Introduction: The Chapter That Teaches the Limits of Knowledge
We find ourselves in chapter 11 of Kohelet, in verses that address a fundamental principle: man does not know. He does not know his future, he does not know the source of his livelihood, nor does he know the calculations of Heaven. King Solomon does not come to bring us to despair, but rather the opposite: through the recognition of the limits of human knowledge, he guides us toward trust in Hashem and toward practical action - "In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not let your hand rest." Today we will focus on the fifth verse, which is the heart of the matter.
כַּאֲשֶׁר אֵינְךָ יוֹדֵעַ מַה דֶּרֶךְ הָרוּחַ כַּעֲצָמִים בְּבֶטֶן הַמְּלֵאָה, כָּכָה לֹא תֵדַע אֶת מַעֲשֵׂה הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה אֶת הַכֹּל׃ - Just as you do not know the path of the wind, or how bones form in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God, Who makes everything.
Seven Things Hidden from Man
Our Sages teach that seven things are hidden from human beings, and they enumerate them one by one. The first of them is that a person does not know what is in a woman's womb - and concerning this it is precisely stated, "like bones in the womb of a pregnant woman." You do not know what bones are inside the womb. And if you say that nowadays there is ultrasound and they know everything, after all, we see how many mistakes they still make.
A story is told of a woman whose doctors advised her to terminate her pregnancy. She came to Rav Ben Tzion Abba Shaul, of blessed memory, and said: Rabbi, they told me that in my womb, Heaven forbid, is a strange creature with three legs, and they said it is better to abort and have a healthy pregnancy later. Rav Ben Tzion began to laugh and told her: Why three? Four! If they are already adding, let them add. And indeed, she gave birth to twins. Four legs. And how many times have they predicted that such and such would be born, only for reality to slap them in the face. You do not determine it, and you do not know.
Our Sages enumerate further: A person does not know the day of his death, as it says, "For man does not know his time" - and even King David asked to know, but was not granted it. A person does not know the day of consolation (the final redemption), as it says, "For the day of vengeance is in My heart" - it is hidden in the heart of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and no one knows. A person does not know the depth of divine judgment, as it says, "For judgment belongs to God" - the Holy One, Blessed be He, judges every person according to his deeds, according to his abilities and his preparation, with utmost precision, and who can fathom the depth of this judgment? And a person does not know what is in the heart of his fellow, as it says, "I, Hashem, search the heart, test the kidneys," and it is written that even the angels do not know. Truly, there are only two who know what is in a person's heart: the Holy One, Blessed be He, and the person's wife. There is, of course, a slight difference between their knowledge, but a wife certainly knows what is in your heart.
"In What He Will Profit" - A Person Does Not Know from Where His Livelihood Will Come
Another of the hidden things is what a person will earn from. No one knows from where his sustenance will come, as it is said, "for it is a gift of God." How true these words are. A person is certain that he is investing in a specific venture, and suddenly all the profit comes from an entirely different direction.
A story is told of a Jewish investment advisor, who did not wear a kippah, yet whoever met with him several times observed: He is an extraordinarily faithful believer. In every meeting, he drives the point home to the client: Know this, what you do will not change the outcome; you must make your effort (hishtadlut), but whatever was decreed from Heaven, that is what you will receive. That same advisor was involved in numerous companies; in one he had a share, in another a percentage, in another he served as a consultant. He related: "I once had a 'promising' deal - promising meant a guaranteed, one-hundred-percent profit. To this day, I have had to sell three apartments to cover the losses from that single deal. Three apartments!" And he said to him: "Understand, nothing is guaranteed to you. They may tell you: this is one hundred percent, there are collaterals, there are guarantees - but nothing is certain. A person does not know what he will profit from."
