Painting by Linda Zahavi
The book of קֹהֶ֫לֶת (Kohelet), known in English as Ecclesiastes, has historically been referred to as an example of “wisdom literature.” However, in more recent years biblical experts and meditation practitioners have identified it as a meditation.
In Robert Alter’s book The Wisdom Book, Alter notes that in Kohelet the repetition of the word הֶבֶל (hevel) as well as the phrase “הֶבֶל וּרְעוּת רוּחַ” (hevel u’re’ut ruach) and similar phrases have an “incantatory power” (Alter 346).
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l clarifies in one of his Covenant & Conversation essays on Parashat Ki Tavo that the word הֶבֶל (hevel) is usually translated as “pointless,” “empty,” or “futile,” but it in fact means “shallow breath.” Indeed, the BDB dictionary translates it as “vapour, breath.” Rather than depict the book of Kohelet as nihilistic or pessimistic, Rabbi Sacks points out that the word שִׂמְחָה (simchah), which means joy, is used seventeen times, which is more than the total number of times it is used in the five books of Torah. He writes:
“We cannot know how, or if, we will be remembered. How then are we to find meaning in life? Kohelet eventually finds it not in happiness but in joy – because joy lives not in thoughts of tomorrow, but in the grateful acceptance and celebration of today. We are here; we are alive; we are among others who share our sense of jubilation.”
In other words, one way we can read Kohelet is by connecting to our breath and finding joy in the liminal space of the present.
I’d like to try a breathing exercise to the words of the beginning of Chapter 3 of Kohelet. This chapter opens with the statement that
“״לַכֹּ֖ל זְמָ֑ן וְעֵ֥ת לְכָל־חֵ֖פֶץ תַּ֥חַת הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
“La’kol z’man v’et l’chol-chefetz tachat ha’shamayim.”
“A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven.”
The next seven verses depict what sorts of times there may be, and they are described in pairs of opposites. Let’s breathe these words together with כַּוָּנָה (kavanah), with intention.
KOHELET BREATHING MEDITATION:
CLOSE YOUR EYES IF YOU WISH.
INHALE:
עֵ֥ת לָלֶ֖דֶת
et la’ledet
A time for being born
EXHALE:
וְעֵ֣ת לָמ֑וּת
v’et la’mut,
and a time for dying,
INHALE:
עֵ֣ת לָטַ֔עַת
et la’ta’at
A time for planting
EXHALE:
וְעֵ֖ת לַעֲק֥וֹר נָטֽוּעַ׃
v’et la’akor natu’a.
and a time for uprooting the planted;
(TAKE A LONGER INHALE.)
EXHALE:
עֵ֤ת לַהֲרוֹג֙
et la’harog
A time for slaying
INHALE:
וְעֵ֣ת לִרְפּ֔וֹא
v’et lirpo,
and a time for healing,
EXHALE:
עֵ֥ת לִפְר֖וֹץ
et lifrotz
A time for tearing down
INHALE:
וְעֵ֥ת לִבְנֽוֹת׃
v’et livnot.
and a time for building up;
EXHALE:
עֵ֤ת לִבְכּוֹת֙
et livkot
A time for weeping
INHALE:
וְעֵ֣ת לִשְׂח֔וֹק
v’et lischok,
and a time for laughing,
EXHALE:
עֵ֥ת סְפ֖וֹד
et sefod
A time for wailing
INHALE:
וְעֵ֥ת רְקֽוֹד׃
v’et rekod.
and a time for dancing;
EXHALE:
עֵ֚ת לְהַשְׁלִ֣יךְ אֲבָנִ֔ים
et l’hashlich avanim
A time for throwing stones
INHALE:
וְעֵ֖ת כְּנ֣וֹס אֲבָנִ֑ים
v’et kenos avanim
and a time for gathering stones,
(TAKE A LONGER EXHALE.)
INHALE:
עֵ֣ת לַחֲב֔וֹק
et la’chavok
A time for embracing
EXHALE:
וְעֵ֖ת לִרְחֹ֥ק מֵחַבֵּֽק׃
v’et lirchok mechabek.
and a time for shunning embraces;
INHALE:
עֵ֤ת לְבַקֵּשׁ֙
et l’vakesh
A time for seeking
EXHALE:
וְעֵ֣ת לְאַבֵּ֔ד
v’et l’abed,
and a time for losing,
INHALE:
עֵ֥ת לִשְׁמ֖וֹר
et lishmor
A time for keeping
EXHALE
וְעֵ֥ת לְהַשְׁלִֽיךְ׃
v’et l’hashlich.
and a time for discarding;
(TAKE A LONGER INHALE.)
EXHALE:
עֵ֤ת לִקְר֙וֹעַ֙
et likro’a
A time for ripping
INHALE:
וְעֵ֣ת לִתְפּ֔וֹר
v’et litpor
and a time for sewing,
(TAKE A LONGER EXHALE.)
INHALE:
עֵ֥ת לַחֲשׁ֖וֹת
et la’chashot
A time for silence
EXHALE:
וְעֵ֥ת לְדַבֵּֽר׃
v’et l’daber.
and a time for speaking;
INHALE:
עֵ֤ת לֶֽאֱהֹב֙
et le’ehov
A time for loving
EXHALE:
וְעֵ֣ת לִשְׂנֹ֔א
v’et lisno.
and a time for hating;
(TAKE A LONGER INHALE.)
EXHALE:
עֵ֥ת מִלְחָמָ֖ה
et milchamah
A time for war
INHALE:
וְעֵ֥ת שָׁלֽוֹם:
v’et shalom.
and a time for peace.
TAKE A HUGE EXHALE, LETTING EVERYTHING OUT. LET YOUR BREATH RETURN TO ITS NATURAL STATE AND
OPEN YOUR EYES IF THEY ARE CLOSED. TAKE A MOMENT AND LOOK AROUND YOU. WHO OR WHAT DO YOU NOTICE? FEEL THE GRATITUDE AND JOY FOR THIS MOMENT AND FOR LIFE.
