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I found that Solomon son of David (peace be upon them) explored this question so as to establish for us what is most beneficial.
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He said: 'I have seen all the deeds done under the sun, and behold all is vapor and a pursuit of wind' (Eccl. 1:14).
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He does not mean works in their combination and integration — for the Creator (mighty and exalted) established and upheld them.
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A sage such as he would not call what the Creator established 'all vapor.'
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Rather, he means: any one deed taken in isolation — every single human activity, when singled out alone — is a snare for a person, like chasing the wind.
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Regarding isolation he also said: 'A twisted thing cannot be straightened, and a lack cannot be counted' (Eccl. 1:15).
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For each, taken alone, is bent away from rectitude and falls short of completeness — because their combination produces not deficiency but wholeness and perfection.
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This interpretation is confirmed by the fact that he surveyed three categories of worldly loves and declared each one in isolation to be vapor — meaning: a snare.
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As in: 'They are nothing — they will deceive you' (Jer. 2:5), and: 'Trust not in oppression and robbery; do not become vapor over it' (Ps. 62:11).
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The first is exclusive devotion to wisdom alone, abandoning all other loves. He said of this: 'I set my heart to know wisdom and to know folly and madness — I knew that this too is a pursuit of wind' (Eccl. 1:17).
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He gave us the reason for this: the more a person's knowledge increases, the more his pain increases — for what is revealed to him of the faults of things causes him distress that he did not feel before they were revealed.
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That is the meaning of: 'For in much wisdom is much vexation, and one who increases knowledge increases pain' (Eccl. 1:18).
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Then he took up the second: exclusive devotion to joy and pleasure. He said that a person who directs all his attention to these is likewise ensnared by them.
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As he said: 'I said in my heart: come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy the good — and behold, this too is vapor' (Eccl. 2:1).
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He stated the reason for this: a person in that state — amid laughter and frivolity — perceives in himself degradation and ugliness.
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And he has descended into the character of beasts. That is the meaning of: 'Of laughter I said: it is mad; and of pleasure: what does it accomplish?' (Eccl. 2:2).
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Then he took up the third: building up the world. He established that exclusive engagement in this is likewise a snare.
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By his words: 'I magnified my works; I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards, I made gardens' (Eccl. 2:4–5), and the rest of the passage and all he described of his works to the end of the account.
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He gave the reason for rejecting all of this: that it is left to those who come after him, and his toil goes to waste.
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As he said: 'So I hated all my toil at which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who comes after me' (Eccl. 2:18).
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Having enumerated these three categories, he refrained from listing all the remaining ways of life, lest that divert him from what he actually needed.
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But between these categories he indicated the balancing of the three: to take something from wisdom and something from enjoyment, without abandoning reflection on what is most beneficial.
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As he said: 'I determined in my heart to draw my body along with wine while my heart was guided by wisdom' (Eccl. 2:3).
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Section IV.
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It has occurred to me — may God guide you — that I should compile from these categories thirteen types.
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I will mention what I have learned of what prompted each group to prefer exclusive use of one of them for the whole of their lives,
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and then explain what they neglected and overlooked in the matter.
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I will also spread out each category by identifying the proper domain for its use — one that has design and fitness.
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And if one were to gather everything I mention that each devotee abandons across all thirteen categories, I would call that totality 'A Book of Complete Renunciation.'
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Let me first enumerate their number. I say: the categories of loves are thirteen, and they are: