traditionally ascribed to King Solomon<\/a>. The word \u201ckohelet,\u201d according to H.L. Ginsberg’s \u201cThe Five Megilloth and Jonah,\u201d can be translated as \u201cthe assembler.\u201d But whoever the authors of this book, they have compiled a series of maxims and sayings (like a Jewish Shakespeare) such as \u201cUtter futility! All is futile!\u201d which like the succah brings us to consider the fragility and uncertainty of our existence.<\/p>\nContinuing in a skeptical tone, Kohelet teaches that \u201cthere is nothing new beneath the sun.” (Admittedly, with a woman and a billionaire running against each other for president, that assumption may be challengeable.) Still, Kohelet correctly sums up the state of our current political battlefields: \u201cThe race is not won by the swift, nor the battle by the valiant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kohelet\u2019s knack for calling our election goes deeper, such as \u201cdon\u2019t pay attention to everything that is said\u201d — a mantra I will intone as I watch the debates. Another maxim: \u201cDon\u2019t let your spirit be quickly vexed,\u201d which will sustain me when, like you, I hear one fact-check fail after another.<\/p>\n
As for the debaters themselves, Kohelet advises, \u201cthere is a time for silence and a time for speaking,\u201d which if followed, I hoped, could keep the two from talking over each other. For any candidate who would listen: \u201cDon\u2019t let your mouth bring you into disfavor\u201d and a \u201cgood name is better than fragrant oil.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kohelet also has much to say about the candidates’ positions. In matters of defense, Kohelet would favor experience: \u201cWisdom is more valuable than war.\u201d On matters of equality, a candidate should observe \u201call the oppression that goes on under the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n
In matters of personal gain, Kohelet urges us to be suspicious of \u201ca lover of money,\u201d grimly reminding that a \u201crich man\u2019s abundance doesn\u2019t let him sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Will Trump or Clinton heed King Solomon’s advice in these final weeks before Election Day? We’ll have to see.<\/p>\n
Regardless of the outcome, from now on I’ll be reading the news and watching the debates more calmly with my copy of Kohelet nearby. Having the book as my guide, I won\u2019t need the commentators to know whose efforts have been futile and who has played the fool.<\/p>\n
(Edmon J. Rodman is a JTA columnist who writes on Jewish life from Los Angeles. Contact him at edmojace@gmail.com<\/span><\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n
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