Torah to grow numb and vanish? When the wicked crowns or encompasses the righteous.
One interpretation: "Machtir" from the idea of a crown surrounding something - the wicked person surrounds and entraps the righteous person, confining him into a restricted box, and thereby prevents him from acting.
A second interpretation: "Machtir" from the idea of crowning, an appointment - who appoints the righteous person? The wicked one. And then, inevitably, the righteous person will do whatever the wicked one asks.
In his day, Ben-Gurion established the Rabbinate in the land, and even wanted to establish a Sanhedrin. People were astonished: what did he have to do with such matters? But he replied: When I pay the salary, they will be on my behalf; when I pay, they will know how to behave and what to do. He was very shrewd. He approached the Chief Rabbi, who tried to explain to him that we do not have traditional semichah (ordination) or the ordination of the Sages, saying to him: Look, this is a bit of a problem. Ben-Gurion asked: Why is it a problem? The Rabbi told him: Because one of the required qualifications is "haters of illicit gain" (sonei batza), people who despise money in judgment - and where will you find haters of illicit gain, even if you have all the other virtues? Ben-Gurion replied to him: I know, Rabbi, that everything is a function of money; add a bit more money, and you will find haters of illicit gain too. Such is the mindset of someone standing on his head. And this is the meaning of "the wicked crowns the righteous" - the wicked appoints the righteous, and consequently the righteous will do his bidding.
The Rav of Kiryat Ata was once asked to accept an appointment as a rabbi on behalf of the Religious Council, as an employee on their payroll, and he refused. He said, "I prefer to remain independent." They said to him, "Why not? There is an official post, and you will receive a regular salary." He said, "I do not want it." They said to him, "Are you afraid that we will come and tell you what to do? Do not worry, we won't come." He replied, "Do you think I am afraid that you will come and tell me what to do? Once you pay me, I will already come to you on my own to ask what I should do." This is the meaning of "the wicked encompasses the righteous" (Chavakuk 1:4), which is the worst possible state. And this is "this too is vanity" - a terrible vanity that the wicked person is appointed over the righteous and placed in charge of him.
The Pesikta Zutreta brings another interpretation: "I saw the wicked buried" - that is, they died; "and they came" - others followed in their footsteps, engaging in the exact same deeds. "And from the holy place they walked away" - they distance themselves from sanctity and never connect to it. You invite such a person to the synagogue, and he will not enter; you invite him to a shiur, and he does not attend. Whenever he encounters a holy place, he flees from it. These are people who have no Torah study, who set aside no fixed times for Torah at all.
"And they were forgotten in the city where they had done so" - the memory of all the evils they perpetrated there was forgotten, and those who came after did not take it to heart to say: What did the earlier ones gain from their wickedness, and why should I do evil again? For these were wicked men who had already died and others arose in their place, and the successors should have learned from what happened to their predecessors. Nevuchadnezzar should have learned from Pharaoh; the later wicked figures should have learned from the ancient ones what came of their evil. Yet despite all this, you see them continuing in their evil deeds and in the very same pattern. "This too is vanity" - one of the vanities of this world, that the wicked replace one another and no one learns from the downfall of his fellow to mend his ways.
Rashi explains that "I saw" here refers to prophecy, and the wicked are the Chaldeans of the First Temple and the Romans of the Second Temple. "The wicked buried" refers to those who destroyed the Beit HaMikdash, who were worthy only of being buried in the dust, as they were the lowest and most contemptible among the nations. As it is said of the Chaldeans, "Behold, the land of the Chaldeans - this nation was not" (Yeshayahu 23:13) - that they did not even count as a nation, and were entirely unworthy of existing in the world. "And they came and from the holy place they walked away" - meaning that they held dominion over the holy place, over the Beit HaMikdash.
"And they were forgotten in the city where they had done so" - upon departing from there, our Sages expound: Do not read ve-yishtakechu ("and they were forgotten"), but ve-yishtabchu ("and they praised themselves"), as is related of Titus; they would boast in their own cities of what they had done to the House of the Omnipresent. Rashi adds that it can also be interpreted literally as forgetfulness: in the end, their name and memory will be blotted out from the city in which they did so, in the very place where they perpetrated their wickedness. And when will this be? "And I will gather all the nations to the Valley of Yehoshafat" (Yoel 4:2) - in the place where they blasphemed Him, there He will exact retribution from them. Where will they be forgotten? In the city where they did so - in the Valley of Yehoshafat in Jerusalem, where the Holy One, blessed be He, will punish them and cause their name to be forgotten from the world. As it is written in Tehillim 73, "O Lord, in the city You shall despise their image," where Rashi explains: in that very city, in Jerusalem, where they acted wickedly, their semblance will be disgraced and all of them will be burned. There Rashi applied it to Sancheiriv, and here to the destroyers of the Beit HaMikdash.