Greater Is One Who Enjoys the Fruits of His Labor than a God-Fearing Person
Why did the Sages say, "Greater is one who enjoys the fruits of his labor than a God-fearing person"? Because for the God-fearing person, the faith and knowledge that everything comes from Him, blessed be He, exists in theory, whereas for the one who enjoys the fruits of his labor, it is experienced in practice. He invests in a certain place and feels certain that the tender is in his hands, yet after all his investments, he does not win the tender. On the other hand, in a venture he never planned, which arose purely by chance because someone happened to see his work without him even initiating contact, he made a substantial fortune. Who truly experiences this? One who enjoys the fruits of his labor. He lives it, feels it, and sees with his own eyes that it is neither his effort nor his strength that provides sustenance. This is the meaning of "in what he will profit - it is a gift of God." Who can know from which point and from which place his livelihood will arrive?
The Parable of the Fish
A vivid illustration of this can be seen from fish. Large fish pursue smaller fish to catch them. Naturally, one would expect to find the prey inside the belly of the larger fish with its head facing forward and tail facing backward, since the predator chased it and swallowed it from behind. In reality, however, the swallowed fish is found facing the opposite direction, toward the predator's tail. What does this mean? Those you pursued are not necessarily the ones you caught. The ones Heaven arranged for you - those that swam straight toward you and were directed right into your mouth - are the fish you actually receive. This teaches that a person never knows how his livelihood will come, and he must have faith in Hashem and trust in Him.
One Who Leaves the Torah - What Comes of It?
It has been noted more than once, and it is truly astonishing to observe. Consider an informal examination of those who left the yeshivah world - young men whose endurance gave out, whether in yeshivah ketanah or in the middle of yeshivah gedolah, and who left to work. One would expect: "My friend, you started working a full decade before your peers who will go on to kollel; you will surely be well-established." Yet examining the matter reveals dozens of such examples. First of all, many of them, Rachmana litzlan, suffered physical harm - actual bodily injuries, as has been noted on familiar occasions. Just recently, a twenty-year-old young man from Elad who left yeshivah to work with his father pouring concrete had a ceiling collapse on him, may Hashem protect us. Leaving the Torah poses great danger; there are countless such stories, and more are added all the time.
Even when there is no such severe strike of the Attribute of Justice, simply examine the realm of parnassah: see him at age thirty or forty - still without an apartment of his own, struggling with family finances, unsettled in a thousand and one areas. Meanwhile, the avreich who learned with wholesome sincerity and did not chase after money - Baruch Hashem, his wife has good work, he owns an apartment, and he marries off his children. How? In what way? There is no natural explanation. One must realize: a person does not know how he will earn his living. When one clings to Hashem, heavenly assistance - siyata di'Shemaya - is plainly visible. And whoever thinks, "I will leave the Torah in order to earn money" - let us see what becomes of it. Many have testified: "When I was an avreich, my needs were met; once I went out to work, suddenly there was an overdraft, expenses here and expenses there."
Time and again, people share stories such as this: "I have a neighbor with five sons - four are avreichim and one did not learn, having worked the entire time. The avreichim are settled, they have apartments, they have already bought apartments for their children, while the one who worked has nothing settled." What is the explanation? A person does not know how he will earn his livelihood. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: "Rely on Me, and I will take care of you in the best possible way." As King David said, "I have not seen a righteous person forsaken, nor his children begging for bread," for it is written, "it is a gift of God."
And Regarding the Wicked Kingdom - "For a Day of Vengeance Is in My Heart"
Another matter hidden from mankind is the wicked kingdom, for no one knows when its end will come, as it is written: "For a day of vengeance is in My heart" - the day of vengeance is concealed in Hashem's heart. When will it arrive? "In My heart" - none of us knows.
Since man does not know the work of God, the Pesikta Zutreta states: let him neither watch the wind nor look at the clouds - in accordance with the preceding verse:
שֹׁמֵר רוּחַ לֹא יִזְרָע, וְרֹאֶה בֶעָבִים לֹא יִקְצוֹר׃ - One who watches the wind will not sow, and one who looks at the clouds will not reap.
