Podcasts about kohelet

We don't understand the ways of God, but it is better to be wise than to be foolish, and it is important to enjoy the momentary pleasures that we are privileged to experience.

Kohelet examines three possible paths; physical pleasure, wisdom, and purposelessness. He begins by observing that while he derived pleasure from seeking out the luxuries oif this world, they were only fleeting and temporary.

Wisdom itself is a source of pain and anxiety. Maybe it would be better to be ignorant?

Everything that was will be again, there is nothing new under the sun.

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We introduce the Book of Ecclesiastes, and begin reading this masterpiece in which we encounter the seeming futility of the search for meaning in our lives.

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How does Kohelet end?What is his conclusion?Does he concluded with a soliloquy about death, or a series of statements about guidance and life?

Kohelet #12 - the dramatic conclusion of the book and of Kohelet's wisdom on human mortality. Kohelet appears to end where he began - all is hevel? But what does this word actually mean? What if this word has consistently been mistranslated for centuries? Our audio today explores an alternative translation which presents a remarkably different understanding of the work as a whole and is a fitting conclusion to our studies of this misunderstood book. Speaking personally, this idea completely changed my appreciation of Kohelet and I think others will like it too. Text here:https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.12?lang=bi

Practice kindness, diversify your investments, invest in life - even if you cannot fully understand it, and enjoy your youth! These are Kohelet's messages - a philosophy of humble pragmatism.

Kohelet #11 - 'Rejoice in your youth... but know that God will bring you to judgement for all this'Rafi Addlestone shares thoughts on the interwoven nature of joy and loss in both Kohelet and Jack Antonoff.https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.11?lang=bi

One act of foolishness can sully a sterling reputation.

Rabbi Dr Sam Lebens offers reflections on the many possible reasons why the wise man turns to the right but the fool turns to the left.Text here:https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.10?lang=bi

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Kohelet 8 & 9: wisdom, kings, enjoying this life even if you can't take it with you.Tzivia Appleman considers what Kohelet has in common with Ted Danson in The Good Place in their reflections on mortality.Text here: https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.9?lang=bi

Death might be the great equalizer, but in the meantime, there are better ways to live and worse ways.

How might we act in the face of temperamental but powerful figures of government?How do we navigate an unpredictable world in which good and bad are seldom evident?Do we just eat and drink and be happy? Or maybe we allow wisdom to make our face shine.

Kohelet 8 & 9: Wisdom, kings, enjoying this life even if you can't take it with you. Aliza considers the links between ch.8 and the festivals of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur that we are about to enter into. https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.8?lang=bi

The word "tov -good" is the keyword of our chapter.Kohelet has been asking what the key to good is. In this chapter he offers a new pragmatic approach.

Kohelet 7 - see the works of God, for who can fix that which has been pervertedWhat does our tradition have to say about human-induced damage to our environment? What can it add to the discussion on climate change? I think a midrash on our chapter contains one of the most powerful answers. The full text of the midrash can be found in this article I wrote a number of years ago: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-tu-bshvat-midrash/Text here:https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.7?lang=bi

Kohelet #6 - the paradox of plenty as Kohelet grapples with too much abundance and successRabbi Gamliel Shmalo marshalls insights from Rashi to the Dalai Lama to the head of the Bank of Israel to shed light on the challenges facing a hedonist. Text here:https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.6?lang=bi

6:9: "Better what you can see than the wanderings of desire."Today we address the attractions and fantasies that make us not only dissatisfied with our worldly blessings but also sap our ability and focus to appreciate and be present in the good fortune that we experience.

Kohelet #5: The dangers of dreams, vows and of speaking too freely - and the risks that wealth brings 'for one who loves money will never be satisfied with money.` In our audio we focus upon a powerful midrashic commentary to verse 14 about the nature of wealth in this world and what we take with us when we leave it: כַּאֲשֶׁר יָצָא מִבֶּטֶן אִמּוֹ עָרוֹם יָשׁוּב לָלֶכֶת כְּשֶׁבָּא וּמְאוּמָה לֹא־יִשָּׂא בַעֲמָלוֹ שֶׁיֹּלֵךְ בְּיָדוֹ׃"He must depart just as he came. As he came out of his mother's womb, so must he depart at last, naked as he came. He can take nothing of his wealth to carry with him." Text here: https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.5?lang=bi

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This world can be tough. Kohelet suggests that many people might prefer never to have been born at all.And yet, with a little financial modesty and less comparison, with some simple companionship, we will see success and happiness.

