It's All Futile? And yet... Words from the King of Jerusalem

I arrived back in Jerusalem last night, rain, protesters in the streets with flags and fury at the extremist government’s latest attack on decency, dignity and democracy, and this latest round of war that many do now want, suddenly a siren - missiles coming in from Yemen - just minutes after my arrival. Welcome home.

This brutal war rages on.

Uncertainty hangs in the air like the thick surprising spring fog. And on my mind, ancient words from poetic protest - from the literary work that may have been composed here, over 2,000 years ago, in a language still clear enough to show up on protest posters -- ‘time for peace’.

This week, on our Below the Bible Belt journey to complete the Hebrew Bible we’ve been reading Kohelet—Ecclesiastes—the biblical scroll that wrestles with uncertainty more than any other.

Jewish tradition claims that King Solomon was the best selling author of three books in his lifetime.
As a young, feisty lover—he wrote Shir HaShirim, Song of Songs.
In midlife, wise and practical—he wrote Mishlei, Proverbs.
And in old age, weary and disillusioned—he wrote Kohelet.

And while most scholars doubt he wrote any of these, the myth remains - the wise king, the philosopher poet who knew power and used it well. Perhaps this too is a human fantasy.. The man in charge right now imagines himself a king, populist criminal who will go down in history not as poet or wise king but as war criminal who let his people down and has more blood on his hands than many other current leaders. It’s an epic and disgraceful tragedy in real time.

For everything there is time, and a season. Today is the turning point of seasons, March 21st marks the spring equinox, long hailed as time of transition.

What does the wisest of kings say, after a lifetime of power, wealth, and experience to the changes that keep changing:

“Hevel havalim, hakol havel.”
“Futility of futilities, all is futile.”

All exhaled breath, vanity, meaningless. (Eccl. 1:2)

Not exactly comforting. But honest. And real. Breath by breath. Keep changing.

Kohelet looks at the world and sees cycles—war and peace, rise and fall, winter and spring, joy and sorrow. Even leaders who seem solid topple. Every regime no matter how benign or bad - will be replaced by others.

The people’s will has power. Our voices matter as does our each and every exhale, quiet or loud.

But in the meanwhile, as so many suffer, what do we do? How do we live when everything feels unstable?

Kohelet doesn’t give easy answers, but he does drop clues. One of them is this:

Gam Zeh Yaavor - this too shall pass. Keep breathing.

Another is:

“Tovim hashnayim min ha’echad.”
“Two are better than one.”

(Eccl. 4:9)

In times like these, we hold onto each other. We seek meaning in community, in small acts of kindness, in the relationships we strengthen like knots on our ropes that bind us together, that keep us grounded when the world shakes.

And we keep moving forward. Kohelet says:

“Shalach lachmecha al pnei hamayim, ki berov hayamim timtzaenu.”
“Send your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it.”

(Eccl. 11:1)

Keep doing good. Keep showing up. Resist. Protest. Persist. Even when there are no guarantees.

The poet who imagined what it’s like to be king of Jerusalem, perhaps a tired cynical old person, perhaps not, wrote these words from experience. He saw the rise and fall of empires, the fleeting nature of wealth and power. But here we are, in Jerusalem, still reading his words.

Maybe that’s the lesson. Nothing lasts forever—not war, not love, not even pain. Not these fresh flowers for shabbat. But neither does despair.

Let’s take a breath together.

And that is not just hevel. That is something real.

Hang in there friends, keep breathing, keep believing in better days. Together, even just by reading these old words together we are on the same page of resilience.

Thank you for joining me below the bible belt. May there be hope and healing, and let peace prevail. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and every sacred soul and home in the world.

Shabbat Shalom.