Talmud sobre Eclesiastes 1:4

R. Joshua b. Levi said: Great is peace, for peace is to the world as leaven is to dough. Had not the Holy One, blessed be He, given peace to the earth, the sword and the beast would have robbed the world¹So H; V reads ‘man’. of its children. Whence²So GRA; V reads ‘why is it written?’ [do we know this]? From what is written, And I will give peace in the land … and I will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land;³Lev. 26, 6. The Heb. for earth and land is the same. and land means nothing else than Israel, as it is stated, And all nations shall call you happy; for ye shall be a delightsome land.⁴Mal. 3, 12. The identification of land with Israel is here evident. V and H add: ‘And it states, And, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest’. [And so Solomon declared,] One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; and the earth abideth for ever:⁵Eccl. 1, 4. Solomon said:⁶So GRA. V reads: ‘A kingdom comes and a kingdom goes, but Israel endures for ever. But Solomon, although’. Although a generation passes away and another generation comes, one kingdom goes and another kingdom comes, one decree passes away and a new decree is imposed upon Israel,⁷lit. ‘upon the enemies of Israel’, a euphemism. the earth abideth for ever, i.e. Israel will abide for ever,⁸Earth refers to Israel. [Cf. Midrash ad loc., Sonc. ed., p. 15.] they are not forsaken nor will they be forsaken, they are not destroyed nor will they be destroyed, as it is stated, For I the Lord change not; and ye, O sons of Jacob are not consumed⁹Mal. 3, 6.—as I have not changed nor will I change, so you, the House of Jacob, are not destroyed and will not be destroyed, but [as it is stated], But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.¹⁰Deut. 4, 4.