Is there a value in visiting the Temple?Should an individual make a vow?The opening lines of chapter 5 speak about religious ritual, the power of speech and the manner in which a person approaches God. What is Kohelet's perspective?

Happiest are those never born and there is no end to the tears of the oppressed. Calev Ben Dor shares a midrashic teaching on the tears of the oppressed, mamzerut and a moving story about Rav Ovadia Yosef. https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.4?lang=bi

Kohelet #3: there is a time for everything, to love, to hate...Rabbi Dr Sam Lebens shares thoughts on joy and its absence in Kohelet. Text here: https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.3?lang=bi

A time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot that which is planted... A time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

Ilana uses ch.2 to think about our responsibility to future generations. Text here: https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.2?lang=bi

Haben Sie sich auch schon einmal gefragt, warum der Mensch überhaupt auf die Frage kommt, ob nach dem Tode noch etwas auf ihn zukomme? So weit würde vermutlich ein Tier niemals denken. Doch wir Menschen tun es, so lange zumindest, bis wir die Stimme in uns, die diese Frage stellt, nicht gewaltsam zum Schweigen bringen. Die Bibel gibt uns in einem eher philosophisch anmutenden Buch, dem Buch des Predigers oder Kohelet genannt, einen wichtigen Hinweis.

Kohelet entertains three possibilities of what might make life meaningful: wisdom, pleasure and work. But the ultimate litmus test will be the death of a person; does anything valuable endure after we depart this work. Is everything ephemeral (hevel)?

What is the meaning of life? That is essentially the question that Kohelet seeks to address.Who is Kohelet?What does he mean when he says: "All the rivers flow into the sea but the sea is never full"?

Kohelet chapters 1 and 2: a different darkness to Eicha. Not suffering and persecution but the meaninglessness of abundance. I introduce the book and how the Sages struggled with Kohelet's proposition while Ilana uses ch.2 to think about our responsibility to future generations.In arguing for the contemporary relevance of Kohelet to our modern predicament I quote at length from Rav Soloveitchik. Here is the full piece:Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Worship of the Heart, p.38Man is bored. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on his entertainment and amusement. He pays enormous sums to anyone who can elicit a smile from him and make him forget his daily worries. What are these worries? Poverty, sickness, persecution, physical pain? None of these. His main worry is existence itself. He is dissatisfied with what he is doing, with his job, trade or profession. He hates the routine of getting up at 7, catching the 7:45 train, and arriving at the office, where one meets the same people and discusses the same affairs. He finds no joy in what he is doing; he wants to free himself from his daily obligations and activities. He resents the repetition, which is basically a natural phenomenon. He is the most miserable of creatures because he is confined to a cyclic existence which keeps on retracing its steps afresh; for he knows what he is going to do next and what is expected of him. He travels to far-off places, because he is tired of his hometown, with its familiar surroundings, and he engages in an incessant quest for new experiences and stimuli… He soon realizes that whatever he was looking for does not exist and he comes home, back to his old surroundings and duties. He chases a mirage that recedes endlessly upon his approach.https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.1?lang=bi

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A conversation about the lessons we can learn from Megillas Esther for our current times, walking through the doorways G-d calls us to, navigating responsibilities that we didn't sign up for, the synthesis of modern wisdom with Torah, differentiating between the sacred and unsacred, and how to begin developing a relationship with Torah study. Dr. Erica Brown is the Vice Provost for Values and Leadership at Yeshiva University and the founding director of its Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership. She previously served as the director of the Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership and an associate professor of curriculum and pedagogy at The George Washington University. Erica is the author or co-author of 15 books on leadership, the Hebrew Bible and spirituality. Erica has a daily podcast, “Take Your Soul to Work.” Her book Esther: Power, Fate and Fragility in Exile (Maggid) was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. Her latest book is Kohelet and the Search for Meaning (Maggid). She and her husband live in Maryland and have four children, another four through marriage, and six exquisite grandchildren. Explore more of her work at ericabrown.com.Video episode is available on Youtube. To inquire about sponsorship & advertising opportunities, please email us at info@humanandholy.comTo support our work, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor.Find us on Instagram @humanandholy & subscribe to our channel to stay up to date on all our upcoming conversations. Human & Holy podcast is available on all podcast streaming platforms. New episodes every Sunday on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.Timestamps:0:00 Introduction2:50 Welcome Dr. Erica Brown 4:43 What We Can Learn from Megillas Esther 10:10 How Can We Show Up Right Now?12:58 A Relationship with G-d is Dynamic15:10 Harnessing the Jewish Shift in the Diaspora 18:00 The Power of Invitation19:00 Developing a Personal Interest in Tanach21:58 Bringing the Totality of Ourselves to the Text23:10 The Story of Jonah: The Wishful Fantasy of Adulthood24:45 When Your Responsibilities Feel Like Too Much 27:58 Getting Guidance From Those Who Have Walked the Path20:55 When You Didn't Sign Up for What Life is Asking of You33:50 Asking for Help: Esther and Mordechai's Partnership 35:05 The Mezuzah: Walking Through the Doorway With G-d37:50 Bringing All Worlds of Wisdom to the Torah 40:50 Filtering Out the Unholy43:20 Will AI Change the Way We Study Torah?47:10 Advice on Developing a Relationship with Torah Study