A person looks for all sorts of natural reasons: there is wind, there is no wind; he hesitates and waits for natural conditions to align. But what can you truly know from all of this? Do you know the work of God? After all, several matters have just been enumerated that you cannot know. What, then, should you do? Trust in Him and act. Do not wait for what seems like the perfect moment or opportune hour to finally take action, for by doing so you are relying on your own strength. One who watches the wind will not sow, and one who waits for the clouds will not reap. Trust in Hashem, for you do not know the Master of the World's schedule and timing, how He directs His world, or when the time is truly ripe.
"As Bones in the Womb of a Pregnant Woman" - Two Hidden Realms of Knowledge
"As bones in a pregnant womb" - like things that are enclosed and hidden in the full belly: even though the belly protrudes outward, you do not know what is inside it. So too, you do not know the path of the wind. The point of the comparison is that our knowledge of both is the same - neither this one is revealed to you nor that one. Sometimes you wait for the wind to come and it does not arrive; the wind blows to another land. Sometimes you wait for rain, and the forecasters tell you that according to the synoptic chart the precipitation this year will be such and such, and suddenly you ask: where is the rain you promised? In Jordan. There were clouds, but could anyone know that the wind would carry them four kilometers further ahead? Did you stop them? Everything moves on. You do not know the path of the wind, just as you do not know about the bones in a pregnant womb.
Rashi explains: This phrasing is like the expressions "like the garden of Hashem, like the land of Egypt," "as with the maidservant, so with her mistress," "as with the buyer, so with the seller." In these comparisons, do not think there is a fixed order: sometimes Scripture compares the former to the latter, and sometimes the latter to the former. "As with the maidservant, so with her mistress" - it can be interpreted that the maidservant is like her mistress, or that the mistress is like the maidservant. Sometimes the parable comes first and the subject last, and sometimes vice versa. So too here: Scripture teaches you about knowledge of the wind from knowledge of the womb - just as you do not know what is in the womb, so you do not know what is in the wind.
The Decrees of the Omnipresent Concerning Poverty and Wealth
And Rashi continues: So too, you will not know the decrees of the Omnipresent regarding poverty and wealth; they are concealed from you. And anyone who reflects sees that this is truly among the hidden things. There is no business in the world, with the possible exception of being a member of Knesset, about which one can say with certainty that it yields a profit. In every business you will find those who make a profit and build a fortune, those who tread water, and those who fall, fail, and close down. There is no field where one can determine, "Here one profits." Who generates the profit? The Holy One, blessed be He, is the One Who provides, and He provides your sustenance.
"The Person Wins, Not the Ticket"
Once a person came to ask Rav Chaim Kanievsky regarding a lottery ticket: Is this considered part of one's required effort (hishtadlut)? He told him: In our home they did not hold of this - his father, the Steipler, did not hold of this, and would say that one does not consult lots. By the way, this question applies only to Ashkenazim and not to Sephardim, because for Ashkenazim it is halachically permissible, whereas for Sephardim there is an issue of asmachta. This is a dispute among the Poskim: Do we suspect asmachta - meaning that a person assumes he will win, and if he did not win, the money taken from him borders on theft - or does a person take into account that he might lose as well, and therefore fully intends to transfer ownership? The view of Maran the Shulchan Aruch is that this is asmachta. Thus, for Sephardim, it is like asking, "Is there any reason to make an effort and steal, is that part of my hishtadlut?" Something that is against Halachah is not hishtadlut. And one might ask: What do you prefer, to fill out a lottery ticket or to avoid eating kitniyot on Pesach? For Ashkenazim at least there is room to ask, perhaps to fill out one line, even if not four lines.
And on that occasion he related an incident that occurred: A person saw that his friend had a ticket over which he had received a blessing, and he traded tickets with him. In the end, the friend won and he did not. He came to ask the Rav: Perhaps according to the law the winnings belong to me, since the ticket was truly mine, meaning that the other person won with a ticket that wasn't his? "Have you murdered and also inherited?" If you had won, you would have had no questions; it would have been entirely obvious. But when the other person wins, suddenly there are questions. He answered him based on the principle of the Chazon Ish: The person wins, not the ticket. It was decreed upon the person that he would win; was it decreed upon the ticket? Even if you had given him a potato instead of a ticket, it was decreed upon him that he would win.