"This too is vanity" - Rashi explains that this is one of the vanities introduced into the world to weary mankind. People witness this and wonder: Why does the Holy One, blessed be He, not exact swift retribution from the evildoer? This is one of the realities that creates distress for man and fosters the thought that there is neither justice nor a Judge, as we will see in the next verse. Since sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, but rather the Holy One, blessed be He, takes vengeance only in the future - "And deliverers shall go up on Mount Zion to judge Mount Esau" (Ovadiah 1:21) - this leads people to multiply wicked deeds, because they do not see justice being carried out before their eyes.
Ibn Ezra likewise interprets along similar lines, except that he does not speak of other wicked people, but of their children. I took to heart and saw wicked men who ruled over people and harmed them, yet died in their beds without suffering and were laid to rest in their graves, in the spirit of "For there are no pangs in their death" (Tehillim 73:4) - no misfortune befell them at death; they had no plagues, illnesses, afflictions, or aches, as if their soul had no heavy ties to their body, leaving this world without any pain. "And they came" - their children succeed them, standing in their place, and thus their memory endures; the wicked man is remembered, so to speak, because he has a successor to his path, a small torch continuing to burn like the great torch before it.
In contrast to them, "who walked away from the holy place" - these are the righteous, and at times it happens that they die without leaving a son behind them. "And they were forgotten in the city" - because they left no children, their name is forgotten. "Who had done so [ken]" - meaning they acted properly, in the sense of "The daughters of Tzelofchad speak rightly [ken]" (Bamidbar 27:7), speaking fittingly and appropriately. And he wonders: How can it be that the memory of the wicked endures while the memory of the righteous is forgotten? The wicked dies peacefully and leaves children in his stead, while the righteous sometimes dies in suffering and leaves no children at all. "This too is vanity" - this reality as well, which creates difficulty for us regarding Divine Providence, is among the vanities of this world that mislead man into denying Providence.
The holy Alshich explains that here Shlomo envisions through Ruach HaKodesh, and offers a wonderful explanation. Until now, Shlomo sought various ways to bring man to his perfection - what are the paths of wisdom that will lead him to the service of Hashem and to deveikut? And he found that there is no other way but to cling to Torah, to wisdom, and to the upright path. But now he entertains another thought: perhaps there is an alternative path - the path of gilgul (reincarnation). For even if a person did not cling to wisdom and did not complete himself in this lifetime, he will return in another reincarnation and complete himself; and if that was not enough, he has another lifetime, and thus step by step he will reach his perfection. There is an opportunity for improvement, a second, third, and fourth chance. The holy Ari teaches that a person can reincarnate a hundred or even a thousand times, as elaborated at length in the teachings on gilgulim.
Yet when I contemplated this - Shlomo says - I realized that this too is vanity, because rectification is not guaranteed: it is possible that he will return in a reincarnation and only add ruin upon ruin instead of rectifying. "I saw the wicked buried" - and after they were already buried, "and came" - they return in reincarnation. This is the wondrous meaning of "and came": after they were buried, they return once more. Yet instead of rectifying - they ruin further.
Now, reality shows that the more a person distances himself from holiness, the more holiness distances itself from him. Gilgul was intended to restore him to holiness, yet I see that instead of drawing near to it in the second lifetime, "they depart from the holy place" - they distance themselves from holiness, reverting to their old ways and behaving just as they did before. It is the soul's natural inclination to repeat its corruptions from the previous lifetime, for they carved an incision in the soul and etched themselves into one's inner being and personality; therefore, he tends to corrupt in the very same ways.
And what causes this misfortune? Had they remembered their evil deeds from the previous lifetime, there would be a chance they would see the need to rectify; but they do not remember. This is the meaning of "and were forgotten in the city" - they forget their former deeds "in the city," for man's body is called a city, in the sense of "a small city with few men in it." When they descend back into the city, into the body, they forget their former evil deeds. Thus it turns out that even this rectification through reincarnation is not one hundred percent foolproof: "this too is vanity" - for its benefit is not guaranteed.
In truth, as explained in the teachings on gilgulim, in practice reincarnation always adds something, because there are distinct levels - Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshamah - and if a person rectified and perfected a certain part, it can no longer be corrupted. He can only blemish the level he is currently working on. If he is now engaged in the Ruach, he can no longer blemish the Nefesh he has already rectified; thus, every reincarnation ultimately adds another degree of rectification.
Furthermore, as noted in the study of gilgulim, this verse is not merely an allusion to reincarnation in general as the Alshich explains, but an allusion to a very specific reincarnation. The Gemara expounds this verse regarding Titus, as seen in Rashi: that he went and boasted in the city, displaying for all to see the spoils he took from the Beit HaMikdash - just as is engraved to this day on the triumphal arch, the Menorah of the Beit HaMikdash on the Arch of Titus. And the verse also alludes to the reincarnation of Esav into Titus.