Worthaus Pop-Up – Wien: 26. März 2024 von Prof. Dr. Annette Schellenberg.

The Megilla tells us that Ester, the heroine of the Purim story, had another name – Hadasa. What might be the significance of this second name? We should perhaps assume that if the Megilla found it necessary to inform us of Ester's other name, this detail must be important. What does the name "Hadasa" represent, and what does it tell us about Ester's role in the Purim story? The historical backdrop to the Purim story is the destruction of the Bet Ha'mikdash and the Jewish People's banishment to exile. It was during this period, after the Jews had spent over half a century in Babylonia – which was taken over by Persia – that the story told in the Megilla unfolded. We can easily imagine what was going through the Jews' minds at this time. They must have assumed that their special relationship with G-d was over. After all, G-d had sent the Babylonian marauders to set His Bet Ha'mikdash ablaze, and to bring the nation into exile. Decades passed, and they remained far from their homeland. They naturally thought that they were no longer Hashem's special nation, and there was thus no longer any reason to learn Torah, to perform Misvot, or to live a religious lifestyle. Indeed, the Gemara teaches that at Ahashverosh's feast, he came dressed in the special garments of the Kohen Gadol, and used the utensils of the Bet Ha'mikdash. He was celebrating the fact that the Jews' exile was permanent, that they would never be returning to the Land of Israel and would never rebuild the Bet Ha'mikdash. The Jews participated in this feast, showing that they shared this belief. Of course, this was a grave mistake. King Shlomo, the wisest of all men, writes in the Book of Kohelet (4:12), "Ve'ha'hut Ha'meshulash Lo Bi'mhera Yinatek" – "The triple thread will not easily be snapped." A single thread can easily be torn, but if three threads are woven together, this becomes a rope, which is far more difficult to cut. The Jewish Nation is a "triple thread," having been built by three patriarchs – Abraham, Yishak and Yaakob. Had our nation been created by just a single founder, or even two founders, this would not have established a strong enough foundation to withstand the many challenges and upheavals that would occur over the course of Jewish history. But our nation was built by three "threads," three outstanding figures, laying for us a foundation that can never be broken. For this reason, the verse in the Book of Debarim (32:9) says, "Yaakob Hebel Nahalato" – Yaakob is the "rope" of G-d's "lot," the Jewish Nation. Yaakob was the third patriarch, and thus he turned the "threads" of his two predecessors into a "Hebel," a rope, that can never be broken. The Jewish Nation is eternal, and its special relationship with Hashem is eternal. A child might anger his parents, and this relationship might at times be strained, even, perhaps, under drastic circumstances, to the point where the parent must send the child out of the home for a period of time, but he will always be their child, and their love for him will always remain. Similarly, even when Hashem punishes Am Yisrael, and even when He drives us into exile, His love for His treasured nation is everlasting. This was Ester's message to the Jewish People when they faced the threat of annihilation. They had despaired, figuring that G-d had abandoned them, but she reminded them that their bond with Hashem is everlasting and unconditional. She therefore decreed a three-day fast – to remind them of the "Hut Ha'meshulash," the "triple thread" that forms the foundation of Am Yisrael, which cannot ever be broken. Ester was therefore called "Hadasa," an allusion to the "Hadas," the myrtle branch, one of the four species we take on Sukkot. The Torah calls the Hadas "Anaf Etz Abot" (Vayikra 23:40) – a branch with a thick covering of leaves – and Rashi explains this to mean "Kelu'im Ke'hebel" – "braided like a rope." The leaves of the Hadas branch grow in groups of three, with every three leaves emerging from the same spot on the stem. The Hadas' thick covering of leaves is thus likened to a rope, three threads woven together, and it symbolizes the concept of "Yaakob Hebel Nahalato," G-d's eternal bond with the Jewish Nation. In fact, the word "Hut" (thread) in Gematria equals 23, such that three threads are represented by the number 69 (23 X 3) – which is the Gematria of "Hadas." Ester was called "Hadasa" because this was precisely the message she conveyed to the Jews in exile – that Hashem's love for them was everlasting, that this bond could never be broken. We all recognize the numerous spiritual problems that plague the Jewish People in our day and age. It is clear to all of us that there is so much to improve, so many difficult problems to address. But we must never feel discouraged or fall into despair. At no point may we ever think, as the Jews in Persia thought, that Hashem no longer loves us or cares about us, that our special relationship with Him has ended. We must remember that our special bond can never be broken, that Hashem loves us under all circumstances, even when we aren't acting as we should. Sometimes this love is more evident, and sometimes less, but we must believe that it is always present. This awareness should give us the encouragement and resolve we need to work toward growth and improvement, to strive to elevate ourselves as well as our fellow Jews, and thereby strengthen the eternal bond between us and our Creator.

