Specifically, Ecclesiastes 2:21 states: "For there is a man whose toil is with wisdom, and with knowledge, and with skill; yet to a man who has not toiled in it, he will leave it as his portion. This too is vanity and a great evil.”

But what does this really mean? The sages of the Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on Ecclesiastes, delve into this verse, revealing a fascinating perspective.

Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Simon makes a striking observation: "Great is the ability of prophets who liken the created to its Creator." What he's getting at is that the prophets often describe God using human attributes, almost in reverse. They portray the Divine using terms we understand from our own limited experience. Think about it: We read in Daniel 8:16, "I heard the voice of a man from the midst of the Ulai," or Ezekiel 1:26, "And on the image of the throne, the image of a person." These are anthropomorphisms – attributing human characteristics to the Divine.

The Midrash then takes apart the verse in Ecclesiastes piece by piece, drawing parallels between human qualities and divine attributes. "With wisdom," says the verse. Well, Proverbs 3:19 tells us, "the Lord founded the earth with wisdom." See the connection? "With knowledge," continues Ecclesiastes. And Proverbs 3:20 answers, "by His knowledge the depths were breached."

And then there's the idea of "skill." Rabbi Berekhya, quoting Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon, emphasizes that the Holy One, blessed be He, didn't create the world with toil and exertion. Remember, "With the word of God the heavens were made" (Psalms 33:6). Creation was effortless for God. A simple utterance brought the cosmos into being.

So, where does this leave us with the original problem: someone inheriting the fruits of another's labor? The Midrash connects this to the generations of Enosh and the Flood. These were generations marked by wickedness. As Genesis 6:5 tells us, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth…" They received a world created with divine wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but they squandered it, leading to destruction. They inherited a portion they did not toil for, and they abused it.

It's a sobering thought, isn't it? We inherit so much – not just material possessions, but also knowledge, wisdom, and the very world we live in. The question is, what will we do with it? Will we appreciate the effort that came before us, or will we, like the generations of Enosh and the Flood, take it for granted and bring about our own destruction? Perhaps the key is recognizing that everything, ultimately, comes from a source far greater than ourselves.