It’s a universal feeling, and it’s one that the ancient sages grappled with too. The book of Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, wrestles with the meaning of life, and Kohelet Rabbah, a rabbinic commentary on it, digs even deeper.
It all starts with a powerful verse: "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years arrive when you will say: I have no desire in them" (Ecclesiastes 12:1). It's a call to action, isn't it? A reminder to be present, to be mindful, and to connect with something greater than ourselves while we still have the energy and capacity to do so.
And then the text throws another verse at us: "Remove anger from your heart" (Ecclesiastes 11:10). Rabbi Levi jumps on this, observing that young people are often hot-tempered, and that hot-temperedness, well, it's a sign of foolishness. Solomon, traditionally considered the author of Ecclesiastes, connects youthful impulsiveness with the need to remember our Creator. Because "childhood and youth are vanity," hevel in Hebrew – a fleeting breath, something insubstantial – therefore, we need that anchor, that connection to the Divine.
The text then introduces us to Akavya ben Mahalalel, who gives us three sobering things to reflect on: where we come from, where we are going, and before whom we will ultimately be judged. Stark, right? He tells us to reflect on: from where you came – from a putrid secretion; to where you are going – to a place of dust, maggots, and worms; and before whom are you destined to give an account and a reckoning – before the King of kings, the Holy One blessed be He. It’s a powerful reminder of our mortality and our ultimate accountability.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi of Sikhnin takes Akavya's teaching a step further. He finds all three of those reflections embedded in the Hebrew word for "your Creator," bore'ekha. He cleverly breaks it down: Borekha, "your pit," represents that less-than-glamorous origin – that putrid secretion. Be'erkha, "your well," signifies our earthly end, the maggots and worms (or, according to a reversed version in the Jerusalem Talmud, Sota 2:2, the putrid secretion is "your well," and maggots and worms is "your pit"). And finally, boraakha, "your Creator," points to the King of kings, the Holy One. It’s all there, hidden in plain sight!
So, when should we be remembering our Creator? "In the days of your youth" – when you're still strong. Before "the evil days come" – the days of old age, when strength and vitality wane. Before "the years arrive when you will say: I have no desire in them" – the years of suffering.
Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Neḥemya adds another layer, suggesting that these "years of no desire" could also refer to the messianic times, when there is neither merit nor liability. A time beyond our current understanding of reward and punishment, a time of ultimate redemption.
What does it all mean? Maybe it's that the journey of life, from beginning to end, is inextricably linked to our relationship with the Divine. It’s a call not to wait for some future moment, but to cultivate that connection now, in the midst of our messy, imperfect lives. It’s a reminder that even in our youth, with all its energy and passion, we need to ground ourselves in something eternal. And maybe, just maybe, that's the key to finding true meaning and purpose in a world that often feels fleeting and insubstantial.