"And so (u-vechen)" - has the numerical value (gematria) of gilgul (72). And know that gilgul is also the gematria of chesed (72), for reincarnation is fundamentally an act of loving-kindness from Hashem. "I saw the wicked buried" - this wicked man, Esav, was already buried. "And came" - and now he returns in reincarnation, for Titus was the reincarnation of Esav, as documented in numerous sources. "And from the holy place they walked" - where was Esav buried? His head is buried in Me'arat HaMachpelah. Thus, when he returns, he comes from a truly holy place. "And were forgotten in the city" - they come to the city to conquer Jerusalem.
"For they had done so (asher ken asu)" - he causes damage precisely through what he did in his previous reincarnation. What did Esav do? He disparaged the building of the Beit HaMikdash and the divine service; he said, "Behold, I am going to die, so why do I need the birthright?" - what will I get out of this service? Take it. And he sold it for a pottage of lentils. The one who disparaged the service of the Beit HaMikdash back then now came to physically destroy the Beit HaMikdash. Furthermore, there is an allusion here: "asher ken asu" contains the letters of Esav; this is precisely what Esav did: he belittled the Beit HaMikdash, and now in his reincarnation as Titus, he came to destroy it.
Our Sages in the Midrash expound this verse regarding converts. "Buried wicked" - these are the converts, who come and repent. "And from the holy place they walked" - they walk in a holy place, in synagogues and houses of study. "And were forgotten in the city" - they forget and abandon the corrupt deeds they once did, leaving everything behind to come and cling to the Shechinah. Moreover, reading it as "ve-yishtabchu" (and they were praised) - they are now praised for good deeds, serving Hashem and clinging to Him.
And what is the meaning of "this too is vanity"? This is explained more clearly in Midrash Tanchuma: Is it not sheer vanity that the nations of the world see how these converts come, convert, and enter under the wings of the Shechinah, yet they themselves do not convert? You see this convert who abandoned all his empty pursuits and joined, yet you do not learn from him - that is vanity.
And one can say the very same thing about penitents (ba'alei teshuvah). People who were steeped in vanity left everything behind, came and sanctified themselves - yet you see this and remain behind? There is a profound claim and grievance here against those who stayed behind. Of that entire circle that surrounded Rabbi Uri Zohar, may Hashem lengthen his days - only a few returned. The singer Arik Einstein's wife also returned in teshuvah, but all the rest stayed there. And this stands as a grievance against them: here you see people who forgot their past evil deeds, coming forward and distinguishing themselves through good deeds and clinging to the Shechinah - so how is it that those who watch them enter beneath the wings of the Shechinah do not follow their example?
R' Shefer explains that when reflecting upon all these matters, one observes an astonishing phenomenon that cannot fail to amaze. "I saw the wicked buried, who came" - I saw a wicked man who is wealthy and famous, whom many need; he has a name, people seek him out and desire his closeness. In contrast, consider the poor and destitute person, whom people avoid and shun. But if such people suddenly become wealthy, it is as though they have emerged from the grave. That wicked man was once impoverished, and as a destitute villain, no one knew him or heard of him, and his memory was lost. Suddenly he came back to life - he won the lottery, became a somebody, acquired wealth, and now people seek his closeness. One flatters him, another blesses him, another praises his deeds in the gates; all of them sycophants, each trying to curry favor in the hope that something might rub off on them.
"And walked from the holy place" - such individuals are often not satisfied merely with their wickedness; they also desire to run the community, to become the communal leader (rosh hakahal), elevated above everyone else. This was very common in Europe as well: among them were brazen men who would dictate the agenda to the town rabbi - even giant Torah scholars - directing the town's meetings, determining who would speak and what would be said. And why? Simply because he possessed wealth. Until now you were a buried, forgotten villain of whom no one had heard, without a penny to your name, and suddenly you have become the head of the community and the manager of affairs. "And walked from the holy place" - he walks over the heads of the holy people, towering above them, sitting at the head of the dignitaries, overriding everyone with his own opinion.
"And were forgotten in the city where they had so done" - they act as though they have forgotten the abominations they committed earlier, presenting themselves as decent and upright people. He now holds a title and a prestigious post, and they feel no shame for their wicked deeds. People are astonished by these reversals: how is it that no one remembers what a wicked person he was and what corrupt acts he committed, and suddenly he becomes a leader standing at the head of everyone? Yet one should not wonder at this at all, for this vanity is evident to all, and its root cause is explained in the following verse.
אֲשֶׁר אֵין נַעֲשָׂה פִתְגָם מַעֲשֵׂה הָרָעָה מְהֵרָה עַל כֵּן מָלֵא לֵב בְּנֵי הָאָדָם בָּהֶם לַעֲשׂוֹת רָע׃ (יא) - Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully set within them to do evil.
