אֲשֶׁ֛ר עוֹד־בִּקְשָׁ֥ה נַפְשִׁ֖י וְלֹ֣א מָצָ֑אתִי אָדָ֞ם אֶחָ֤ד מֵאֶ֙לֶף֙ מָצָ֔אתִי וְאִשָּׁ֥ה בְכָל־אֵ֖לֶּה לֹ֥א מָצָֽאתִי׃
na hinahanap pa rin ng aking kaluluwa, ngunit hindi ko natagpuan: isang tao sa isang libo ang natagpuan ko, ngunit isang babae sa lahat ng mga ito ay hindi ko natagpuan.
Tze'enah Ure'enah
“One man” [7:28]. A thousand people go to study the verses of the Torah. There are barely a hundred who can study Mishnah. From that hundred that study Mishnah, there are barely ten that can study Gemara. From those ten we can find barely one who is worthy to decide matters [of Jewish law]. However, one cannot even find one woman out of a thousand, therefore be warned about women.106Rashi, Ecclesiastes, 7:28.
Rashi
For which yet my soul searches. In addition to those [quests] mentioned above, which I sought and did not find, my soul sought a proper one among women, but I did not find one, because they are all lightheaded.
Kohelet Rabbah
“What my soul sought further, I did not find; one man from one thousand I have found; but a woman among all these I did not find” (Ecclesiastes 7:28).
“What my soul sought further, I did not find; one man from one thousand I have found.” According to the way of the world, one thousand people enter to study Bible, one hundred of them emerge to study Mishna, ten of them emerge to study Talmud, and one of them emerges to issue rulings; that is what is written: “One man from one thousand I have found.”
Another matter, “man” – this is Abraham, “but a woman among all these I did not find” – this is Sarah. Alternatively, “man” – this is Amram, “but a woman” – this is Yokheved. “Man” – this is Moses, “but a woman” – these are the women of the wilderness.149Although Sarah, Yokheved, and the Israelite women in the generation of Moses were righteous, they were not equal to the men with whom they are contrasted. Alternatively, “man” – this is Moses, who came after one thousand generations; that is what is written: “He commanded the matter for one thousand generations” (Psalms 105:8). This teaches that the Holy One blessed be He looked at all the jugs and did not find a jug as lined with pitch as Moses, who extended his hand and received the Torah.
“What my soul sought further, I did not find; one man from one thousand I have found.” According to the way of the world, one thousand people enter to study Bible, one hundred of them emerge to study Mishna, ten of them emerge to study Talmud, and one of them emerges to issue rulings; that is what is written: “One man from one thousand I have found.”
Another matter, “man” – this is Abraham, “but a woman among all these I did not find” – this is Sarah. Alternatively, “man” – this is Amram, “but a woman” – this is Yokheved. “Man” – this is Moses, “but a woman” – these are the women of the wilderness.149Although Sarah, Yokheved, and the Israelite women in the generation of Moses were righteous, they were not equal to the men with whom they are contrasted. Alternatively, “man” – this is Moses, who came after one thousand generations; that is what is written: “He commanded the matter for one thousand generations” (Psalms 105:8). This teaches that the Holy One blessed be He looked at all the jugs and did not find a jug as lined with pitch as Moses, who extended his hand and received the Torah.
Rashi
One [worthy] man among a thousand I have found. It is customary in the world, [that out of] a thousand who enter [a school] to [learn] Scripture, emerge from them— successful and capable of [the study of] Mishnah— only one hundred. And of those hundred who enter [to study] Mishnah, only ten of them emerge for [the study of] Gemara, and of those ten who enter to [study] Gemara, only one emerges who is capable of rendering decisions [pertaining to religious matters], the result being one out of a thousand.
Rashi
But a [worthy] woman among all of them. Even in a thousand; therefore, you must be cautious regarding her.