Rejoice, Young Man, But Know You Will Be Brought to Judgment

Samuel Patigrisa in the name of Rabbi Meir: "Rejoice, young man, in your youth" (Ecclesiastes 11:9). Rabbi Samuel bar Isaac said: The sages sought to hide away the book of Ecclesiastes, because they found in it matters that incline toward heresy. They said: Was it fitting for Solomon to say, "Rejoice, young man, in your youth"? Moses said, "You shall not follow after your heart and after your eyes" (Numbers 15:39), and Solomon said, "Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes" (Ecclesiastes 11:9) - the restraint is loosed, there is no judgment and no Judge! But when he said, "Yet know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment" (Ecclesiastes 11:9), they said, "Solomon spoke well." Rabbi Hiyya the Great and Rabbi Simeon ben Halafta. Rabbi Hiyya the Great said: This is like a bandit who fled from the magistrate; they said to him, "Run a little less, lest you tire yourself out being dragged back. And know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment" (Ecclesiastes 11:9). And Rabbi Simeon ben Halafta said: This is like one swimming upon the water; they said to him, "Swim out a little less, lest you tire yourself on the return. And know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment." Rabbi Josiah said: This is like one who stole goods past the customs; when he was caught, they said to him, "Pay the duty." He said, "Take it." They said to him, "Do you think we want only this one time? We want it for all the times you were in the habit of stealing past the customs. And know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment." Rabbi Levi said: This is like a bird placed in a cage, and another came and stood over it and said, "How fortunate you are, that your food is provided for you!" It said, "You look at the food but you do not look at the trap. And know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment." Rabbi Tanchuma said: This is like a worthless fellow who entered a shop and said to the shopkeeper, "Give me good wine and fine bread and rich meat." When he had eaten and drunk, he said, "Settle your account." The man said, "Here is this fellow's belly before you; slit it open." Said the shopkeeper, "And by this do you think to escape me?" Now that shopkeeper was shrewd. What did he do? He took him and wrapped him in a mat and threw him at the entrance of the shop, and all who passed by, he would say to them, "Acquire merit by this dead man, for I wish to buy him burial." A certain official passed by and said, "How long will this go on?" He said, "Until his debt is settled." And once his debt was settled, the shopkeeper said to him, "Get up, go to the grave of this fellow's father, and tell him that his end was bad. And know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment."