Commentaire sur L’Ecclésiaste 2:2

Of laughter I said it is senseless. Mixed with cries and sighs.⁴Alternatively, ‘מהולל’ means praiseworthy [=הלל], referring to the joy and delight awaiting the righteous in the World to Come, which is indeed praiseworthy. See Maseches Shabbos 30b.

“Of laughter, I said it is confounded; and of joy, what does it accomplish?” (Ecclesiastes 2:2).
“Of laughter, I said it is confounded” – Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: How confounded is the laughter of the nations of the world in their circuses and theaters. “And of joy, what does it accomplish?” Why would a Torah scholar enter these [places]?
Another matter: How confounded is the laughter that the attribute of justice laughed at the generation of the flood; that is what is written: “Their houses are peaceful, without fear…” (Job 21:9). “Their descendants are well placed before them…” (Job 21:8). “His bull breeds and does not fail…” (Job 21:10). “They send out their young like a flock” (Job 21:11). “They sing to the timbrel and harp…” (Job 21:12). “They spend their days in prosperity” (Job 21:13). What is written there? “They said to God: Depart from us” (Job 21:14). Once they said: “What is the Almighty that we should serve Him?” (Job 21:15), the Holy One blessed be He said to them: “And of joy, what does it accomplish?” By your lives, I will obliterate you from the world. That is what is written: “He obliterated all existence” (Genesis 7:23).
Another matter: “Of laughter, I said it is confounded” – how confounded is the laughter that the attribute of justice laughed at the people of Sodom, as it is stated: “A land from which bread emerges…” (Job 28:5); “a place whose stones are sapphires…” (Job 28:6); “a path that birds of prey do not know…” (Job 28:7). When they said: We will do away with the policy of passersby from our midst,⁵They wanted to ensure that outsiders would not pass through their territory. that is what is written: “He breached a shaft from the residents, forgotten from all passersby” (Job 28:4). The Holy One blessed be He said to them: By your life, I will eliminate your memory from the world, as it is stated: “The Lord rained upon Sodom [and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire]” (Genesis 19:24).

And of joy, what does it [accomplish]? [What] good is it if it ends in grief.

Another matter: “Of laughter, I said it is confounded” – how confounded is the laughter that the attribute of justice laughed at Elisheva bat Aminadav. Elisheva bat Aminadav experienced four celebrations on one day: Moses, her brother-in-law, was king; Naḥshon, her brother, was the prince who was head of all the princes; Aaron, her husband, was the [High] Priest wearing the ephod stones; and her two sons were deputy High Priests. But when they entered [the Tabernacle] to burn incense without permission, they were burned and her celebration was transformed to mourning. That is, “and of joy, what does it accomplish,” as it is stated: “After the death of the two sons of Aaron…” (Leviticus 16:1).

Another matter: “Of laughter, I said it is confounded” – how confounding is laughter, as Rabbi Aḥa said that Shmuel said: Three are the matters with which the attribute of justice challenged [Solomon], and ultimately confounded and confused him. It is written: “He shall not have many wives” (Deuteronomy 17:17), and it is written [of Solomon]: “He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines” (I Kings 11:3). It is written: “He shall not have many horses” (Deuteronomy 17:16), and it is written: “Solomon had forty thousand stables of horses” (I Kings 5:6). It is written: “And gold and silver he shall not amass greatly” (Deuteronomy 17:17), and it is written: “The king made the silver and the gold in Jerusalem as stones” (II Chronicles 1:2). Would they not have been stolen? Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥanina said: There were ten-cubit stones and eight-cubit stones.⁶Thus, they were far too large to be moved without an apparatus operated by many people working together. It is taught in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: Even the weights during the reign of Solomon were made of gold, as it is stated: “None of silver, as it was not considered anything during the reign of Solomon” (I Kings 10:21). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘“And of joy, what does it accomplish?”⁷Solomon thought he could violate these proscriptions without sinning, but he eventually did sin (see I Kings, chap. 11). Consequently, God deprived him of his wealth and status. What is this crown doing in your hands? Descend from My throne.’ At that moment, an angel descended in the image of Solomon and sat on his throne. [Solomon] would circulate among the synagogues, the study halls, and the homes of the prominent leaders of Israel and say: “I am Kohelet, I was king [over Israel in Jerusalem]” (Ecclesiastes 1:12). They would strike him with a reed and place before him a bowl of grits.⁸They believed that the “real” Solomon was sitting on his throne and that this individual had lost his mind. At that moment he wept and said: “This was my portion from all my exertion” (Ecclesiastes 2:10).

Another matter: “Of laughter, I said it is confounded” – Rabbi Pinḥas said: If the laughter is confounded, what does joy accomplish? There was an incident involving a man who was among the prominent leaders in Babylonia, whose son married a woman on a Wednesday.⁹In accordance with the rabbinic ordinance that one marrying a virgin should do so on a Wednesday; see Mishna Ketubot 1:1. He made a feast for the Sages. He said to his son: ‘Go up to the attic and bring us fine wine from such and such barrel.’ He went to bring aged wine from the attic; a snake bit him and he died. [The father] waited for him to descend, and he did not descend. He said: ‘I will go up and see what is keeping my son.’ He went up and found that a snake had bitten him and he was dead, cast among the barrels. That pious man waited until the guests had eaten and drunk their entire meal and concluded reciting the blessing. He said to them: ‘My rabbis, did you not come to that man’s¹⁰To my house. house to recite the groom’s blessing, to bless his son? Now recite the mourner’s blessing on his behalf for his son. Did you not come to bring him to the wedding canopy? Place him into the grave.’ Rabbi Zakai entered and concluded his [eulogy with the verse]: “Of laughter, I said it is confounded; and of joy, what does it accomplish?”