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Kohelet 7 - see the works of God, for who can fix that which has been perverted.What does our tradition have to say about human-induced damage to our environment? What can it add to the discussion on climate change? I think a midrash on our chapter contains one of the most powerful answers. The full text of the midrash can be found in this article I wrote a number of years ago: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-tu-bshvat-midrash/Text here: https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.7?lang=bi

Kohelet #6 - the paradox of plenty as Kohelet grapples with too much abundance and successRabbi Gamliel Shmalo marshalls insights from Rashi to the Dalai Lama to the head of the Bank of Israel to shed light on the challenges facing a hedonist. Text here: https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.6?lang=bi

Leadership isn't just a modern concern—it's embedded in the DNA of the Torah itself. In this episode, Dr. Erica Brown unpacks the centrality of leadership in Jewish thought, drawing on insights from The Torah of Leadership. She explains why leadership has been a defining theme of her work, how the need for strong leadership has intensified—especially since October 7th—and why the Torah's challenge to lead is more relevant than ever. We explore how the Torah doesn't merely contain lessons on leadership but demands leadership at every turn, a truth that often goes unnoticed. Dr. Brown diagnoses why we've lost sight of this and offers a path back to seeing leadership as the Torah intends. From the dangers of stubbornness in am k'sheh oref (a stiff-necked people) to the ethical dilemmas of deception in Rivkah and Yaakov's story, this conversation delves into the profound tensions and moral complexities of leadership. What does it take to lead a people who resist change? When, if ever, do lies serve a higher purpose? Dr. Brown brings clarity, depth, and wisdom to these questions, making the Torah's leadership lessons impossible to ignore.---• Bio: Dr. Erica Brown is the Vice Provost for Values and Leadership at Yeshiva University and the founding director of its Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership. She previously served as the director of the Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership and an associate professor of curriculum and pedagogy at The George Washington University. Erica is the author or co-author of 15 books on leadership, the Hebrew Bible and spirituality. Erica has a daily podcast, “Take Your Soul to Work.” Her book Esther: Power, Fate and Fragility in Exile (Maggid) was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. Her latest book is Kohelet and the Search for Meaning (Maggid). She and her husband live in Maryland and have four children, another four through marriage, and six exquisite grandchildren.---• Get her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Torah-Leadership-Erica-Brown/dp/1592646816/ref=sr_1_1?crid=MFTHQQ4CLKC2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hLYZuZZvn75pCZotr-6RyN4_8UV3NNF4hrqv3YpP34DGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.RzHMV8wYe07YNizVGST8QU6M6HijexFDycQ7iBfmKG8&dib_tag=se&keywords=erica+brown+torah+of+leadership&qid=1739133039&sprefix=ericA+BROWN+TORAH+%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-1• Welcome to JUDAISM DEMYSTIFIED: A PODCAST FOR THE PERPLEXED | Co-hosted by Benjy & Benzi | Thank you to...Super Patron: Jordan Karmily, Platinum Patron: Craig Gordon, Gold Patrons: Dovidchai Abramchayev, Lazer Cohen, Travis Krueger, Vasili Volkoff, Rod Ilian, Silver Patrons: Ellen Fleischer, Daniel Maksumov, Rabbi Pinny Rosenthal, Fred & Antonio, Jeffrey Wasserman, and Jacob Winston! Please SUBSCRIBE to this YouTube Channel and hit the BELL so you can get alerted whenever new clips get posted, thank you for your support!

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