תַּ֣רְתִּי בְלִבִּ֔י לִמְשׁ֥וֹךְ בַּיַּ֖יִן אֶת־בְּשָׂרִ֑י וְלִבִּ֞י נֹהֵ֤ג בַּֽחָכְמָה֙ וְלֶאֱחֹ֣ז בְּסִכְל֔וּת עַ֣ד אֲשֶׁר־אֶרְאֶ֗ה אֵי־זֶ֨ה ט֜וֹב לִבְנֵ֤י הָאָדָם֙ אֲשֶׁ֤ר יַעֲשׂוּ֙ תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם מִסְפַּ֖ר יְמֵ֥י חַיֵּיהֶֽם׃
Aku menyelidiki dalam hatiku bagaimana memanjakan tubuhku dengan anggur, sementara hatiku tetap dibimbing oleh hikmat, dan bagaimana berpegang pada kebodohan, sampai aku melihat apa yang baik bagi anak-anak manusia untuk dilakukan di bawah langit selama hari-hari hidup mereka yang terbilang.
Bartenura
"midday wine": [It] draws the heart of a person - as it is written (Ecclesiastes 2:3), "to draw my flesh with wine" - and brings him to drunkenness.
Rabbeinu Bahya
Looking at our verses from a rational-investigative point of view, we note that even in the names of קין והבל we already find allusions to the subject of existence and destruction (loss), respectively. They were brothers, closely related. The name קין hints at worldly possessions, whereas the name הבל suggests somebody who is extremely humble, almost despising worldly goods. This may have been why he offered sheep, the most humble and undemanding of animals, something that reflected his own philosophy. This is also why G’d took a liking to him. The Torah expresses this with the words וישע ה' אל הבל ואל מנחתו, ”G’d turned to Hevel and to his gift-offering.” The gift-offering of קין on the other hand was מפרי האדמה, “from the fruit (products) of the earth.” This reflected his own preferences, i.e. earthly possessions. He was totally absorbed in working with his body, concentrating on matters of only transient value, matters destined to disintegrate. He was addicted to earthly pleasures and this is the reason G’d did not turn to his offering. The Torah expresses this by writing ואל קין ואל מנחתו לא שעה, “and to Kayin and to his gift-offering He did not turn.”
The self-effacing Hevel was murdered because he did not concern himself worldly concerns, not considering life on this earth as a supreme value. The one who loved worldly possessions wound up being cursed when G’d said to him: “be a vagrant and a wanderer on earth.” He was told not to consider worldly possessions as something permanent. Kayin was to learn this lesson by his not being at home anywhere on earth. His lifestyle reflected what we read in Kohelet 5,9 אהב כסף לא ישבע כסף, “the one who loves silver will never feel satisfied even when he possesses it.” Solomon already alluded to this syndrome of the wanderer in Kohelet 2,23 where he wrote (concerning man’s role on earth) כי כל ימיו מכאובים, “for all his days are painful.” There are numerous other references in Kohelet to this unsatisfactory state of affairs for people who consider the be-all of their existence as being merely תחת השמש, in the regions under control by the sun. All of such statements [which I did not choose to quote in detail. Ed.] are addressed to people of the mentality of Kayin. Every time Solomon speaks about vanities and return to dust, this is the type of human being he has in mind. In Kohelet 2,11 Solomon spells out in detail how futile all the energy he spent on the acquisition of worldly goods had proven to be. Finally, when he concludes his preaching he teaches us that the only true values to be acquired in this life is reverence for G’d and His Torah. It was only Adam’s third son שת who represented what the Torah considers a balanced view of life on earth. This is why basically speaking, the species of mankind was really carried on by that son. It is worthwhile noting that only when Sheth was born does the Torah describe him as reflecting his parents in that he was conceived and born בדמותו וצלמו, “in his likeness and his image (Adam’s). It was quite appropriate that these philosophical considerations should have been alluded to already in the respective names of Kayin and Hevel.
The self-effacing Hevel was murdered because he did not concern himself worldly concerns, not considering life on this earth as a supreme value. The one who loved worldly possessions wound up being cursed when G’d said to him: “be a vagrant and a wanderer on earth.” He was told not to consider worldly possessions as something permanent. Kayin was to learn this lesson by his not being at home anywhere on earth. His lifestyle reflected what we read in Kohelet 5,9 אהב כסף לא ישבע כסף, “the one who loves silver will never feel satisfied even when he possesses it.” Solomon already alluded to this syndrome of the wanderer in Kohelet 2,23 where he wrote (concerning man’s role on earth) כי כל ימיו מכאובים, “for all his days are painful.” There are numerous other references in Kohelet to this unsatisfactory state of affairs for people who consider the be-all of their existence as being merely תחת השמש, in the regions under control by the sun. All of such statements [which I did not choose to quote in detail. Ed.] are addressed to people of the mentality of Kayin. Every time Solomon speaks about vanities and return to dust, this is the type of human being he has in mind. In Kohelet 2,11 Solomon spells out in detail how futile all the energy he spent on the acquisition of worldly goods had proven to be. Finally, when he concludes his preaching he teaches us that the only true values to be acquired in this life is reverence for G’d and His Torah. It was only Adam’s third son שת who represented what the Torah considers a balanced view of life on earth. This is why basically speaking, the species of mankind was really carried on by that son. It is worthwhile noting that only when Sheth was born does the Torah describe him as reflecting his parents in that he was conceived and born בדמותו וצלמו, “in his likeness and his image (Adam’s). It was quite appropriate that these philosophical considerations should have been alluded to already in the respective names of Kayin and Hevel.