From here you can see the source of this phenomenon: because the Holy One, Blessed is He, is slow to anger and does not rush to punish the wicked. Therefore, that wicked person assumes that everything in his past has already been forgotten and erased; he conducts himself today as a leader and feels fully entitled to dictate to the greatest scholars what to do. Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, he feels as if a statute of limitations applies to his transgressions, and that everything that occurred has already been wiped clean.
The Pesikta Zutarta explains: the Holy One, Blessed is He, does not execute judgment and retribution upon evildoers by bringing about their downfall swiftly, and "therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them" - within themselves - "to do evil." For a person observes: I did wrong and was not struck down; I sinned and was not called to account. This breeds the thought that there is neither justice nor a Judge, and consequently his heart becomes emboldened to do evil, feeling no fear of wrongdoing, since he sees no immediate retribution for his wicked deeds.
The holy Alshich explains: until this point, Shlomo sought ways to rectify man - going to the house of mourning, heeding the rebuke of the wise, clinging to wisdom, and perhaps reincarnation might help him, as we saw in the previous verse. Here, however, he reaches the root of the problem. Presumably, one might ask: what is there to fear so much from the yetzer hara? After all, the yetzer hatov is "a poor and wise child," while the yetzer hara is "an old and foolish king" - who would listen to the yetzer hara? It makes far more sense to listen to the yetzer hatov; on the contrary, the yetzer hatov has the backing of words of wisdom, Torah, lectures, and mussar. The argument should go the other way: supposedly there is no balance at all, for the inclination should naturally lean toward the good. Who would be so foolish, senseless, and simple as to listen to the old and foolish king, knowing full well that in the end the Judge will crush his teeth with gravel? Logic would dictate that there is no danger of the yetzer hara taking control - who is he, and who would listen to him?
Therefore, the Alshich says: know that he was granted a helper corresponding to him. Heaven provided the yetzer hara with assistance. What is this assistance? It is like someone offered two deals: in one he will earn ten shekels, and in the other, a million dollars. He would certainly choose the second. But they forgot to add a condition: the ten shekels are paid immediately, while the million will be paid net plus sixty years, or in eighty years, or in a hundred and twenty years. The person will say: I know nothing about this million you speak of; ten shekels is here, now, immediately. And even if you argue that ten shekels is a negligible amount, he will say: I do not mind settling for it. Even if you offer two thousand shekels immediately, or ten thousand immediately, versus a hundred million in the distant future - a person will prefer what is immediate over what feels uncertain, over what he has not seen and what is not right in front of his eyes. Even though if you tell him to believe, he does believe, nonetheless it is not tangible to him.
This is the difference between the yetzer hatov and the yetzer hara. The yetzer hara entices a person and sells him vanity, nonsense, and petty change: if he cheats, it offers momentary and immediate pleasure that quickly ceases and ends. The yetzer hatov, by contrast, sells him eternity, the World to Come, and boundless, endless divine bliss that no eye has ever seen. Yet who listens to the yetzer hara nonetheless? Anyone who prefers immediate pleasure right now over promises of vast, eternal reward after a hundred and twenty years - out there, in a place he has never seen.
In short: the yetzer hatov walks around with a checkbook, while the yetzer hara pays in cash, and there is no friend more loyal than cash in hand. This is what the verse is saying: because punishment is delayed and reward is postponed - "the heart of the sons of man is fully set within them to do evil." Until now, a person had a divided heart; man has two hearts, as it were, a yetzer hatov and a yetzer hara. What is it that fills the entire heart solely with the yetzer hara? The fact that retribution is deferred over a long period and is not immediate - that is what fills man's heart to do only evil.
In these verses, Shlomo lays out one of the most perplexing futilities: the sight of the wicked prospering while the righteous are forgotten. The commentators explained it in many ways - the wicked who disguise themselves as holy and overshadow the righteous; the wicked ruler who crowns and appoints the righteous; alternating generations of wicked people who fail to learn from the corruption of their predecessors; the destroyers of the Beit Hamikdash who are ultimately destined to be forgotten in the Valley of Yehoshaphat; the wicked man who dies peacefully and leaves behind sons while the righteous man is forgotten; reincarnation (gilgul), which is also no guarantee of rectification, including the gilgul of Eisav into Titus; the converts and baalei teshuvah who stand as an indictment against all who remained behind; and the destitute wicked man who is revived by his wealth and walks arrogantly over the heads of the holy nation. Yet they all share one common denominator, which is articulated in the next verse: "Because the sentence upon an evil deed is not executed speedily." The postponement of punishment and the deferral of reward is the greatest aid granted to the yetzer hara, for it pays in cash while the yetzer hatov pays in checks. Whoever understands this knows to beware of this futility, and not to let appearances mislead him regarding Divine Providence.