“To the making of many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh” said Ecclesiastes [Kohelet in Hebrew], traditionally believed to be King Solomon, sometime before his death ...

As a biblical scholar, whenever I’ve been asked in recent days what scripture has to say in our present time of crisis, I have tended to refer people to the treasure trove of the Psalms, those prayers ...

I have always wanted to see the look on Qoheleth’s face. An innovative thespian on a spiritual quest recently gave me that chance. A colleague from the theater department at my university had told me ...

You are going to die. And no one is going to remember you. The stuff you’re working hard on is going to be completely undone. As if it was never there. And no one is going to care. That’s not ...

In my first semester of college as a classics major, I translated from Latin the opening passage of the ancient book of Ecclesiastes. This wasn’t ever a book I came across in parochial school or ...

He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without man’s ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done. Today’s readings, to me, ...

Biblical Hebrew uses similar names for “vanity” and the slain brother. That’s no accident. For many, these words resound with a skeptical and, some may say, nihilistic tone. But must they? Russell L.

Until his 70th birthday, Moriah had never been preoccupied with the passing of time or his own mortality. But as he entered his eighth decade, the Book of Ecclesiastes took on new meaning for him.

Ecclesiastes is a controversial book. It has radical ideas that are contrary to today’s Orthodox Judaism. It contains verses that seem to contradict other verses.[1] The opening two verses and at ...