“I said to
myself, ‘Behold, I have obtained for myself great wisdom above all who were
before me in Jerusalem. And my heart saw so much, and I applied my heart to
know wisdom, [and to know] madness and folly, and I knew this too is a vexation
of the spirit.” (Ecclesiastes 1:16-17)
King Solomon reminds us again that in the wisdom
acquired in his life by the grace of God, he warns us about the futility of
ego’s fantasies and illusions. If we live by, with and for unproductive,
useless and distracting beliefs and feelings of lack, we undermine and despise
goodness as our essence and true identity.
Goodness is the spirit that elevates
us to the knowledge of God, for goodness is our bond with Him. Solomon truly
immersed himself in the wisdom God gave him to become the wisest of all men, in
order to share his findings and conclusions with us. Thus we learn from his
messages in this book, as well as in the Song of Songs and the book of
Proverbs.
“For, in abundance
of wisdom [there is] abundance of grief [lit. anger], and he who adds knowledge
adds pain.” (1:18)
Here we see that the more we
become wise, the more we realize the nature of evil, wickedness and a negative
approach to life based on ego’s fantasies and illusions. Once we fully know the
multiple ways and expressions of evil, our anger to reject them is as strong as
the awareness that makes us value goodness as what truly matters in life. The more
we understand the damage evil causes, the more we are urged to fight it and
wipe it out from our consciousness and from the face of earth as God commands
us to.
“I said in my heart, ‘Come now,
I will test you in joy and see what is good’; and behold, this is also vanity.”
(2:1)
Solomon tests his emotions and feelings in order
to know their value in regards to goodness. As far as he does not find goodness
in them, these are also vanity. One lesson that we can learn from this verse is
Solomon’s willingness to test the nature of what may be considered either
joyful or pleasurable for his emotions in direct proportion to the goodness
they may have or lead him to. By their nature, mirages, fantasies and illusions
don’t contain anything either real or good about them, for the fact that they
are not based on something truthful as goodness is.
“About laughing I said [it is] folly; and about
joy, what does it do? I probed my heart to stimulate in wine my life (lit.
flesh) and [still] my heart conducts itself in wisdom, and to assimilate folly up
until to see the account [lit. numbers] of their lives [people’s].”
(2:2-3)
Numbering is counting, and we are supposed to
count what matters in life. As we have said, any kind of joy or happiness based
on ego’s fantasies and illusions is folly and does not add anything significant
to life. Our sages relate wine to rejoicing, and Solomon approached life as the
happiness wine can produce without losing wisdom, for the latter encompasses
joy as the fulfillment knowledge provides. In this particular joy we are also
able to distinguish between a truly happy life and the temporary nature of the
follies that don’t add anything to what really matters.
“Great things I did. I built for myself houses,
planted for myself vineyards. Gardens and orchards, every fruit tree. Pools of
waters. And I bought slaves, and maid servants, and housekeepers, also many
flocks and herds I had more than all [of my predecessors] in Jerusalem. I
amassed also silver and gold for myself, and [had] the treasure of kings, and
the provinces. Musical instruments and the pleasures of men, also chests of
chests. Thus I grew and surpassed all that was before me in Jerusalem, still my
wisdom stayed with me.” (2:4-9)
The purpose of wisdom it to build something good
with it, and these verses invite us to put our goodness out in the real world
for the sake of goodness. We do this not just for others but also for
ourselves. “Houses” and “vineyards” have multiple material and spiritual
meanings. A house integrates life, consciousness and its dimensions.
“Happy are those who dwell in Your house, they
praise You forever.” (Psalms 84:4)
We can’t fathom God’s “house” or “praising”
eternally, but we know for sure that happiness is part of doing it “there”, and
it is forever because God is eternal. Here we realize that any idea we may have
about happiness is pale to living in a “place” of God.
“Vineyards, gardens, orchards and fruit trees”
(see our commentary on the Song of Songs in this blog) represent the fruits of
our good deeds, for these are seeds we plant in the field of life. As we focus
in being and doing goodness we harvest its benefits for us and for those
involved.
“Pools of water” evoke the blessings of goodness with which we consecrate
life, and “slaves”, “maid servants”, “housekeepers” and “sons” symbolize helping
and supporting traits and qualities as well as the works we do that last for
generations. “Flocks” and “herds” as followers and students that learn from
wisdom.
“Silver and gold” represent material and spiritual
resources we need to build on goodness as our primordial purpose in life, while
the “treasure of kings” is the ruling principle that elevates our consciousness
by leading us in God’s ways and attributes. The “provinces” are the material
and spiritual domains in which we expand our consciousness through the goodness
we pursue and manifest in all aspects and dimensions of life.
“Musical instruments” serve both to cheer and
rejoice our thoughts and emotions, and to praise and celebrate the
multidimensional qualities of goodness God bestows in us with His blessings
every moment. In this subject king David is the best lyricist, composer and
musician of all.
“Praise the Lord!
Praise you God in His holy place. Praise Him in the expanse of His strength.
Praise Him in His mighty acts. Praise Him in the abundance of His greatness. Praise
Him with blowing of trumpet. Praise Him with psaltery and harp. Praise Him with
tambourines and dance. Praise Him with stringed instruments and organ. Praise
Him with cymbals of sounding. Praise Him with cymbals of shouting. All that
breathes do praise God!” (Psalms 150)
King Solomon tells us that once we fully realize
that our vanities don’t take us anywhere meaningful and fruitful as goodness,
in this awareness the wisdom of goodness makes us transcend materialistic
fantasies and illusions, for this kind of wisdom stays always with us.
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