Sukkot – A Few Words on Kohelet

During Sukkot we study the book of Kohelet.

Their is a Pasuk which says: Lischok Amarti Mehulal – To laughter I said ‘have a good time’

The Midrash says: One time a Father made a big party in honor of his son’s wedding. During the party he told the son to go to the attack to fetch some wine. In the attack the groom was bitten by a snake and died. When the father went to check he found the son dead. He did not tell the guests while they were eating. At the end of the meal said that we will not make a wedding, instead we will make a mourners feast. That is the meaning of the pasuk “To laughter I said ‘have a good time.'”

Life is often very difficult.

Recently a father was driving his son in the Jordan valley to the son’s wedding. On a hair-pin turn the car crashed in the depths of the side of the road and the Father, Son and other family members and guests died.

Kohelet 5-7:
If you see oppression of a pauper and righteousness and Justice being stolen in the government, do not be surprised, because on high is a higher watchman and then even higher than that.

The traditional explanation of the second half of this pasuk is that above the official oppression stands angels and G-d who will take everything into account.

Modern commentaters discuss that each clerk has a slimy manager on top of himself who has an even worse manager, and more corrupt officials on top of them.

We live in the modern world where Governments are found not to be corrupt only virtue of corruption being officially legislated into the system. So it is easy to see why we might like the second, modern explanation. However, when King Solomon wrote Kohelet were governments so large? Was there such a great higherarchy?