And this is how the Chazon Ish would express it: People fall, planes do not fall. People say, "A plane crashed and he just happened to be there" - there is no "just happened to be there." He fell, inside an airplane. Judgment in Heaven is per person; they do not judge the airplane. Is an airplane put on trial on Rosh Hashanah? The judgment is upon the person, what will become of him. It was decreed upon him that on such-and-such a day and at such-and-such an hour he would die; and conversely, upon another person it was decreed that on such-and-such a day and at such-and-such an hour he would win - and it does not matter with which ticket.
Do Not Refrain from Chesed
From here the conclusion emerges, says Rashi: Do not refrain from acts of kindness out of fear that your possessions will diminish and you will become poor. "If I give to this one and to that one - what will be left for me?" "I will not engage in Torah study or take time away from my work - what, another shiur and another shiur, and what about livelihood? From where will I eat?" "I will not marry a woman so that I will not have children and expenses." There are many people today for whom this is part of their calculation: a person does not marry, telling you that a wedding is a heavy expense, and after that supporting a wife and supporting children, and then a father is like an ATM - "Dad, give me; Dad, buy me." In contrast, if he lives alone, his expenses are few, and whatever he needs he buys with a little money. May the Merciful One save us, to what extent this distortion reaches.
Yet poverty and wealth are from Hashem, and the Gemara says: When an infant arrives, his bread arrives with him. He comes with his bread in his hand. What are you worrying about? Are you the one who provides for him? The Holy One, blessed be He, brought him into the world, and will He not care for him? He brought him, and He will care for both him and you. Therefore, a person should not make calculations: "If so, it is not worthwhile; these are expenses." Give charity, do what you are obligated to do, study Torah, and do not worry that because of this you will become poor. And to someone who asks, "If it is decreed for me, how will it be brought to me?" - one might say to him: It is good that you worry about the Master of the Universe and find solutions for Him. "It is certainly decreed for me, but You just don't know how to give it to me, so come, let me help You." How fortunate that there is someone to help the Master of the Universe.
The Explanation of Rav S.R. Hirsch: Weather Changes and the Nature of the Fetus
Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that "the way of the wind" refers to the shifts and fluctuations of the weather: rain, snow, cold, and heat. Even though these follow set cycles every year, who can anticipate and know in advance what kind of year it will be - a drought or a rainy year? How often do we hear meteorologists forecast one thing, only to see the exact opposite happen? Last year they predicted it would not be a rainy year, yet it turned out to be an exceptionally rainy year, the likes of which had not been seen in years. At most, they can forecast four days to a week ahead, and even that is imprecise. And will you know what will unfold over an entire year? You do not know the way of the wind, even though the cycles are regular - when the rains and snows will arrive, and when they will cease.
So too, "how the bones form in the womb of a pregnant woman": even though you see that there is a fetus in her womb, you cannot know its true nature and character. And if you say that the doctor checked and it is a boy - very well, now tell me what his intelligence will be, whether he will be wise or foolish! It will always become clear that your knowledge is limited. And just as you cannot know these two things, "so you do not know the work of God Who makes everything."
One Link in the Chain
When you look at something and ask, "Why did Hashem do it this way?", know that you are looking at a single tiny link in a vast chain, and raising difficulties over that alone. This has been compared to a person looking at a large sheet with a tiny pinhole, seeing a tiny detail through the hole and raising questions about it. Or like someone peering through a keyhole - in the past, locks could be peeked through - seeing one detail and challenging it. Have you seen the full picture, that you ask questions? See the complete picture, and you will understand everything that is happening. This is the famous parable of the Chafetz Chaim about a visitor to a synagogue who saw the gabbai distributing aliyos with no apparent logic. Man in this world is merely a visitor, and whatever he sees, he sees only for a single fleeting moment. If what is in the pregnant womb - which seemingly should be open to human understanding - you still cannot comprehend, how could you possibly understand the deepest mysteries of the Creator of the universe, matters rooted in the profound thought of the Creator stretching to the very end of the long chain? There is no way you can fathom that. Why, then, probe into these hidden realms and harbor questions and challenges against the Master of the Universe?
