Commentary for Ecclesiastes 1:8

All things lead to weariness, etc., the eye is not satisfied [with seeing], nor the ear filled [with hearing]. This refers back to, “What profit [does man have],”³²Above, verse 3. if he exchanges the study of Torah to engage in idle talk? They are wearying, and he will not be able to acquire them all, and if he comes to indulge himself visually, his eyes will not be satisfied, and if he seeks aural satisfaction, his ears will not be gratified.³³Rashi translates דברים as “words.” Alternatively, דברים means “things,” i.e., “all things lead to weariness.” (Metsudas Dovid)

“All matters are wearying; man cannot utter it, the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing” (Ecclesiastes 1:8).
“All matters are wearying; man cannot….” Matters of platitude render a person weary.⁵¹The reference is to the usage of terms or phrases that hint to a different meaning, as in the examples the midrash will now provide. When this is done for no particular reason other than to demonstrate mental acuity, it renders a person weary. Koreh hayom – assemble there;⁵²Koreh hayom literally means “read there.” However, koreh can be used to mean assemble (see Deuteronomy 33:19) and hayom is translated in Aramaic as yemama, which is similar to taman, there. Thus, one could say koreh hayom is a type of hint or code for “assemble there.” sela ka’oferet – few pieces;⁵³Sela is a coin, and the word for money [ma’ot] is similar to the word “few” [mi’ut]. Oferet means lead, which in Aramaic is avar, similar to evar, a limb, or piece of an animal. mitpalelot betur misken – cut, soaked, cut;⁵⁴Pal in Aramaic is cut, tur is similar to the Aramaic tar, which is soaked, and misken is an allusion to something cut with a knife [sakin]. shor mishpat betur misken – beets in mustard.⁵⁵Shor, literally, ox, is tor in Aramaic, and mishpat, justice, is din. Tor-din sounds like teradin, which means beets. Tur is a mountain, or har, which sounds like ḥar, and misken is another word for destitute [dal]. Ḥardal is mustard.
Rabbi Yonatan’s hair fell out. He went to Migdal Tzeva’im to be cured. There was a barber there, who said to him: ‘Did you come due to your hair, to cure it?’ He said to him: ‘My hair has fallen from my flesh, and I heard that there is a medicine to cure it, and I moved here to accelerate the cure.’⁵⁶He said this indirectly, in the manner demonstrated above, in which each word alludes to the intended meaning for those well-versed in this type of speech. [The barber] stood and prostrated himself to him and said to him: ‘Here, initially, I spoke before the rabbi at night.’⁵⁷The barber was very impressed and, using a similar style of speech, promised to help Rabbi Yonatan. Thus, the Sages knew how to use this form of communication when necessary (Midrash HaMevoar).

Another matter, “all matters are wearying” – professional matters are wearying.⁵⁸When studied in an obsessive fashion. Rabbi Elazar in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina son of Rabbi Abbahu would say: There was a particular incident involving a woman who took her son to a baker in Caesarea. She said to him: ‘Teach my son a craft.’ He said to her: ‘Let him stay with me for five years and I will teach him five hundred species of wheat.’⁵⁹How to distinguish between the different species, and how best to use each one. He stayed with him for five years and he taught him five hundred species of wheat. He said to her: ‘Let him stay with me for another five years and I will teach him one thousand species of wheat.’ How many species of wheat are there? The Rabbis say: Wheat of Minit, there are numerous [types of] wheat.⁶⁰There are numerous types of wheat, even just of the high-quality wheat of Minit, mentioned in Ezekiel 27:17. Rabbi Aḥa said: There are five hundred species of this type of wheat, the numerical value of Minit.⁶¹Mem – 40, nun – 50, yod – 10, tav – 400. Rabbi Ḥanina and Rabbi Yonatan, both sat, calculated, and arrived at sixty.
In addition, Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: There was an incident involving a woman who took her son to a certain chef. She said to him: ‘Teach my son a craft.’ He said to her: ‘Let him stay with me for four years and I will teach him one hundred species of eggs.’ He stayed with him for four years and he taught him one hundred species of eggs. He said to her: ‘Let him stay with me for another four years and I will teach him [an additional] one hundred species of eggs.’ Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi] heard and said: We have never seen such goodness.⁶²The ability to benefit from such a variety of eggs.