Tafsiran yang Mengutip untuk Pengkhotbah 7:28

The Sanhedrin asked King Solomon, why did you say that you did not find a woman who was completely good.⁷⁵Ecclesiastes, 7:28. We have found many pious and virtuous women. The king responded: I would show you. Go out and find me somewhere a pious man who has a wife who is pious, beautiful and virtuous. The members of the Sanhedrin said: there is someone who is pious and has a pious wife and is extremely beautiful. He said, call him here. They ran and called him and he came quickly and he was brought into a locked room with the king, who said to him. My servants have told me that you are a very smart person and very pious. I would very much like to give you my daughter and I will appoint you over all the nobles. He responded, what am I that you want to give me your daughter or what is my lineage that I should marry the king’s daughter. The king responded: this is your wisdom that you make yourself humble and therefore my daughter is correct for you. However, go this night and bring me your wife’s head. The whole way home he thought about how he would kill his wife. He considered that she is very smart and pious and I also have children from her. His wife said to him, why are you so sad and depressed? He said that my heart aches. She prepared food and good drink, but he could not eat or drink. She ate and went to sleep with the small children. He carefully considered and said to himself. How can I commit such a great sin, to kill such a smart and pious person and what are the presents that the king wants to give me? However, a little while later he thought about the great honor from the king. He stood up and went to get his sword. He came to the bed to chop off her head. He uncovered her and saw her sleeping with a small child at her breast and another one near her arm. He went behind them. The third time he thought about the great honor from all the great nobles. He came over to the bed with a broad sword and he saw her lying there and her hair hanging down to the ground. He had pity on her, stepped back and said, if the king would give me all of his money I would not do this and he lay down and went to sleep. The next morning the servants of the king called him to the king. The king asked him, where is the head? He said: I couldn’t do it. The king said, go away, you are not worthy of honor.

From the haftorah we learn that women are frivolous. The woman said that the child should be chopped in half. Concerning this, King Solomon said: “but a woman among all these I have never found” [Ecclesiastes, 7:28]. A good woman is never found in the world.

Concerning this, King Solomon said, “I found only one human being in a thousand and those I found among so many never was a woman” [Ecclesiastes, 7:28]. That is to say, no woman was at the Golden Calf, who said, “this is your god” [32:8], that no woman wanted to give their gold earrings to the Golden Calf. However, the verse also has many other explanations. That is to say, among a thousand men there is one pious man, but among a thousand women not even one is pious. Therefore, the Talmud writes in [tractate] Gittin, chapter four. The daughters of Rabbi Nachman were stirring a boiling pot with their bare hands and did not need a cooking spoon. Rabbi Ilish came and said: the verse says, “I found only one human being in a thousand and those I found among so many never was a woman” [Ecclesiastes, 7:28]. That is to say, among a thousand women there is no good woman who is pious. How is it that with the daughters of Rabbi Nachman the fire can do nothing and they stir a boiling pot with their bare hands, without a cooking spoon? It happened that the daughters of Rabbi Nachman were taken captive. At the same time, Rabbi Ilish was also taken captive along with the daughters of Rabbi Nachman. Once, a Jew was sitting in prison with them who could understand the language of the birds. A raven flew by and was shouting. Rabbi Ilish asked him: what is the raven shouting? The Jew answered that Rabbi Ilish should run away from the prison. He would be able to run away successfully. Rabbi Ilish said: the raven is a liar and should not be believed. Then a dove came flying by and shouted that Rabbi Ilish should run away from the prison; he will escape successfully. Rabbi Ilish said: Israel is compared to a dove. Therefore, what it says is certainly true. The Holy One will perform a miracle to protect me from the prison. Rabbi Ilish said: I will first see if the daughters of Rabbi Nachman are still as pious as they used to me. He went very quietly to Rabbi Nachman’s daughters, so that they would not know about it and he heard what they were doing. One of them said to the other. What do we care if we stay here? We have men here like we have at home. That is to say, they were not upset that the gentiles were sleeping with them. They said, one to another, let us say to the gentiles who captured us that they should take us further away, so that our Jewish husbands should not know where we are, so that they should not redeem us. Rabbi Ilish went and wanted to run away from the prison. The same Jew who could understand the language of the birds went with him. There was a large body of water on the way and the Holy One made a miracle for Rabbi Ilish. He crossed the water and the other one could not cross. The gentiles pursued him and killed him. Rabbi Ilish escaped and came home in peace. The daughters of Rabbi Nachman came home again. They stirred the hot pots on the fire with their bare hands, using magic. Rabbi Ilish said: King Solomon, of blessed memory, told the truth that among one thousand women there is not one pious one. Therefore, every woman should be warned whenever they go among gentiles.¹⁹B. Gittin, 45a.