The Nefesh HaChaim's Explanation: A Lowly Act that Produces a Wonder
The Nefesh HaChaim explains the parable in the verse as follows: Just as you cannot understand how a lowly physical act such as marital union between male and female brings forth a wondrous creature, filled with spiritual intellect and capable of reaching sublime heights of comprehension - so too you cannot fathom the work of God. And we are not like the nations: we know that Moshe Rabbeinu was born from the physical union of Amram and Yocheved, and none of us imagines that a spirit or any other foolish vanity played a role here. From a simple, physical union, a precious soul is formed that can attain exalted and wondrous spiritual matters.
From this follows the converse: do not wonder how our lowly actions here below - physical, mundane actions performed by man in this world - move worlds and bring rectification to the upper realms. To us it may seem: "What did I really do? I just picked up a branch and waved it!" Yet through that, you shook all the upper worlds. Harmful dews, damaging winds - everything depends on this. The Torah commanded, "And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of a splendid tree, palm fronds, and boughs of leafy trees," and you wave them south, north, east, west - and by doing so, you move entire worlds. Man does not see this, does not feel it, and is unaware of it.
The Nefesh HaChaim makes a precise observation: "Ma'aseh" (work/action) also means rectification or preparation, as in "ve'astah es tziparneha" (she shall trim her nails) and "ve'asah es sefamo" (he trimmed his mustache) - meaning he groomed or rectified it. "So you do not know the work of God Who makes everything" - you cannot fathom how much every action of yours here below produces rectification in the supernal realms.
The Power of a Jew's Action
If a person understood the strength and magnitude of every action here, he would realize that with a sinful thought, he has effectively brought an idol into the Sanctuary - an act worse than what Titus did. Why? For what did Titus do? A coarse physical deed of a non-Jew who entered the Holy of Holies with a dog - a dog, what of it? Yet a Jew who enters without the proper and necessary preparation dies immediately. This teaches you that for a Jew, every action has immense power, and for a Jew, a negative thought destroys upper worlds. By contrast, whatever a non-Jew does, even the most repulsive and vile acts, it does not leave an imprint in the supernal worlds.
The explanation, as taught in Sha'arei Kedushah (and whoever wishes may study the lessons on that work), is that man's soul emanates from all the supernal worlds, receiving a portion and a spark from each world. Consequently, our influence here is not confined to this physical world alone, but creates reverberations throughout all the upper realms. And just as you do not understand how lowly physical actions give birth to something so wondrous - a child that possesses a divine soul from on high, filled with spiritual intellect - so too must you realize that man's action here has profound consequences throughout all the upper worlds.
In summary:
"Just as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones form in the womb of a pregnant woman" - two things are close to us and yet concealed from us: what is inside a woman's womb and what course the wind takes. And from them Shlomo derives a kal vachomer: "So too, you cannot know the work of God, Who makes everything." A person does not know what is developing in a woman's womb, nor the day of death, nor the day of consolation, nor the depth of divine judgment, nor what is in his fellow's heart, nor when the reign of wickedness will end, nor how he will earn his livelihood. Parnassah is a gift from God; it is the person who merits it, not the lottery ticket. The conclusion is not paralysis, but quite the opposite: do not watch the wind and do not gaze at the clouds; do not hold back from chesed, from Torah, or from building a family because of calculations. Rather, trust in Hashem and act. And know that every small deed you do down here, which you neither see nor feel, shakes entire worlds above.