פירוש על קהלת 5:15

As he came. That money, so will it go.

“This too is a grievous evil; just as he came, so he will go; and what is the advantage for him that he will toil for the wind?” (Ecclesiastes 5:15).
“This too is a grievous evil; just as he came, so he will go” – just as he came into the world eating soft foods, so he will go eating soft foods. Rabbi Pinḥas said: Just as He began the world with four kingdoms, He concluded with four kingdoms. He began with four kingdoms, as it is stated: “Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, Tidal, king of Goyim, Amrafel, king of Shinar, and Ariokh, king of Elasar” (Genesis 14:9), and concluded with four kingdoms: Babylon, Greece, Media, and Edom.
“And what is the advantage for him that he will toil for the wind?” – The Holy One blessed be He said to man: You plowed, sowed, reaped, gathered, threshed, and created a pile of grain. If I do not provide wind to winnow for you, how will you live? They give the omer as payment for that wind; that is, “What is the advantage for him that he will toil for the wind”?