“I praised joy, as there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat, drink, and rejoice. It will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life that God has given him under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 8:15). “I praised joy.” Rabbi Tanḥuma said that Rabbi Naḥman son of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said, [and] Rabbi Menaḥama, and some say Rabbi Yirmeya and Rabbi Meyasha, [said] in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Yitzḥak: Every instance in which eating and drinking is stated in this scroll, the verse is referring to Torah and good deeds.
Rabbi Yona said: The paradigm for all of them is as it is stated: “[There is nothing better…than to eat, drink, and rejoice]. That will accompany him in his toil [ba’amalo]” (Ecclesiastes 8:15) – in his world [beolamo], in this world. “During the days of his life” – to the grave. Is there food and drink in the grave, that it accompanies a person to his grave? Rather, these are Torah, and the good deeds that a person performs.