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— passages. The first: 'There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and show himself good in his labor; this too I saw, for it is from the hand of God' (Eccl. 2:24).
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His phrase 'eat and drink' refers to the chapter on sustenance; 'in his labor' refers to earning; 'from the hand of God' means from what is lawful, from where his Creator provides, not what he seizes; and 'show himself good' comprises seven meanings he described in his book as 'good.'
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The second: 'And also all people who eat and drink and see good in all their labor — it is a gift of God' (Eccl. 5:17). This too encompasses seven meanings: sustenance from 'eat and drink'; earning from 'in all their labor'; the lawful from 'gift of God'; and it points to the seven meanings with 'see good.'
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The third: 'Behold, what I saw: it is good and beautiful to eat and drink' (Eccl. 5:17 var.). This third contains the four meanings we mentioned, and adds 'beautiful' — pointing to the use of every character-trait and beloved pursuit at its proper time and not at another, as Solomon explained in this book: 'He made everything beautiful in its time' (Eccl. 3:11).
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The meaning of 'goodness' (tobah) mentioned in that passage refers to three kinds of wisdom as he explained in this book: 'Wisdom is better than weapons of war' (Eccl. 9:18); 'Wisdom is better than might' (Eccl. 9:16); 'Wisdom with an inheritance is good' (Eccl. 7:11).
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Each verse has its own particular domain. 'Wisdom with an inheritance' pertains to the wisdom of natural science and the structure of the world, since its conclusion is 'and there is advantage to those who see the sun.' 'Wisdom is better than might' pertains to governance of kings and policy, since its context is 'a great king came and surrounded it.' And 'wisdom better than weapons' pertains to worship and obedience, since its conclusion is 'but one sinner destroys much good.'
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As for the explanation of the seven kinds of 'good' (tov) that are among the numbered things: the first is the good name and honest praise — of which he says: 'A good name is better than precious oil' (Eccl. 7:1).
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The second is remembering death at sorrowful events and not forgetting it — of which he says: 'It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting' (Eccl. 7:2).
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The third is anger for God's sake when it can and does benefit — of which he says: 'Anger is better than laughter' (Eccl. 7:3). The fourth is looking at the consequences of matters — of which he says: 'The end of a matter is better than its beginning' (Eccl. 7:8).
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The fifth is accompanying scholars and the righteous — of which he says: 'Better to hear the rebuke of a wise person' (Eccl. 7:5). The sixth is patience and forbearance — of which he says: 'Better is patient spirit than proud spirit' (Eccl. 7:8).
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The seventh is that the righteous servant should believe he has not been free of stumbling, so that he humbles himself before his Creator — of which he says: 'Good that you take hold of this and also not withdraw your hand from that, for one who fears God will discharge both' (Eccl. 7:18). This is the summary.
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It has now become clear that the wise one, when summarizing the affairs of the world, pointed to these eleven things — seven of which he called 'good' (tov), three he called 'goodness' (tobah), and one he called 'beautiful' (yafeh) —
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— the 'beautiful' being: practicing every beloved and loathed thing at its proper time and place for which it was created, as we explained. And these eleven pursuits are employed only after obtaining sustenance from lawful earning, as we have explained.
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After approaching this chapter through all possible modes of demonstration, I say: the entire book benefits only together with sincerity of hearts and their intentional pursuit of their own improvement — as it says: 'If you set your heart aright and stretch out your hands toward Him' (Job 11:13).
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And the wise one said: 'With all my heart I have sought You; let me not stray from Your commandments; in my heart I have stored Your word' (Ps. 119:10–11).
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The hearts must become tender and submit to the name of our Lord, glory and might be to Him — as it says: 'Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke concerning this place' (2 Kgs. 22:19).
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Do you not see that what is seen, heard, eaten, and drunk achieves its effect alongside intention of hearts more than what it achieves without it?
The book is complete, and praise be to God.